Header image: A Handley Page Hampden of 106 Sqn at RAF Coningsby in 1941.
Eighty years ago, RAF Coningsby, the current home of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), sent out the first aircraft to fly from the new airfield on operations.
Header image: Spitfire prototype K5054 at Eastleigh in the unpainted state in which it flew for the first time in March 1936.
Eighty-five years ago this month a momentous event took place with the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire prototype, K5054, from the company’s airfield at Eastleigh, Southampton. At the time, those present could not have realised the full significance, or that thousands of Spitfires would subsequently play a vital part in world history over the coming decade.
Header image: A Vickers Wellington crew boarding their aircraft for an operation.
Eighty years ago, in February 1941, Britain was suffering from constant bombing by German aircraft, night after night, during the ‘Blitz’, which had begun during the latter stages of the Battle of Britain in 1940 and continued until May 1941. Whilst the Germans bombers rained death and destruction on Britain, RAF Bomber Command retaliated and hit back at targets in Germany and occupied Europe with increasing ferocity.
