Tag: Royal Air Force

The RAF Flypast at the 2023 Trooping of the Colour

Saturday saw the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony at Horseguards, an event that has taken place for centuries but which was notable for it being the first one wit King Charles III in attendance. Normally it is a bit of a pain to do tours in Whitehall when Trooping of the Colour is on… Continue reading The RAF Flypast at the 2023 Trooping of the Colour

London Decorated for the Platinum Jubilee

Working every day in the streets of London can have its challenges. What is merely a news item on protestors, sporting events, strikes or terrorists that other people watch from afar is for me, real-life. Protests for good or bad reasons make it hard for me to do my job. Marathons are all well and… Continue reading London Decorated for the Platinum Jubilee

RAF Icons of the Jet-Age

Concluding my short series of blog posts on iconic RAF planes to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force we finally reach the period that most of us are best familiar with.  The age of the jet engine. Frank Whittle invented the jet engine in 1930 though it was Germany that got the… Continue reading RAF Icons of the Jet-Age

WW2 icons of the RAF

Following on from my RAF100 post the Sopwih Camel and WW1… By 1940 the awesome might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe had been displayed in the lightning blitzkrieg offensive that annexed France in six weeks. In the aftermath the British had managed to rescue more than 300,000 troops from Dunkirk with a hastily cobbled together flotilla during… Continue reading WW2 icons of the RAF

The legendary Sopwith Camel – Icon of WW1 fliers

The first really star plane of the Royal AirForce was the Sopwith Camel which was already in service for the Royal Flying Corps. The Camel grew out of the Sopwith Pup, a little fighter introduced in 1916, but which was soon outclassed by the German Albatroses and Halberstadts. Its name derived from the slight hump… Continue reading The legendary Sopwith Camel – Icon of WW1 fliers

100 Years of the RAF

This week sees the 100th anniversary of the oldest dedicated air force in the world, the Royal Airforce or RAF. The formation of the RAF was partly a bureaucratic cost-saving exercise by the Prime Minister Lloyd George. He wanted to bring down the expense of having two air forces in the Royal Flying Corps and… Continue reading 100 Years of the RAF