RAF celebrates 90 years

[dhermann1]

Prince Charles awarded Prince William his RAF wings yesterday and made a nice speech commemorating the 90th anniversary of the formation of the RAF. Here's a truly amazing interview with the sole surviving ORIGINAL MEMBER of the RAF, 111 year old Henry Allingham:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topsto...ry-allingham-on-the-raf-at-90-89520-20369232/

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Wow, great story! Thanks for the link.

It's interesting that the RAF was formed from the RFC and the RNAS to form an independent air force. If memory serves, there was a Fleet Air Arm that flew from carriers in WWII, were they part of the RAF or the Royal Navy?

 

["Doc" Devereux]

The Fleet Air Arm is part of the Royal Navy, having been formed in 1937 from those squadrons of the RAF who were deployed aboard ships.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Thanks, Doc. I guess the experiment of unifying land and naval aviation didn't work out. My uncle Denis flew the "Stringbag" (Swordfish) during WWII.

I may have a picture stashed in a box somewhere.

 

[Story]

Lots of RAF planes surfacing lately

WWII bomber surfaces after 68 years
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKivNc9F8pKza49uuC3-R0MU07SA

A British bomber that crashed in a Norwegian fjord while attacking Nazi invasion forces has been recovered after 68 years under water.

Klas Gjoelmesli, leader of the volunteer project, said the Blackburn Skua will be the only complete example of the dive-bomber in the world after it is restored.

http://freespace.virgin.net/john.dell/blackburn_skua.htm

A Prize in the Woods
Aviation historian brings swordfish back to life
by Carla Allen/The Vanguard
Article online since March 26th 2008, 9:52

In 1944 a Fairey swordfish crashed in Digby County as a result of a faulty fuel valve switch.
For more than 50 years it has lain deep in the woods, scattered in rusting pieces, slowly covered with deep mossy growth.
The Fairey swordfish wreckage is buried treasure to war historian Gary Gaudet. The plane crashed in Digby County in January 1944 and was one of many flown out of Yarmouth airport.
http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-196423-A-Prize-in-the-Woods.html

 

[Story]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7372670.stm

Campaigners want Sir Keith Park honoured on (Trafalgar) square's fourth plinth, currently reserved for modern art.

Sir Keith commanded RAF squadrons which defended London and the South East from Luftwaffe attacks in 1940.

 

[Smithy]

It's long overdue, 11 Group bore the brunt of the Luftwaffe air assault. As Lord Tedder, the Marshal of the RAF, said of Park, "if any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did".

He did much for celebrating NZ's involvement in the airwar and the RAF when he returned to NZ. The Spitfire XVI in Auckland's War Memorial Museum was secured by Park, and his dress uniform is on display there. My father met him after the war and played golf with him, and said he was the most impressive figure.

 

[Story]

Aviation enthusiasts in Pembrokeshire are on a high as an eagerly awaited Spitfire fuselage hasmade the journey to its new home in Haverfordwest.

Pembrokeshire Spitfire Aeroplane Company began campaigning last September to save a Spitfire from disappearing to South Africa for restoration.

A huge fundraising effort, in which £150,000 was generated to purchase Spitfire JG 668 from its Oxford owner, took campaigners one step closer to their ultimate goal of setting up an aviation museum in Haverfordwest.

The fuselage was given a warm reception at Swansea Airport on Saturday and made its tour of Pembrokeshire on Sunday.

It is now at Withbybush Airfield where it wil be stripped and lovingly restored over the next four years.

The Spitfire JG 668 is one of the last of the few iconic WWII fighters remaining and when restored to flying condition will be one of only five airworthy MKVIIIs in the world.

http://www.thisispembrokeshire.net/display.var.2266659.0.spitfire_wings_its_way_to_county.php