'Never Was So Much Owed By So Many To So Few'

For further information please select an aircraft from one of the following:

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane was the first operational R.A.F. aircraft capable of a top speed in excess of 300 m.p.h. The design of the Hurricane, directed by Sydney Camm, was the outcome of discussions with the Directorate of Technical Development towards the end of 1933, aimed at breaking the deadlocked biplane formula. In these discussions Camm proposed a monoplane, based otherwise on his Fury biplane, using the proposed new Rolls-Royce P.V.12 engine (later to become the Merlin), and in time incorporating a retractable undercarriage. Originally, in concert with current armament requirements, a four-gun battery was proposed; but in 1934, with successful negotiations to licence-build the reliable Colt machine gun, it was deemed possible to mount an eight-gun battery in the wings, unrestricted by the propeller arc and thus dispensing with synchronising gear.

A total of 1,715 Hurricanes flew with Fighter Command during the period of the Battle, far in excess of all other British fighters combined. Having entered service a year before the Spitfire, the Hurricane was "half-a-generation" older, and was markedly inferior in terms of speed and climb. However, the Hurricane was a robust, manoeuvrable aircraft capable of sustaining fearsome combat damage before write-off; and unlike the Spitfire, it was a wholly operational, go-anywhere do-anything fighter by July 1940. It is estimated that its pilots were credited with four-fifths of all enemy aircraft destroyed in the period July-October 1940.

Supermarine Spitfire

The ancestry of the Spitfire can be traced back to the failed Supermarine Type 224, designed to meet the Air Ministry specification F.7/30 by Reginald J. Mitchell, creator of the magnificent Supermarine seaplanes which won three successive Schneider Trophy contests. The Type 224 was a gull-winged monoplane with a fixed "trousered" undercarriage, powered by a 600-h.p. Rolls-Royce engine, and Mitchell was dissatisfied with it even before it flew. He began to design a new aircraft as a private venture; the conception was revised twice, to incorporate the new P.V.12 (Merlin) engine and an eight-gun battery and the final design was accepted by the Air Ministry in January 1935, the new specification F.37/34 being "written around it" for contract purposes. The prototype first flew on 5th March 1936.

The Spitfire has always attracted more attention than the Hurricane, and is undoubtedly one of the most famous aircraft ever built. Its graceful lines combined with outstanding handling qualities to produce a "dream plane" extremely fast, and in comparison to contemporary types was second to none.

Boulton Paul Defiant

The long period which passed between the first conception of the Defiant turret fighter and its operational acceptance impaired its usefulness. The delays in production, which resulted in only three aircraft being delivered before the outbreak of war, meant that it could not be used in 1940 in its originally planned role-that of standing defensive patrols and was forced into action as an interceptor alongside the Spitfire and Hurricane.

Bristol Blenheim

The Bristol Type 135 cabin monoplane, designed by Frank Barnwell in 1933, attracted the attention of the Press baron Lord Rothermere, who in 1934 ordered a Mercury-engined version for his own use as part of a campaign to popularise commercial aviation. The aircraft first flew in April 1935 and soon caused great interest in Air Ministry circles on account of its high performance its top speed of 307 m p h being higher than that of any R.A.F fighter in service. Lord Rothermere generously presented the aircraft (named "Britain First") to the nation for evaluation as a bomber and in early 1936 the modified design was designated Blenheim Mk.I. As a day fighter the Blenheim IF was a failure, proving to be fairly easy meat for single-engine interceptors, and casualties were high. Like the Defiant, it served as a useful night fighter where its roomy fuselage and comparatively high loiter capability could be utilised to the full in this role.

Gloster Gladiator

Numerically the least important day fighter in RAF service during the Battle, the Gladiator was by 1940 an anachronistic survival from an earlier generation of fighter aircraft. The Gladiator filled a gap in defence requirements between the older biplanes and the new, modern monoplanes under development The prototype made its maiden flight in September 1934, and, folllowing a RAF trial programme in 1935, an initial contract for 23 aircraft issued. A further batch of 180 was ordered in September of the same year. Production aircraft had enclosed cockpits and mounted four Browning guns.

Bristol Beaufighter

Developed as a private venture by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the Beaufighter was a two-seat all-metal fighter using components from the Beaufort torpedo-bomber. First flown on July 17 1939, the Beaufighter eventually equipped 52 RAF squadrons, giving outstanding service during World War II, in particular as a night-fighter and torpedo-bomber (where the aircraft were affectionally known as 'Torbeaus').

Messerschmitt 109

Designed by Willy Messerschmitt during 1934, and originally powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel V engine, the Me109 won a fighter competition in October 1935. During the process of progressive development in the pre-war years the aircraft appeared in successively more powerful and heavier armed versions; and the Me109B and C models achieved great success in Spain with the Legion Condor's fighter unit. Many of the Lufwaffe's most successful wartime fighter pilots received their operational blooding in Spain on the early 109 models. By August 1940 twenty-three Gruppen were in action on the Channel front mainly equipped with the improved Me109E-3 which mounted two machine guns in the nose, and two in the wings. Provision for a cannon firing through the spinner was also made in the design, but due to heating and vibration problems, this was never used in action.

Messerschmitt 110 'Zerstorer'

The Me110 Zerstörer ("Destroyer") was the result of a contract placed in late 1934 which called for an aircraft capable of both offensive and defensive roles. As a long-range fighter, it was to cut a path for the bombers through the defending aircraft; as a defensive aircraft it was to deny enemy bombers access to friendly airspace. In its first role it failed miserably, although it was used with greater success as a night fighter later in the war.

Junkers 87 'Stuka'

The design originated in 1935 and its nickname 'Stuka' (derived from 'Sturzkampfflugzeug' - dive-bomber) became synonymous with the great successes of the German Blitzkrieg. The Junkers design won a dive-bomber competition in 1936 and the first operational aircraft joined the Luftwaffe a year later. They proved extremely successful in the Spanish Civil War as pin-point bombers. More success followed in the invasion of Poland where the aircraft's unique, angular appearance and dramatic tactics had a profound effect on even the most seasoned of troops. They would drop into a near-vertical dive over roads, railways, strongpoints and troop concentrations, doing as much damage to morale as material.

Junkers 88

The Junkers Ju88 first flew in December 1936 and was designed in response to a Luftwaffe requirement for a fast bomber. It entered service during 1939, and a number of these aircraft carried out an attack against the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal in September 1939. The Ju88 was employed by no less than 5 Gruppen during the Battle of Britain as well as elements of several other German units. One of the most versatile and long-lived of German designs, the Ju88 saw service as a dive-bomber, orthodox bomber, torpedo bomber, mine layer, day and night fighter, reconnaissance aircraft, close-support aircraft, and, ultimately, flying bomb. The aircraft was flown by several of the Luftwaffe's most famous bomber pilots during the Battle of Britain, including Hajo Herrman and Werner Baumbach.

Heinkel 111

Designed (supposedly) as a fast mail and passenger aircraft for Lufthansa, the He111 prototype nevertheless had provision for three gun positions and a 2,200lb (1,000kg)-bomb load. Early versions featured a conventional 'stepped' cockpit and nose section and were used during the Spanish Civil War with great success where their relatively high speed and good defensive armament was more than a match for Republican fighters.

Dornier

The Do17 is the least known of the trio of German twin-engined bombers used during the Battle of Britain. The He111 was numerically the superior, the Ju88 and Do17 were about equal in numbers. The Ju88 was a far more adaptable and high performance machine, which is why the Do17 had largely been withdrawn from front-line service by 1942. Another aircraft that was originally conceived as a passenger aircraft, the prototype made its first flight in the autumn of 1934. The slim fuselage was unsuitable for passenger carrying and the aircraft were mothballed. The following year, the type was prepared for a new role as a fast bomber, and by 1937 new versions of the Do17 were entering service with the Luftwaffe as bombers and reconnaissance-bombers.

For further information please visit The Battle of Britain History site www.raf.mod.uk/bob1940/bobhome.html

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