Museum - An Airfield Somewhere in England LHG

RAF Museum Cosford have an interesting piece on VJ Day and their Japanese aircraft exhibits. We were going to have been there in June for the air show, particularly since our display was planned to be Far East related.

Our friends at The Old Time Design Company have put this comparison together. Excellent work!

A lockdown restoration finally got finished this evening! Arriving in a barn find state, we’ve been working on a WW2 RAF accumulator charging set based on a JAP 2A engine. You might be familiar with these in their appearance on trolley accs, battery starting units for aircraft. Here’s a series of photos showing various stages of restoration.

Today we would have been displaying at Woodhall Spa 1940’s weekend. The great Miss Sarah Jane who lives in Woodhall Spa is touring the village singing to carehone residents to celebrate what would have been a great day. You can see her live now. https://www.facebook.com/WoodhallSpa40sFestival/videos/763503274457975/

A reminder of Woodhall Spa this time last year

This weekend would have seen us display at Woodhall Spa 1940s festival for the second time, but again sadly it’s been another of 2020’s lost events. We’re looking forward to next year though, at least there’s more time to make new display props!

There are several posts out there covering today’s 80th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain. We’ve chosen this one to share from RAFC Cranwell as it acknowledges the wider contribution made in the Battle, and links to the virtual event on 12th July.

From time to time we do film work too. On Sunday we helped with some ‘atmosphere’ scenes for a new Dambusters documentary. This made a nice change from such a long time in lockdown. We should point out that strict hygiene measures were in place and social distancing was done as far as possible! Our thanks goes to The Old Time Design Company, Silksheen Photography and Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.

Here’s an important anniversary!

It’s fair to say we’re a group that likes to give new life and purpose to tatty original objects. Moving on from the bench, fitter‘s, portable the RAF generator rebuild is ongoing (more on that another time!) but we had the chance to save another unloved piece of kit in this barrow. It’s a really useful piece of ground crew equipment for our displays, or at least will be when the rotten wood is renewed and it’s had some general TLC. The sunny weekend was an opportunity to start stripping it down. It might take a while but hopefully it’ll be at a couple of events next year.

This evening we’d have been having a good social after getting set up to display at the RAF Cosford Air Show tomorrow. Unfortunately it’s another event that isn’t going ahead for safety because of the current situation. So, because we can’t get new photos of this year’s display we thought we’d look back on our previous displays at RAF Cosford. As for this year, well we weren’t going to break tradition and not choose a notable anniversary! 1945 had several to choose from but perhaps if the theme remains Victory related next year we’ll still get to field it

By the dawn of 6 June, D-Day, the RAF had already had a long day. Bomber Command had sent over a thousand heavy bombers to pound beach defences and coastal gun ...batteries in Normandy with over 5,000 tons of bombs. All six of the long-range radar stations were taken out, leaving the Germans blind to what was coming. After blinding the German forces, the RAF fed them wrong information. For this we need to have a look at No. 617 Squadron. The 1943 Dambuster Raid the RAF Museum London has recently launched the excellent Dambusters Virtual Reality Experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iC-WypS7Qo was carried out by this famous Squadron. They were now tasked to dropped bundles of ‘Window’, large quantities of thin aluminium strips. These gave German radar false signals and convinced them that another fleet was creeping toward Calais. The main American heavy bomber, the Boeing Fortress was also in service with the RAF. For D-Day, some were equipped with devices such as the ‘Airborne Cigar’. This consisted of powerful receivers and transmitters, jamming German radio frequencies. Now, the German forces were not only blind, but also deaf. It may be expected that the RAF’s contribution was limited to the air, but this would mean omitting the contribution of the hundreds of RAF personnel at sea and on the beaches. Naval vessels were equipped with radar, operated by RAF personnel, directing Allied aircraft and protecting the troops on the beaches from the air. While the beaches were being stormed by the Army soldiers dressed in khaki, some men wearing the distinctive blue battledress. They belonged to the RAF Beach Squadrons, directing the RAF aircraft from the ground to the front line. The forward air controllers acted as a liaison between the troops and the patrolling aircraft, directing the latter toward the target. They even landed on Omaha beach with the Americans, directing RAF night fighters in defence of the beach heads. One aircraft closely associated with the invasion in Normandy is the Hawker Typhoon. Originally contemplated as a successor to the Supermarine Spitfire, its thick wings rendered it inferior as a fighter aircraft. However, its rugged construction, powerful engine and heavy armament of four 20 mm cannons, bombs and rockets made it excellent for low-level attacks. Before, during and after D-Day bombed, rocketed and strafed anything that moved and that could be deemed hostile. The successor to the Typhoon was the Tempest Mk V, of which one is on display at the RAF Museum in London. Its thin wings made it an excellent all-round combat aircraft. However, on D-Day, only two Tempest squadrons were operational. The Supermarine Spitfire, of which the RAF Museum has five versions on display, was the main RAF fighter aircraft. It did what the Typhoon did, but it excelled as a fighter aircraft. While the armada of ships sailed toward the beaches, Spitfires were patrolling over the fleet, keeping a look out for any German aircraft, or escorting bombers to their targets. Others were spotting for Royal Navy guns, making sure the shells landed on target. Once the troops were on shore, they were supported by Spitfires, Typhoons and other powerful combat aircraft. However, not all aircraft fit that description. The tiny, unarmed and unarmoured Taylorcraft Auster was an Air Observation Post aircraft, directing artillery fire with devastating accuracy. Able to take off and land from short runways, it would also land and evacuate wounded soldiers. The Austers were flown by Army pilots, serving in RAF squadrons. So where was the Luftwaffe, the German counterpart to the RAF? The incessant attacks on airfields and the deception missions had left it in absolute disarray. While the RAF conducted a total of 5,656 sorties, the Luftwaffe struggled to get 319 aircraft in the air that day. Only two Fw 190 fighter aircraft appeared over the beaches that day, led by German ace Joseph Priller. He was convinced it was a one-way mission, but against all odds, he survived and finished the war with 100 victories. The RAF Museum has two rare Fw 190s on displays. The air plan for D-Day was the most complex ever devised, involving thousands of aircraft, each with their own task, route and time schedule. Not only did the RAF need to coordinate with the Americans, the RAF itself was an amalgamation of different nationalities, from the Commonwealth, but also from several countries which had been subjugated through Nazi invasion. Several ‘national’ RAF squadrons were raised and participated on D-Day: Dutch squadrons flying Mitchells, Polish Mosquitoes, Belgian Spitfires or Norwegian Sunderlands. The RAF had trained them to the highest standard and, united, they achieved victory on D-Day.