The Japanese fighter screamed in to attack the Blenheim —but suddenly the bomber dodged aside, leaving the astounded Japanese pilot firing at thin air! At the controls of the British aircraft was Sergeant Ron Elliot, a natural pilot who was an ace whatever plane he was flying. The trouble was, he knew it. And his […]
Edward Cuthbert-Powell and Archie Perkins may have been top of the class together at RAF Flying Training School, but the pair had little else in common. While Edward was loud and brash, Archie was quiet and a bit of a loner, much to the frustration of his classmate. When both are assigned to RAF Biggin […]
Stan Newman was a natural‑born pilot. He loved flying the marvellous Hawker Hart biplanes in India before the war, and then later the Hawker Fury fighters. So it was a great day for him when he took up the latest Hawker aeroplane, the famous Hurricane. He threw it all overt he sky in a wonderful […]
He’d said he would never surrender. He even made a bet on it. And when a guy like Mike Mason says something he sticks to his word. So, although he was shot down in enemy territory, taken prisoner by the Germans, slung in jail by the Italians, he never in fact surrendered! Of course, he […]
With the stick pulled right back and the engine screaming, the plane missed the heads of the startled Germans by mere inches. For a day and a night this Fairley Swordfish had been grounded in hostile territory, all for the want of a piece of copper tubing and a soldering iron. And they still weren’t […]
The young pilot officer could hardly believe his ears. But there was no mistaking the grim seriousness on the face of the Air Commadore, no question that he meant exactly what he had said…“I want you to go over to France and kill my son.” Story: Gentry Art: Gordon C Livingstone Cover: Ian Kennedy […]
The B-29 Superfortress was the heaviest aircraft of the Second World War. It was designed for high-altitude bombing and it carried a crew of a dozen men. So what the heck was this one doing dodging around over an enemy airfield at zero feet with only a couple of blokes on board? Well, this wasn’t […]
Squadron Leader ‘Flash’ Cooper was an excellent pilot, but he had one big failing — he was a glory hunter, and glory for him often meant danger for other pilots. So Flash made many enemies, and when he finally met a sticky end, the only question was… which one bumped him off? Story: RA […]
Historians mark the Dodecanese campaign as one of the last major German victories of World War Two. What the history books fail to mention is that Allied and German forces were not the only aggressors active in that region in September 1943. For something far older and deadlier than the Luftwaffe stalked the skies above […]
It was dead unlucky, that Stirling bomber. Flying low it would catch most of the flak, flying high it was certain to be pounced on by enemy fighters. Every time the crew set off on another mission they wondered if it was going to be their last. Even its number, five-three-five, added up to thirteen… […]
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