Airshow - Chinook from RAF

the same kind of situation - make a world beater , then ruin it

The requirements were made official in March 1957 with GOR (General Operational Requirement) 339. This specification was exceptionally ambitious   more...for the technology of the day, requiring a supersonic all-weather aircraft that could deliver nuclear weapons over a long range, operate at high level at Mach 2+ or low level at Mach 1.2, with a short takeoff ability from rough and ready airstrips.

Specifically the requirement included:

* deliver tactical nuclear weapons at low level in all weathers.
* photo-reconnaissance at medium and low levels day and night
* electronic reconnaissance
* deliver tactical nuclear weapons day and night at medium altitudes blind bombing if necessary
* deliver conventional bombs and rockets

Low level was stated to be under 1,000 ft (300 m) with an expected attack speed at sea-level of Mach 0.95. The operational range was to be 1,000 nautical miles (1,850 km) operating off runways of no more than 3,000 ft (900 m)
Work on GOR 339 continued, with a deadline for submissions on 31 January 1958. A large number of proposals were entered; EE's P.17A along with designs from Avro, Hawker and Vickers-Armstrong (through their Supermarine division). Short Brothers also sent in the P.17D, a flying platform that was to be used in concert with the P.17A, lifting it into the air so that the P.17 did not have to have VTOL performance on its own. The Air Ministry eventually selected the EE P.17A and the Supermarine 571 for further development. The Ministry was particularly impressed with the Vickers submission, which included not only the aircraft design, but a "total systems concept" which outlined all the support facilities and logistics needed to support the aircraft in the field.

GOR 339 was revealed to the public in December 1958 in a statement to the House of Commons. Under pressure by the recommendations of the Committee on Estimates, the Air Ministry examined ways that the various project proposals could be combined, and in January 1959 the Minister of Supply announced that the TSR-2 would be built by Vickers-Armstrong working with English Electric; the initials coming from "Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance 2"
The envisioned "standard mission" for the TSR-2 was to carry a 2,000 lb (900 kg) weapon internally for a combat radius of 1,000 nautical miles (nm) (1,850 km). Of that mission 100 nm (185 km) was to be flown at higher altitudes at Mach 1.7 and the 200 nm (370 km) into and out of the target area was to be flown as low as 200 feet (60 m) at Mach 0.95. The rest of the mission was to be flown at Mach 0.92. If the entire mission were to be flown at the low 200-ft altitude, the mission radius was reduced to 700 nm (1,300 km). Heavier weapons loads could be carried with further reductions in range.

Extensions to the TSR-2's range were planned to be made by fitting external tanks — one 450-Imperial gallon (2,000 L) tank under each wing or one 1,000 Imperial gallon (4,500 L) tank carried centrally below the fuselage. If no internal weapons were carried, a further 570 Imperial gallons (2,600 L) could be carried in a tank in the weapons bay.

It was also planned to be able to equip the TSR-2 with a reconnaissance pack in the weapons bay which, coupled to the aircraft's capable sideways looking radar (SLAR), would have turned the aircraft into a formidable "recon" asset not unlike the contemporary North American RA-5C of the United States Navy.
The design was a large aircraft to be powered by two Bristol-Siddeley Olympus afterburning turbojets, with a large shoulder-mounted slab-wing with down-turned tips, an all-moving swept tailplane and a large all-moving fin. The engines were a variant of those used in the Avro Vulcan, and would later be developed further for Concorde. It is often stated, incorrectly, that the leading designer of the TSR-2 was Vickers' Barnes Wallis, the legendary aeronautical engineer f  less

This is a strange abandoned airfield in the middle of North Cornwall.

How to Marshall with the Dancing Liney SAC Dean Tabreham guiding the best pilots in the world in planes worth tens of millions of pounds in his own inimitable style.
If you like this clip, go to www.cancerresearchuk.org   more...and donate whatever little something you can, as this is the organisation the RAF boys made the film to raise money for.  less

My first LG Cookie cellphone vid clip upload - with nowt else to do on this rainy day I filmed the TV with my new cellphone the results are not bad. With the plasma screen you don't get the irritating   more...bands scrolling up and down though you have to be careful about seeing your own reflection.  less

In lovely memory of these who have fought for your freedom and ours.
"Poles are born to be heroes." - Unknown
When Germans have heard for first time Polish conversation in air they have taken   more...it for a very funny English joke.

Polish pilots have destroyed 12% Luftwaffe planes. On every one shot down Polish plane, Poles shot down six German planes (6:1), for example British pilots had (3:1).

15th September 1940 - Witold Urbanowicz (303 Squadron) and 4 planes under his command have crashed formation of 60 heavy covered German bombers.

Fighter ( Polish ) Squadrons 302 and 303

Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, where the Polish 303 Fighter Squadron achieved the highest number of kills of any Allied squadron. From the very beginning of the war, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had welcomed foreign pilots to supplement the dwindling pool of British pilots. On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Army and Polish Air Force in the United Kingdom. The first two (of an eventual ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. Four Polish squadrons eventually took part in the Battle of Britain (300 and 301 Bomber Squadrons; 302 and 303 Fighter Squadrons), with 89 Polish pilots. Together with more than 50 Poles fighting in British squadrons, a total of 145 Polish pilots defended British skies. Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, most of them having already fought in the 1939 September Campaign in Poland and the 1940 Battle of France. Additionally, prewar Poland had set a very high standard of pilot training. The 303 Squadron, named after the Polish-American hero, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, achieved the highest number of kills (126) of all fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it only joined the combat on August 30, 1940: these 5% of pilots were responsible for a phenomenal 12% of total victories in the Battle.

The Polish Air Force also fought in 1943 in Tunisia (Polish Fighting Team, so called "Skalski's Circus") and in raids on Germany (1940-45). In the second half of 1941 and early 1942, Polish bomber squadrons were the sixth part of forces available to RAF Bomber Command (later they suffered heavy losses, with little replenishment possibilities). Polish aircrew losses serving with Bomber Command 1940-45 were 929 killed. Ultimately 8 Polish fighter squadrons were formed within the RAF and had claimed 629 Axis aircraft destroyed by May 1945. By war's end, there were 14,000 Polish airmen in 15 RAF squadrons and in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).


No. 300 "Masovia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Mazowieckiej)
No. 301 "Pomerania" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Pomorskiej)
No. 302 "City of Poznan" Polish Fighter Squadron (Poznanski)
No. 303 "Kosciuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski imienia Tadeusza Kosciuszki)
No. 304 "Silesia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Slaskiej imienia Ksiecia Józefa Poniatowskiego)
No. 305 "Greater Poland" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Wielkopolskiej imienia Marszalka Józefa Pilsudskiego)
No. 306 "City of Torun" Polish Fighter Squadron (Torunski)
No. 307 "City of Lwów" Polish Fighter Squadron (Lwowskich Puchaczy)
No. 308 "City of Kraków" Polish Fighter Squadron (Krakowski)
No. 309 "Czerwien" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Ziemi Czerwienskiej)
No. 315 "City of Deblin" Polish Fighter Squadron (Deblinski)
No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski)
No. 317 "City of Wilno" Polish Fighter Squadron (Wilenski)
No. 318 "City of Gdansk" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Gdanski)
No. 663 Polish Artillery Observation Squadron
Polish Fighting Team (Skalski's Circus)  less

V-Force Blue Steel stand-off bomb - a precursor to the cruise missile in many respects.

F8 Crusader but mostly the RAF Canberra showing up the limitations of the US Navy... the mispron of the Can-bear-ah is amusing too. As the B57 the Canberra was one of the few all-Brit planes to be ordered   more...by the USAF. It served as recce and strike in Vietnam.  less

Harrier GR7 at Biggin Hill - lands on the grass then goes through amazing airshow routine.

Avro Vulcan XH558 does fast taxi at Bruntingthorpe.

Spitfire & Hawk Arriving at Duxford

One of the most potent aerial destroyers was the Bristol Beaufighter. We see them getting ready for an anti-shipping sortie accompanied by Mosquitos. This is truly amazing footage which must have been   more...specially filmed because you can see beneath the camera plane the attacking planes loosing off rockets and shooting up the enemy ships. Brave is not the word. OK it looks fun to us but this was deadly work with little chance of surviving a mistake at such low level. What you might call the real deal '633 Squadron' IMHO.  less

Fighter ( Polish ) Squadrons 302 and 303

Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain, where the Polish 303 Fighter Squadron achieved the highest number of kills of any Allied squadron. From the very   more...beginning of the war, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had welcomed foreign pilots to supplement the dwindling pool of British pilots. On 11 June 1940, the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government to form a Polish Army and Polish Air Force in the United Kingdom. The first two (of an eventual ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. Four Polish squadrons eventually took part in the Battle of Britain (300 and 301 Bomber Squadrons; 302 and 303 Fighter Squadrons), with 89 Polish pilots. Together with more than 50 Poles fighting in British squadrons, a total of 145 Polish pilots defended British skies. Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the battle, most of them having already fought in the 1939 September Campaign in Poland and the 1940 Battle of France. Additionally, prewar Poland had set a very high standard of pilot training. The 303 Squadron, named after the Polish-American hero, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, achieved the highest number of kills (126) of all fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it only joined the combat on August 30, 1940: these 5% of pilots were responsible for a phenomenal 12% of total victories in the Battle.

The Polish Air Force also fought in 1943 in Tunisia (Polish Fighting Team, so called "Skalski's Circus") and in raids on Germany (1940-45). In the second half of 1941 and early 1942, Polish bomber squadrons were the sixth part of forces available to RAF Bomber Command (later they suffered heavy losses, with little replenishment possibilities). Polish aircrew losses serving with Bomber Command 1940-45 were 929 killed. Ultimately 8 Polish fighter squadrons were formed within the RAF and had claimed 629 Axis aircraft destroyed by May 1945. By war's end, there were 14,000 Polish airmen in 15 RAF squadrons and in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).


No. 300 "Masovia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Mazowieckiej)
No. 301 "Pomerania" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Pomorskiej)
No. 302 "City of Poznan" Polish Fighter Squadron (Poznanski)
No. 303 "Kosciuszko" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski imienia Tadeusza Kosciuszki)
No. 304 "Silesia" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Slaskiej imienia Ksiecia Józefa Poniatowskiego)
No. 305 "Greater Poland" Polish Bomber Squadron (Ziemi Wielkopolskiej imienia Marszalka Józefa Pilsudskiego)
No. 306 "City of Torun" Polish Fighter Squadron (Torunski)
No. 307 "City of Lwów" Polish Fighter Squadron (Lwowskich Puchaczy)
No. 308 "City of Kraków" Polish Fighter Squadron (Krakowski)
No. 309 "Czerwien" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Ziemi Czerwienskiej)
No. 315 "City of Deblin" Polish Fighter Squadron (Deblinski)
No. 316 "City of Warsaw" Polish Fighter Squadron (Warszawski)
No. 317 "City of Wilno" Polish Fighter Squadron (Wilenski)
No. 318 "City of Gdansk" Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron (Gdanski)
No. 663 Polish Artillery Observation Squadron
Polish Fighting Team (Skalski's Circus)  less

Rocket firing Typhoons WW2 - but that's just part of this excellent (IMHO) clip because you see other classic examples of the use of rocket projectiles in WW2 from the invasion barges to the first use   more...of SAMs, ground to air guided rockets. But IMO the most effective was the Tiffie hammering the Panzers post D Day.  less

RAF Lightnings blast off into the murk, happy daze.

Awesome clip featuring jet plane footage. Breathtaking stuff.

F-16 Falcon Aviation

The RAF Museum at Cosford houses hundreds of aircraft, but only one gets ghost hunters reaching for their notebooks. Avro Lincoln RF398 is as likely to be visited by paranormal investigators as aircraft   more...enthusiasts! After a few of the stories came to light, a BBC team moved in to find out what all the fuss was about.

Brian Redfern is one of many visitors to wonder if they'd seen a ghost in the Avro Lincoln After all, it wasn't merely the insistence of ghost hunters that suggested the aeroplane is haunted. Many staff have experienced strange goings on near and in the aircraft. In 1991, the BBC's Gwyn Richards investigated the bomber aided by paranormal investigator Ivan Spenceley. As well as listening to archived audio recordings and some of the first hand stories, the pair spent a couple of nights inside the aircraft, armed with recording equipment. They captured a number of mechanical sounds... sounds (it was claimed) that were difficult to attribute to either the building cooling down or the aircraft settling.

In trying to identify some of the strange sounds, Gwyn and Ivan took an ex Lincoln air crew to visit the infamous aircraft and introduced them to a few of the recorded noises. Phil Pritchett, Gareth Lewis and Peter Palma even claimed to be able to identify a few of the individual sounds - attributing them to actions that would be tyically carried out by a pilot and his crew in preparation for (and during) flight.

The first known incident involving the plane occurred when, in 1980, a member of the museum's staff was locking the hangar for the night. Looking back he believed that he saw someone move in the old aircraft and so he switched the lights back on. Having searched all the corners of the aircraft he turned to switch the lights off again when a "cloudy thing" appeared. Later that week a mechanic was working alone on the Lincoln. He felt around in the dark for a spanner which had just fallen, when it felt as if it was thrust into his hand.

Could it be the ghost of 'Master Pilot' Hiller who loved the aircraft and was at the controls for its last ever flight in 1963. It's said that Hiller promised to "haunt his baby". Hiller was killed near Cosford in an air crash not long after the Lincoln's last flight. More recently the secretary to the museum society was busy preparing a notice board about the Lincoln when she heard her name being called. Thinking it was one of the museum staff calling her for a cup of tea she looked toward the Lincoln, then towards the door but saw no one. To this day she will not enter the hangar alone.

The story is also told about an electrician working 15 feet above the ground when he suddenly fell. He remembers thinking "this is it" because he had already injured his spine in a similar fall from another aeroplane. But instead of hitting the concrete floor with expected force, he floated to a stop "as if", he said, "some invisible force had prevented his fall from being fatal". Very few claim to have seen the ghost, and those who have, say he is in the gun-turret at the rear, or in the navigator's seat in the cockpit.  less

ADV Tornado Fires Missile Upside Down

Harriers Take Off

A test ship get s aloft like a rocket missile - maybe from Boscombe Down. Shows the phenomenal rate of climb the Lightning used to thrill us at airshow in those golden years.

RIAT RAF Fairford 2007 » Chinook

At the time of the incident, the helicopter with three men on board was waiting to land at the St Athan RAF base near Cardiff. The sighting reportedly took place at 00:40 am (23:40 GMT) on June 8, 2008.
  more...
The helicopter crew had described the object as "flying saucer-shaped and circled by flashing lights," it added.
South Wales UK
Source:
liveleak

U.K. and USA: Reopen study of UFOs
http://nationalpressclub.blogspot.com/  less

Vulcans - the impressive Avro V-Bomber gets aloft and displays prior to a switch to some test glight footage from below as the Blue Steel stand-off missile is launched - I particularly like the way that   more...it overtakes the launch plane.
Video concludes with a nice shot of the fellow V-Bomber, the Vickers Valiant take off.  less