RAF BBMF
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight that provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions, notably Trooping the Colour, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, as well as the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton in 2011 and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. The flight is administratively part of No. 1 Group RAF, flying out of RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Although usually seen flying in a formation of three, the Lancaster flanked by a fighter on each wing, the BBMF comprises a total of 12 aircraft: 1 Avro Lancaster, 6 Supermarine Spitfires, 2 Hawker Hurricanes, 1 Douglas Dakota and 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks.
Avro Lancaster B.I
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.
The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "worldwide use". Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one version, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed. As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other Commonwealth and European countries serving within the RAF, overshadowing the Halifax and Stirling.
A long, unobstructed bomb bay meant that the Lancaster could take the largest bombs used by the RAF, including the 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) and 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) blockbusters, loads often supplemented with smaller bombs or incendiaries. The "Lanc", as it was known colloquially, became one of the most heavily used of the Second World War night bombers, "delivering 608,612 long tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties". The versatility of the Lancaster was such that it was chosen to equip 617 Squadron and was modified to carry the Upkeep "bouncing bomb" designed by Barnes Wallis for Operation Chastise, the attack on German Ruhr valley dams. Although the Lancaster was primarily a night bomber, it excelled in many other roles, including daylight precision bombing, for which some Lancasters were adapted to carry the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) Tallboy and then the 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) Grand Slam earthquake bombs (also designed by Wallis). This was the largest payload of any bomber in the war.
In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine testbed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet. Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and the Avro Canada Orenda and STAL Dovern turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the main strategic bomber of the RAF by the Avro Lincoln, a larger version of the Lancaster. The Lancaster took on the role of long-range anti-submarine patrol aircraft (later supplanted by the Avro Shackleton) and air-sea rescue. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance and aerial mapping, as a flying tanker for aerial refuelling and as the Avro Lancastrian, a long-range, high-speed, transatlantic passenger and postal delivery airliner. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport.
The Lancaster bomber - PA474, acquired by the BBMF in 1973, is one of only two surviving airworthy examples of the type; the other is in Canada. She was built in mid-1945 and assigned to reconnaissance duties after appearing too late to take part in the bombing of Japan. After various duties, she was adopted by the Air Historical Branch for display work. She appeared in two films: Operation Crossbow and The Guns of Navarone. Having been flown for much of her service with the BBMF as the "City of Lincoln", PA474 previously wore the markings of the "Phantom of the Ruhr", a Lancaster that flew 121 sorties (a so-called "ton-up" Lancaster). Originally assigned to 100 Squadron in June 1943, the original "Phantom" was transferred to 101 Squadron in November that year and finished the war as part of 550 Squadron at Ludford Magna. The Lancaster currently carries the markings of AR-L 'Leader', which served with No 460 Squadron (RAAF). PA474 displays the markings of bombs for operations over Germany, ice-cream cones for operations over Italy and poppies when she releases poppies during exhibition flights. During the 2008 RAF Waddington Air Day, PA474 was flown in formation with the Avro Vulcan XH558 in a historic display of two Avro "heavy metal" classics.
Douglas DC-3 Dakota
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner that had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s/1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). (Although most DC-3s flying today use Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, many DC-3s built for civil service originally had the Wright R-1820 Cyclone.) The DC-3 has a cruise speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), and can operate from short runways.
The DC-3 had many exceptional qualities compared to the previous aircraft. It was fast, had a good range, was more reliable, and carried passengers in greater comfort. Before the war, it pioneered many air travel routes. It was able to cross the continental US from New York to Los Angeles in 18 hours and with only 3 stops. It is one of the first airliners that could profitably carry only passengers without relying on mail subsidies.
Following the war, the airliner market was flooded with surplus transport aircraft and the DC-3 was no longer competitive due to its size and speed. It was made obsolete on main routes by more advanced types such as the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation, but the design proved adaptable and useful on less glamorous routes.
Civil DC-3 production ended in 1942 at 607 aircraft. Military versions, including the C-47 Skytrain (the Dakota in British RAF service), and Soviet- and Japanese-built versions, brought total production to over 16,000. Many continue to see service in a variety of niche roles: 2,000 DC-3s and military derivatives were estimated to be still flying in 2013; a 2017 article put the number at that time at more than 300.
The Dakota, ZA947, built at Long Beach, California in March 1942, was issued to the US Army Air Forces and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force where she served until 1971. The aircraft was purchased by the Royal Aircraft Establishment before being issued to the BBMF in March 1993. She is equipped with authentic period 'para seats' and is used in commemorative parachute drops.
The Dakota did serve solely as a support aircraft for the flight and as a multi-engine tail-wheel trainer for the Lancaster, but she also frequently performs displays at many events in the UK and Europe.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIa
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, using several wing configurations, and it was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire continues to be popular among enthusiasts; nearly 60 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world.
The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell pushed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with cutting-edge sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, helping give the aircraft a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the Spitfire's development throughout its multitude of variants.
During the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940, the public perceived the Spitfire to be the main RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. However, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes because of Spitfire's higher performance. During the battle, Spitfires were generally tasked with engaging Luftwaffe fighters—mainly Messerschmitt Bf 109E-series aircraft, which were a close match for them.
After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded the Hurricane to become the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific, and South-East Asian theatres. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, and trainer, and it continued to serve in these roles until the 1950s. The Seafire was a carrier-based adaptation of the Spitfire that served in the Fleet Air Arm from 1942 through to the mid-1950s. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was strong enough and adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlins and, in later marks, Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,340 hp (1,745 kW). As a result, the Spitfire's performance and capabilities improved over the course of its service life.
The Spitfire Mk II differed from late production Mk Is in two ways. The aircraft itself used the Merlin XII engine, providing 1,150 hp, an increase of 120 hp over the engines used in the Mk I. This engine could be used with either the de Havilland or Rotol propellers. The second main difference is that while the Mk I was built by Supermarine at Southampton, the Mk II was produced in a new giant factory at Castle Bromwich.
920 Mk IIs were built. Of them, the majority (750) were Mk IIas, with eight .303 Browning machine guns while 170 were Mk IIbs, with two 20mm cannon and four .303 machine guns. The Mk II appeared in time to take part in the battle of Britain. Both the Mk I and Mk II were phased out in 1941 in favour of the Mk V.
The BBMF Spitfire Mk IIa P7350 is the oldest spitfire which originally flew in the Battle of Britain in 1940, with 266 and 603 Squadrons. In 2019 she was repainted in the No. 54 Squadron code 'KL-B', which represents the aircraft flown by Al Deere from 10 July 1940 until 31 August 1940.
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb
The Spitfire MkV was one of the most successful ‘stop-gaps’ ever introduced into Royal Air Force Service. Over one hundred and forty RAF squadrons operated the type. It served on all battlefronts and was supplied to nine other countries including the Soviet Union and the United States.
During 1940 the Spitfire MkI and MkII barely maintained superiority over the Messerschmitt Bf109E so the Air Staff turned their attention to the question of a replacement. Their preferred successor was the MkIII, fitted with a Merlin XX engine and incorporating a new wing design.
Realising it would take time to tool up for a new production aircraft and because of problems with the Merlin XX, the Air Ministry asked Rolls-Royce, as an interim measure, to install the Merlin 45 engine in the Spitfire MkI airframe. Between 1941 and 1943 over 6500 of this MkV version were produced. The spitfire MkIII never did go into production but some of the new design features intended for it were incorporated into the MkV
By 1944 only five squadrons remained in service. Even so, two Spitfire MkV squadrons provided gunfire direction on 6 June 1944 for naval units off the D-Day beached of Normandy.
The BBMF Mk Vb Spitfire, AB910, escorted convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. She then flew escort patrols during bombing raids on the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, then (as part of No. 133 squadron), she fought in the Dieppe Raid. Capping this long career, as part of No. 402 Squadron RCAF, she flew cover patrols over the Normandy beaches on D-Day and in the subsequent weeks – as did another of the flight's Spitfires, with No. 443 Squadron RCAF. As of August 2018, AB910 was adorned with the D-Day colour scheme of Flight Lieutenant Tony Cooper's 64 Squadron Mk Vb 'SH-F' (BM327) "PeterJohn1" (named after his new-born son).
Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe
Spitfire MK356 was part of a batch of Mk IX Spitfires built at the Castle Bromwich factory in early 1944. It was fitted with full-span wingtips and a Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 engine with a two-speed, two-stage supercharger optimised for low altitudes, making it an L.F. (Low Flying) Mk IXe.
Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVIe
The Mk LFIXe Spitfire, MK356, was built in March 1944 and fitted with a Merlin 66 engine with a two-speed, two-stage supercharger optimised for low altitudes. Allocated to the Royal Canadian Air Force 144 wing, based in various locations around southern England, she took part in the Rodeo fighter sweep over occupied France in the weeks leading up to D-Day. After the war she served as a gate guardian at Hawkinge and Locking, and was recovered and refurbished in 1992 for the BBMF.
Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX
Last variant of the Spitfire to see service with the RAF, the unarmed, photographic reconnaissance Spitfire PR. XIX entered service in June 1944, with No 542 Squadron at RAF Benson, the only wartime user of the type, of which 225 were built. Production aircraft had fully pressurised cockpits for high-altitude missions. The BBMF PM631 was too late to see operational services in World War II and carried out civilian duties with the Temperature and Humidity Monitoring Flight (THUM) at RAF Woodvale until 11 July 1957, when she became part of the Historic Aircraft Flight; she is the longest-serving aircraft in the BBMF.
Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire's role during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the engagement and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War.
The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest from the Air Ministry, Hawker refined their monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's Interceptor Monoplane in late 1934, and the prototype Hurricane K5083 performed its maiden flight on 6 November 1935.
In June 1936, the Hurricane went into production for the Air Ministry; it entered squadron service on 25 December 1937. Its manufacture and maintenance were eased by using conventional construction methods so that squadrons could perform many major repairs without external support. The Hurricane was rapidly procured prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, when the RAF had 18 Hurricane-equipped squadrons in service. The aircraft was relied on to defend against German aircraft operated by the Luftwaffe, including dogfighting with Messerschmitt Bf 109s in multiple theatres of action.
The Hurricane was developed through several versions, into bomber-interceptors, fighter-bombers, and ground support aircraft as well as fighters. Versions designed for the Royal Navy known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications enabling operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts. By the end of production in July 1944, 14,487 Hurricanes had been completed in Britain, Canada, Belgium and Yugoslavia.
Hurricane Mk IV was the last major change to the Hurricane. It included the introduction of the "universal Wing", a single design able to mount two 110 or 230 kg bombs, two 40 mm Vickers S guns, drop tanks or eight "60 pounder" RP-3 rockets. Two 7.7 mm Brownings were fitted to aid the aiming of the heavier armament. Despite persistent reports actually fitted with the same Merlin XX as the mark II. All Merlin 27 were modified to Merlin 25 and used in Mosquitoes, there were only 16 production Merlin 24 by the time over 300 mark IV had been delivered. The individual aircraft cards held by the RAF museum reports the final mark IV had Merlin XX. The radiator was deeper and armoured. Additional armour was also fitted around the engine. 524 was built by Hawker between December 1942 and March 1944.
The two BBMF Hurricanes are LF363 the last Hurricane to have entered service with the RAF. She appeared in the films Angels One Five, Reach for the Sky, The Battle of Britain, and a TV series The War in the Air. PZ865, built six months after LF363; she is the last Hurricane ever to have been built. She once wore the inscription "The last of the Many" on her port and starboard sides - the original fabric with this inscription is now located in the BBMF Headquarters at RAF Coningsby.
De Havilland Canada Chipmunk T.10
The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World War and sold in large numbers during the immediate post-war years, being typically employed as a replacement for the de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane.
The Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada. It performed its maiden flight on 22 May 1946 and was introduced to operational service that same year. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Air Force (RAF), and several other nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type was produced under licence by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, who would produce the vast majority of Chipmunks, as well as by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico) in Portugal.
The type was slowly phased out of service beginning in the late 1950s, although in the ab initio elementary training role, this did not happen in the Royal Air Force until 1996 when it was replaced by the Scottish Aviation Bulldog.
Many Chipmunks that had been in military use were sold to civilians, either to private owners or to companies, where they were typically used for a variety of purposes, often involving the type's excellent flying characteristics and its capability for aerobatic manoeuvres. More than 70 years after the type having first entered service, hundreds of Chipmunks remain airworthy and are in operation around the world. The Portuguese Air Force still operates six Chipmunks, which serve with Esquadra 802, as of 2020.
The aircraft is named after the Chipmunk, a small rodent.
The two Chipmunks (WG486 and WK518), are the last in RAF service, but are not intended for display use; rather, they serve to give pilots experience in flying aircraft with a tailwheel landing gear, a design that has now vanished from the modern RAF fleet. Chipmunk WG486 flew reconnaissance missions over East Germany, as part of the RAF Gatow Station Flight, in co-operation with the British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, commonly known as BRIXMIS.