Facts, Feats and Records 1934 to 1977 1934 8-9 August: First non-stop flight from Canada to Britain by J.R. Ayling and L.G. Reid, from Wasaga Beach, Ontario to Heston. 20 October: Start of the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia. 22 October-4 November: First flight from Australia to the United States. 8 December: Inauguration…
The inspiration for the bouncing bomb, which some say is more legend than truth, came on the backyard patio at the Wallises’ Effingham home in the spring of 1942. Easter vacations brought the entire Wallis family together – Barnes and Molly and their four children, as well as their two adopted nephews. The gathering sparked…
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress (USA) Frustrated in their efforts to acquire a fleet of strategic bombers for service with the Army Air Corps, US Army planners – who were devotees of the theories expounded by Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell – inserted the thin end of an important wedge when they ordered…
When Prime Minister Chamberlain’s ultimatum to Germany expired on 3 September 1939, World War II found the home-based Royal Air Force established with a strength of: 55 Bomber Squadrons with Bristol Blenheim IVs Vickers Wellington Is and IAs Armstrong Whitworth Whitley IIIs and IVs Handley Page Hampdens 35 fighter squadrons with Hawker Hurricanes Supermarine…
Baron Cheshire VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC ; 7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992, was a highly decorated World War II Royal Air Force pilot and philanthropist. Early Life Leonard Cheshire was the son of Geoffrey Chevalier Cheshire, a barrister, academic and influential writer on English law. He had one brother, Christopher Cheshire, also a wartime pilot. Cheshire was born in Chester, but was…
Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently publicised as the “Dam Busters”, using a purpose-built “bouncing bomb” developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the…
Note: date/month 1903 17/12: Orville and Wilbur Wright changed the course of history by completing the first sustained powered flight. 1935 28/7: First flight of Boeing Model 299 – prototype of B 17 “Flying Fortress”. 6/11: First flight of the Hawker “Hurricane” fighter prototype. First fighter monoplane to join the Royal Air Force—also first RAF…
Farther, faster, higher For German women, it was not easy to even attempt record flights during the years between the Wars. Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, Germany was prohibited from having aircraft that might conceivably be employed for military purposes. Fliers were generally restricted to gliders or small sport planes, and they were…
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined 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…
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