RAF WW2 Fighters

132 Pages·59.166 MB·English

by  Chris Sandham-Bailey

£7.99
001 COVER.indd 1 10/10/2017 10:04:52
002 advert RAFWW2_OCT.indd 2 04/10/2017 15:24:21
BY SQUADRON LEADER
CLIVE ROWLEY MBE
RAF RETD, FORMER
OFFICER COMMANDING
THE RAF BATTLE OF BRITAIN
MEMORIAL FLIGHT almost1550ofthosebeing
obsoleetebiplanes.
Atthheendofthewarin
T heSecondWorldWarwitnessedd 11945theRAFhadover
atitanicstruggleforcontrol 9000aircraftoncharge,
oftheairinaglobalarena. ofwhichalmoooosthalfweerefightertypes.Thesefighter
Intheend,Alliedairpower aircraftwereuuuusedinnmanyvariedrolesadditionaltothe
provedtobedecisive.Itbroughtthe air-to-air/airdefeeeenccee/airsuperiorityfunctionsthatmost
economywhichsustainedtheenemy’s ppeeoopplleeeexxppeecctt.TTTTTTThheywerealsousedforground-attack,
wareffortstovirtualcollapse,itdeniedtheenemy closeairsupport,fighterreconnaissanceandmanyother
freedomofmovement,itprovideddirectairsupport specialistanddisparatetasks.
totroopsonthegroundandithelpedtoturnthetide NotonlydidtheSecondWorldWarcreateanaircraft
oovveerrwwhheellmmiinngglyinthefavouroftheAlliedground industrythatcouldturnoutthousandsuponthousands
forcesinallthevvarioustheatresofthewar. ofaircraft,italsoactedasacatalystfortechnological
TheRoyalAirForrccefoughtineverymajortheatreofthe leapsinaircraftdesignandperformancewhichre-cast
war,fromEuropetothheeFarEast,andcontributedhugely thenatureofairwarfare.Theimprovementsinaircraft
tothefinalvictory.TheRRAAFfightsentirelywithmachines. capabilitiesandperformance,notleastwiththefighter
FortheRAF,itsaircraftandtthhetechnologythatsupports aircraftofthetime,advancedataratewhichisdifficult
itsoperationswere,andare,attiitscore.WhenBritain tocomprehendtodayandwhichhasneverbeen
declaredwaragainstGeerrmanyonSeptember3, matchedsince.AlthoughfinalvictoryintheSecond
199339,theRAFfielded WorldWarcouldneverhavebeenachievedwithoutthe
apppproximately1000 humanelement–themenandwomenwhodesigned
figghhteraircraft, andbuilttheaircraft,andthenmaintained,repaired
with andflewthem–theaircraftthemselveswerevital.
Inthisbookazine,renownedaviationartistChris
Sandham-BaileyprofilesmanyofthoseRAFfighter
aircraft,fromvarioustheatresofthewar,whichwere
thecutting-edgehardwareoftheday.Chris’sbeautiful,
detailedartworkismuchindemandforaviation
mmagazines,notleastthosepublishedbytheBattleof
BriittainMemorialFlight.Hismeticulousresearchand
attenttiontodetailleadtoaircraftprofilesofincredible
accuracyyandauthenticity,asthispublicationbearsout.
Duringthhe11yearsinwhichIwasprivilegedtoflythe
historicfighterrssoftheRAFBattleofBritainMemorial
FlightIwasablettooexperiencewhatitisliketofly
HurricanesandSpitffiiresofSecondWorldWarvintage,
someofthemwithamaazingwartimepedigrees.Surely
everypilot’sandenthhusiast’sdream!Iwasableto
revelinthedelightfulhandlingoftheSpitfiresandthe
ruggedtoughnessofthheHurricanes,andIwasallowedto
glimpsewhatitwaslikeeforthosewhodidthis‘forreal’in
farmoredangerouscirccumstancesthanIfaced.Iamleft
withanindelibleimpresssionofthebrillianceoftheaircraft
designs,apassionforthheaircraftthemselvesandmostof
alladeeprespectforthhosewhooperatedandflewthem.
ColourimagesofwaartimeRAFaircraftarerare.Ihope
thatyouwillenjoyseeingtheminfullcolourinChris’s
profilesandthat,aasyourevelinthedetails,youwill
rememberthossewhousedthesemachinesofwar
todefeennddoouuuurrffrreeeeddoomm,mmaannyyooffwwhhoommppaaiiddtthhee
ultimmateprice.
RAFWWIIFIGHTERS3
003INTRODUCTION.indd 3 09/10/2017 17:59:44
CONTENTS
6 GLOSTER
GLADIATOR
12 BRISTOL
BLENHEIM
18 HAWKER
HURRICANE
30 SUPERMARINE
SPITFIRE MERLIN
42 SUPERMARINE
SPITFIRE
GRIFFON
50 BOULTON PAUL
DEFIANT
Words and illustrations: Marketing manager: Introduction: The Second World War saw a vast number of new types enter service with the
CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY CHARLOTTE PARK Royal Air Force and in the space of five years the RAF moved from front line fighter biplanes to
jet fighters, however it is only the piston powered aircraft that are covered here. It has not been
Design: Commercial director:
GARETH WILLIAMS NIGEL HOLE possible to cover in detail any of the aircraft featured; books covering the Spitfire alone run into
the thousands and the number of squadrons using some of the types was vast. Where possible,
Publishing director: Published by: RAF squadrons are represented but some other Commonwealth squadrons which operated under
DAN SAVAGE MORTONS MEDIA the RAF have been included. Instead of covering any topic in detail this publication is intended to
Publisher: GROUP LTD, provide a broad overview of each type giving a brief history and a range of variants and markings.
STEVE O’HARA MEDIA CENTRE,
MORTON WAY, Thanks: James Bentley, Ronnie Olsthoorn, Marc Teclenborg, John Smith, Barry Wallond,
RJeOpNroAgrTaHphAicNs: SCHOFIELD HORNCASTLE, The People’s Mosquito, Clive Rowley and the BBMF, Dan Sharp and Heather.
LINCOLNSHIRE
& PAUL FINCHAM Printed by: William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton
LN9 6JR.
Production editor: © 2017 Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
DAN SHARP Tel. [phone] transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
4 RAF WWII FIGHTERS
58 BELL
AIRACOBRA
64 WESTLAND
WHIRLWIND
72 CURTISS
TOMAHAWK
80 CURTISS
KITTYHAWK
88 BRISTOL
98 HAWKER
BEAUFIGHTER
TYPHOON
108 NORTH AMERICAN
MUSTANG
50 BOULTON PAUL
DEFIANT
124 HAWKER
TEMPEST
116 DE HAVILLAND
MOSQUITO
130 COLOUR
CHART
RAF WWII FIGHTERS 5
GGGLLLOOOSSSTTTEEEEERRRRRRR
GLADIAATTOR
WhentheGladiatorwasfirstconnceiveditwasatthecutting
edgeofaviation,althoughtheppotentialofmonoplanes
wasalreadybecomingapparentandthesewouldvery
quicklymaketheGladiatorobsoolete.
T heGladiatorenteredserviceduringa
periodofairpageanttswhentightprecise
formationflyingwasahighlyrespected
skill(onoccasionsmuultipleaircraftwere
tiedtogetherforthedurationofthe
display)butsuchwasstheneed
foraircraftwhenwarcamethatitwassforced
tocompeteagainstadvancedmonopplanes
untilsuitablereplacementscouldbe
producedanddeliveredtounits.
Thebiplanewaspressedintoservice
intheMiddleEastandMediterraneann
forthefirsttwoyearsofthewar,
thethreeSeaGladiatorsofMalta
becominglegendsintheirowntime
whendefendingtheisland.
Duringtheinterwaryearsthe expressed
GlosterAircraftCompanyhad aninterest,
continuedtosupplytheRAFwitha howeverGloster
rangeofbiplanessuchastheGamecock, wasnotinitially
GoshawkandGauntlet.Themainadvantage amongthemdue
thesehadoverearlierfighterswastheirmetal toGauntletproduction
structure,aconceptthatthecompany’schiefdesigner takingupmuchofthe
HenryFollandhadbeenkeentopromote.Theopen company’sresources.Revisions
cockpitfightersperformedwellbuttherewasaconstant totheGauntletdesignbyFolland
needforfasteraircraftthatcouldinterceptfastbombers, ledtoanaircraftthatcouldbeasuitable
promptingtheAirMinistrytoissueSpecificationF7/30in1930. contenderforF7/30.TheBristolMercury
Thiscalledforafighterwithamaximumspeedof250mphat enginewasretainedbutthewingswererefinedto
15,000ft,alandingspeedof50mphandfittedwithfourguns. strengthenthem,theundercarriagewasalteredsoitnolonger
SeveralcompaniesincludingBristol,HawkerandSupermarine requiredsupportingstrutsorwirebracing,alargecoolerwasalso
6RAFWWIIFIGHTERS
006-011GLADIATOR.indd 6 10/10/2017 08:45:11
roleandfittedwiththeMercuryIVit thecontinent,theAirMinistrybecame
firstflewonSeptember12,1934,with moreclearlyawareofthepressing
F/LtSayerincontrol.Upgradingto needtorearmtheRAFandplacedan
theMercuryVIproducedatopspeed initialorderfor23examplesinJuly,
of242mph,stillshortoftherequired followedbyanotherorderfor120in
250mphbutitwasadequate.The Septembertoequip14squadrons,with
followingApriltheprototype deliveriescommencingin1936.
receivedtheserialK5200 72SquadronbasedatRAFTangmere
andwassenttoA&AEE wasthefirsttoreceivetheGladiator
forevaluation. inFebruary1937havingjustbeen
Follandcontinued re-formed.Itisinterestingtonote
workonthedesign thatbythetimeitenteredservice
andintroduced thebiplanewasalreadyobsolete,the
aslidingclosed- Hurricanehavingflowninlate1935and
canopycockpit. theSpitfireinMay1936.Thesewere
TheMercury stillalongwayfromfrontlineservice
wasyetagain thoughsotheGladiatorwouldfillthe
upgradedto roleuntil
theIXandon then.
July1theS.S.37
officiallybecame
theGladiator.As
eventscontinuedto
movetowardswaron
GLOSTER
GLADIATOR
MK.II N5682 HP-K
247 SQUADRON
247Sqn,basedatRAFRoborough,wastheonlyunit
tooperatetheGladiatorduringtheBattleofBritain.
FlownbySqnLdrPeterO’Brien.Thesquadronreplaced
fitted
itsGladiatorswithHurricanesinDecember1940.
tothe
outsideof
thestarboard
fuselage.The
Gauntlethadtwo
gunsfittedinthe Afewweeksafter72Squadron,
fuselagesothetwoextra 3Squadrontookdeliveryoftheir
gunsweremountedinpods firstthreeGladiators,followedby
fittedunderthelowerwings. 80Squadronwhowouldcontinueto
Despitebeingalatecontenderit operatetheGladiatoruntilMarch1941,
wasatimelyentryasnoneoftheother amovetotheMiddleEastshortlyafter
entrieswereabletomeettherequirements; receivingtheGladiatorsbeingamajor
theWestlandF7/30onlymanaged factorintheircontinueduse.Deliveries
atopspeedof146mphandboth continuedduringthenexttwoyearsand
HawkerandSupermarinehad eightsquadronswereeventuallyequipped
begunfocusingontheirnew withGladiators,withsomeaircraftbeingsent
advancedmonoplanedesigns. ontoothersquadrons.Atotalof38RAFsquadrons
Thelattertwowouldnotbe eventuallyusedtheaircraft,thisdoesnotincludethe
readyuntil1937attheearliest 23FleetAirArmsquadronsortheMetandtraining
andaninterimsolutionwas flightswhichalsousedGladiatorsinavarietyofroles.
stillrequired. AsthenumberofGladiatorsquadronsincreased
TheGlosterS.S.37was itwasbecomingclearthattheaircraftcouldstill
chosentofillthisstopgap beimproved.Ayetmorepowerfulversionofthe
RAFWWIIFIGHTERS7
006-011GLADIATOR.indd 7 10/10/2017 08:45:45
GLADIATOR
Mercurywasavailable–theVIIIA shouldFrancefall,buttheGladiators patrolonJune7.Thenextdaythe
–whichwasthefirsttohavea wereconsideredexpendableso607 carrierandherescortsweresunkbyy
G manualboostoptionandprovided and615SquadronsjoinedtheBEF theScharnhorstandGneisenau.
R TN anewtopspeedof257mph.The atMervilleonNovember15,1939. IntheMayof1940thetwosquadrrons
AN PI instrumentationinthecockpitwas DuringthePhoneyWartheysawlittle basedinFrancewereinvolvedin
WODER upgradedandtheVokesfilterwas actionalthoughUK-basedsquadrons heavyactionduringtheBlitzkriegand
CU
ONEYEACTI-BASENTERAFTDER abhKwd7oloa9dtodt2eede2drdewcntmoliiWtmethhtaaabottlteossFesta.phoiTrrtproehieapyerl-esaRtltwlbeeineyorgdA-abnip&nldarAotdEthpheEeedruellesei-rng dtbShqiodeuTthoiawndefitunrenortrgtenchaerw,egp2riatn6ssL3gtsrueaetfhtnntcwedthtae1orfne5fNees2omoaSuriqyrwrc.cuareaaysdf,itr2nod6nu3sring wi6bdn0erietc7shaotSrdkmoqfryaaubeswaatdd.taSroblooonunmfttBchaerleasiGtiigizmslaarhoedbfudiloaentsrnocdeeurvwssem.whnObeebnenrereMVfwolioatreryserytee11-0,
HTLUKDIRNT wereundertaken,onceinservicethe responsetotheGermaninvasionon En-Artoiswasbombed.Thesurvivorss
PT ICI three-bladedpropwasprimarilyused April18,1940.FlyingfromFiltonto werethendestroyedbytheBritish
HDRW ontheMk.IIbutduringservicethey ScapaFlow,theywerebasedonHMS themselvestostopthemfallinginto
EI
HLGSAI wereinterchangeable. Gloriouswhichdepartedtwodayslater. thehandsoftheenemy.
TWUN E Withtheoutbreakofhostilities,the Uponarrivaltheyoperatedfroma OnlyoneGladiatorsquadron
EH BritishExpeditionaryForcewassentto frozenlakeandwerelaterjoinedby18 participatedintheBattleofBritainn:
GAOOFT bolsterFrenchdefencesandAirChief moreMk.IIstomakeupforthelosses 247Squadronwasre-formedon
NSHRF MarshallHughDowdingwasreluctant sustained.Duringtheretreat10ofthe August1,1940,atRoborough,Devvon,
RIYLTADWA toriskanyofthenewSpitfires, pilotslandedtheirGladiatorsalong withthepurposeofprovidingfighhter
E ffoorreesseeeeiinnggaanneeeeddttookkeeeepptthheemmiinn wwiitthhtthheeHHuurrrriiccaanneessooff4466SSqquuaaddrroonn ccoovveerrffoorrtthheeNNaavvaallppoorrttssooffPPllyymmoouutthh
UHAUT reserveforthedefenceofBritain backonHMSGloriousfollowingafinal andFalmouth.Withmostofthe
DT QF
SU
L
GLOSTER
GLADIATOR
MK.IK691480
SQUADRON
Likemanysquadronsin
theMiddleEast,80Sqn
wasforcedtouseolder
aircraftwhilethelatest
fighterswerededicated GLOSTER GLADIATOR MK.I
todefendingtheUK.
K7974RT-O112 SQUADRON
Thesquadrondidnot
receiveHurricanesuntil
February1941.Before K7974previouslyservedwith87Sqnbutphotosshow
thewarthemajority italsohada601Sqnswordonthetail.Itwasdelivered
ofRAFfighterswere to112SqninEgypt.OnAugust1,1940,P/OGreenshot
finishedinAluminium downaCaproniCa.133.K7974waswrittenoffduringa
Dope. take-offaccidentatPortSudanonDecember12,1940.
GLOSTER 263SqnusedGladiatorsduringtheGermaninvasion
GLADIATOR MK.II ofNorwayinApril1940.Tenofthesquadronpilots
N5905 HE-N 263 wereevacuatedonHMSGloriousbutwerelostwhen
thevesselwassunkshortlythereafter.Therestofthe
SQUADRON
pilotsmadeitsafelyhome.
8RAFWWWIIFIGHTERS
006-011GLADIATOR.indd 8 10/10/2017 08:46:08
VARIANT LENGTH SPAN HEIGHT ENGINE
MK.I 27FT5IN/8.36M 32FT3IN/9.83M 11FT9IN/3.58M BRISTOLMERCURYIX
MK.II 27FT5IN/8.36M 32FT3IN/9.83M 11FT9IN/3.58M BRISTOLMERCURYVIIIA
GLOSTER
GLADIATOR MK...II
POSSIBLY L9042
GermanyoperatedafewGladiators GLOSTER WearingatypicalprewaralloverAluminium
duringtheSecondWorldWarbased GLADIATOR schemewith72Sqnmarkingsonfuselageand
inEuropesoitislikelythatthis
MK.I K6130 72 upperwing.BasedatRAFTangmerethesquadron
aircraftwascapturedinNorthAfrica.
retainedsomeGladiatorsuntil1940despite
Photosareunclearonwhetherit SQUADRON
convertingtotheSpitfireinApril1939.
isHE(263Sqn),HFwhichwasallocatedto127Sqn
during1939oracodeappliedbytheLuftwaffe.
RAFmarkingsonthetailappeartobepaintedover.
GLOSTER
GLADIATOR
MK.II N2288
GO-A 94
actionfocusingonthesouth-east, 80Squadronwasrelievedby112 briefperiod6Squadronflewthe SQUADRON
theGladiatorssawlittleaction.Due SquadroninLibya,ayoungpilotfresh Gladiatorwhilewaitingfortheir
tothespeedandclimbrateofthe fromtraining,RoaldDahl,setout HurricanestoberefurbishedinLibya. Anunusualscheme
Gladiatortheyhadminimalsuccess, tojointhem.However,hecrashed TheGladiatorprovedtobea thatwasappliedin
insteadrelyingonlocallybased betweenthetwofrontlinesanddid reliableandruggedaircraftthat thefieldtoN2288,
Hurricanesquadronstomakethe notjointhesquadronuntiltheywere wastheculminationofthefighter thisincludeda
interceptions.Theunit’sconversion flyingHurricanesinGreece.Asthe biplane,aconfigurationthatonly temporaryrevision
toHurricanesonChristmasEve1940 newaircraftfilteredthroughfromthe 30yearsearlierwasanunproven oftheroundel.
WhenAdenwas
endedtheuseofbiplanefightersin factoriesinGreatBritaintheGladiators conceptbutitwasjustalittletoolate
attackedby
Britishskies. allendedupwith112Squadronbefore andwaseclipsedbythemonoplanes
Italianbombers
Themajorityoftheactionthat beingretired. whichweretodominatethewar.
onJune13,1940,
Gladiatorsquadronswereinvolvedin Thishoweverwasnotthelast Ironically,theytoowouldbemade thesquadron
wasintheMediterraneanandMiddle combatforRAFGladiators.ABritish obsoletewithinadecadebythe Gladiators
East,30and80Squadronsoperating forcewashastilydispatchedtoquash introductionofanotherGloster successfully
inEgyptfrom1938.Thefollowing arevoltinIraqbackedbypro-Axis design,theMeteor,thefirstRAFjet. repelledthem.
year,inAden,94Squadronre-formed forcesin1941.Theforceincluded Atotalof747Gladiatorswerebuilt
withamixofGladiatorMk.IsandSea 94Squadronwhohadappropriated andservedwith14nationsall
Gladiators.Havingdealtwithlocaltribal Gladiatorsthatwerethenin together.Itmayhavealreadybeen
tensions,33Squadronwasfirstinvolved storagealongwiththosealready obsoletebytheoutbreakofthewar
incombatagainstItalianFiatCR.32s attheHabbaniyabase,justwestof butaGladiatorinthehandsofa
andCaproniCa.310sonlyfourdaysafter Baghdad,therevoltfinallyending skilledpilotstillperformedwelland
ItalyjoinedthewaronJune10,1940. onMay30,1941.127Squadronwas itearnedarespectablereputation,
Duringtheencountertwoofthe involvedincombatagainstVichy ratherfittingforthelastbiplaneto
CR.32sweredestroyed.Justbefore FrenchDewoitineD.520sandfora servewiththeRAF.
RAFWWIIFIGHTERS9
006-011GLADIATOR.indd 9 10/10/2017 08:46:31
GLOSTER
GLADIATOR
10 RAF WWII FIGHTERS

006-011 GLADIATOR.indd 10 10/10/2017 08:46:36