DIGITAL ISSUE SEVEN

INGLEADER MAGAZINE
DIGITAL ISSUE SEVEN For all those1 who still run to the window when something flies over...
 IN THIS ISSUE
TYPHOON RESTORATION NEWS
Managing Director:
Simon Parry (Co-Founder)
Editor and Design Director: THE TIFFY BOYS - PART 2
Mark Postlethwaite (Co-Founder)
Technical Director:
Wesley Cornell (Co-Founder) JET AGE PIONEERS
Contributors to this issue:
Roger Tisdale Steve Bridgewater PHOTO ARCHIVE - LIBERATOR FL927
Arvo Vercamer Andy Hay

W
Anne Gafiuk Geoff Leach
Ken Wright elcome to issue 7 of Wingleader THE GROWTH OF AN AIR FORCE
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please email us at editorial@[Link]
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2
HAWKER TYPHOON RESTORATION NEWS

DIGITAL NEWS
O
n 1 April 1945, a Hawker Typhoon
was shot down. In the wider aspect
of the Second World War, this was
not unusual as 11 failed to return on this day
alone. Typhoon RB396 of 174 (Mauritius)
Squadron, piloted by Flight Lieutenant Chris
House, was one of those aircraft. Operating
from the safety of B.100 at Goch, Germany
(later RAF Laarbruch), RB396 was hit by Flak
and force landed outside of Denekamp in
the Netherlands with Chris evading capture
to return to operations with 174 Squadron.

The battered but well preserved fuselage of Typhoon RB396.

Sadly, RB396 was not the only casualty of the disproportionate to its impact in the European four 20mm Hispano HS.404 cannons, 8 rockets
operation as the Dutch family that hid him theatre as the RAF’s ‘flying artillery’. and the capacity to carry 1000lb bombs, which
paid for the heroism with their lives after being allowed it excel in the ground support role
informed upon to the Gestapo. The Hawker Typhoon’s rushed birth meant during the liberation of Normandy. Typhoon
design faults were found and rectified under pilot and later Bond designer Ken Adam said
At a little over four months old, RB396 had combat conditions, with early engine and he always regretted taking a Jeep to view the
been repaired over eighteen times and flown the tail failures being well documented, results on the ground after the battle.
in support of major operations such as Plunder yet only the Typhoon could counter Kurt
and Varsity before being brought down, and Tank’s masterpiece, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. By the end of the war, the Typhoon was no
was left, along with thousands of other wrecks, Inefficient at altitude, the Typhoon more than longer needed and the remaining aircraft on
on the European battlefield. By April 1945 the made up for it all at low level and 609 (West the production line were test flown and then
Typhoon Mklb had been superseded by the Riding) Squadron CO Roland ‘Bea’ Beamont scrapped. Only Typhoon MN235 survived,
Flt Lt Chris House of 174 Squadron, RB396’s Hawker Tempest MkV and RB396 shared the successfully argued for the type to continue in having been sent earlier to the USA for
last pilot. fate of all but one Typhoon and sold for scrap. service. By late 1943 the main issues had been evaluation, it returned to the UK in the 1960s
The eventual fate of the Hawker Typhoon was rectified and the Typhoon was now armed with in exchange for a Hurricane, to take its place

3
 Vital to the project is the expertise required membership exceeding one thousand, a base,
to rebuild RB396 and to this end, in October an ever broadening range of merchandise,
DIGITAL NEWS

2018, it was announced that the Aircraft a fuselage being restored and an engine
Restoration Company at Duxford would considered to be one of most viable in the
oversee the rebuild. In April of this year a world for restoration. All of this and more
statement by HTPG announced that the RB396 has been achieved by a dedicated team of
fuselage would go to Airframe Assemblies volunteers with a broad set of skills from all
on the Isle of Wight. This is being partially walks of the aviation and business world.
funded by an incredibly successful three-week
crowdfunding campaign that raised over If you project a similar progress forward two
£67,000. Metal is about to be cut. and a half years you will understand why the
team see the first flight in 2024 as achievable.
In May the work began in earnest when the But this will not be achieved without significant
fuselage departed for Sandown. With an estimate support and funding from the public and
of £200,000 for the completion of this section corporate sponsors. They are always on the
of airframe, the team is aware that there is still lookout for new volunteers, supporters and
a way to go but with the continued support of sponsors so please contact them if you think
the public and the larger support of corporate you can help.
sponsors and individuals, it will be done.
[Link]
In just two and a half years, the Hawker
Typhoon Preservation Group has achieved a
A close up view of the fuselage showing the serial number RB396.
huge amount. A Supporters’ Club with a paid
Charity status was quickly gained for the The ultra rare zero hours Napier Sabre engine.
in the new RAF Museum at Hendon. The only HTPG and in 2016 at the public launch of the
complete Typhoon in the world. HTPG the goal was set to have RB396 in the air
for the 2024 80th D-Day celebrations. It was
RB396’s fuselage was originally purchased becoming a reality that a Hawker Typhoon, a
after the war by a Dutch Chemical Company living memorial to the air and ground crews,
but eventually arrived at the Fort Veldhuis would be returned to the air.
museum in the Netherlands. On the
museum’s closure in 2012, the Hawker The project took a massive step forward
Typhoon Preservation Group (HTPG) founder when later in 2016, the group was gifted a zero
and trustee Dave Robinson acquired her and time, factory inhibited Napier Sabre engine by
after more than 65 years away RB396 made Cranfield University. A Typhoon with anything
her way back to England. Dave was contacted but a Sabre in the front is not a Typhoon. A
by Sam Worthington-Leese whilst he was base was acquired on a long term lease at
researching his grandfather’s RAF service and Uckfield in Sussex and a coordinated team of
it didn’t take long for them to realise each volunteers was put in place to deal with the
other’s qualities. growing demands and keep the momentum
going at a steady pace.

4
THE TIFFY BOYS
part two

5
 Harry Hardy has always been a man on a mission. Now in his late 90s, he
WORLD WAR II

is still spreading the word about the importance of the Hawker Typhoon
from D-Day to VE-Day.

He appealed to Anne Gafiuk, a Canadian researcher and author to collect

the stories of the other ‘Tiffy Boys’ before it was too late. “You have to talk
to those of us who remain before we are all gone. Combine them all into a
true picture of our life and how the Typhoons contributed to the success
of the Allied armies as they fought from Normandy to Germany during
World War Two. Your questions rejuvenate our old memories.”

This then is part two of the story of the ‘Tiffy Boys’ as told to Anne and Ken
Wright by Harry Hardy, 440 Squadron, Doug Gordon, 440 Squadron, Frank
Johnson, 174 Squadron, Jack Hilton, 438 Squadron, John Thompson,
245 Squadron, and Wally Ward, 440 Squadron.

Above: Harry Hardy photographed by Phil O’Donoghue, Burnaby BC.

Left: Rocket projectiles being loaded onto the underwing rails of a Typhoon. (All photos via
the authors)

6
Frank’s story volunteer. No one stepped forward. “Ok! If
that’s the way it’s going to be”, he thought

WORLD WAR II
so he simple picked the required number of
F/O Frank Johnson 174 Sqn: ‘volunteers’. I was number fifteen and we were
all shipped out that afternoon.

“We all went to the same Advanced Flying

Unit. To get acquainted to the geography in
Britain, I used to do my navigation by rivers
and railway tracks. I quite enjoyed the training
part. One month later I moved onto an
Operational Training Unit flying Hurricanes and
Typhoons. I crashed three times in farmer’s
fields in England, not all in Typhoons. I, for
some reason, developed a fear of jumping out
of the Typhoon.

“One of the armaments the RAF Typhoon

carried was slung underneath the wings. Four
rockets on each wing and a salvo was fired
two at a time depending upon the target. The
rockets were loaded onto the rails, plugged and
hooked up electrically to the firing switch in the
cockpit on the throttle.
“I couldn’t have been happier than the day
I got my wings. I was so proud! All of us who “Regarding one’s fellow pilots, you never
had passed the test were transported from got to know them very well. Everyone was
Canada on RMS Queen Mary to Bournemouth cordial but tried to keep himself at arms-
in England. Here, we got a two week pass to length. One might have supper with them
go anywhere in the UK. I went to Scotland. We one night then the next day, they were dead.
were all due back on the parade square at 8 This situation could play on one’s mind and
am in a fortnight’s time and whatever you did, possibly affect the individual’s concentration
one had to be neat and tidy, have polished on getting the job done. Knowing death was
buttons and shoes, uniform nice and neat and a constant companion was something that
to have had a haircut. had to be accepted and handled according to
one’s mental capacity. Suffice to say, either
“One day on parade, and I can’t remember the situation was accepted as a part of the
whether it was the Commanding Officer,
he said that the RAF were short of pilots.
He called for 20-25 volunteers to go. In the Right: A Typhoon fires a salvo of rocket projectiles
military, one learns very quickly never to onto a railway line in Northern France, 1944.

7
WORLD WAR II

pilot’s life, or begin to fall apart and was unable shot up the ferries and killed the soldiers on He was obviously a rookie. Maybe it was his By 1945, the Germans had some of the most
to continue to do what had to be done. The board. It was war! first flight in that aircraft or he had gotten lost. potent fighters of the war like the Focke-Wulf 190
German pilots would go through the same He certainly didn’t know what the hell he was D-9 seen here. But as Frank found, many of them
mental anxiety and stress as we would. “I remember I was doing a test on one of doing. I pulled alongside him -- almost wingtip were flown by frightened teenagers with very little
our aircraft which had aileron damage and to wingtip -- a young boy was in there. He combat experience.
“By 1945, the Germans were retreating on was making it difficult to fly when I got a couldn’t have been more that 18 or 19 -- I was
all fronts. I can’t remember the exact date or radio message from the ground controller. 22. He had the look of horror on his face -- he
the location but we took out the bridges so the Seems there was a German plane above the put his hands up to his face to hide himself. did. I was curtly told that he [the German] was
Germans had to take the ferry boats. We were airstrip. I was up about 4,000 feet and I look The war was almost over so I figured what was the enemy and by me not taking him down,
going in at 6000 feet and encountered heavy down and I see this guy in a Focke-Wulf 190. the sense of killing him, so I waved at him and I didn’t do my job. At that moment, I didn’t
anti-aircraft fire. One could almost walk on it. Anybody who was an experienced fighter flew off. give a damn. It is the only thing that I did in
I decided I would not go through it so the no. pilot would never be flying over an enemy that whole war that I am really pleased about.
2 guy and I flew 40 miles down the river and airstrip by himself and certainly would never “Back at the base, hardly anyone knew about Perhaps he survived the war. In my heart, I
at 200 feet above the river going like hell. We be flying in a straight line, but this guy was. the episode but the Squadron Leader certainly knew I was right.”

8
 Shortly after this incident, the Squadron of stew and every time I have chunky soup for Below: The Typhoon was a very strong aircraft
moved to Germany and continued to operate lunch I picture that nice German lady. I picture

WORLD WAR II
and the salvage crews restored many battered
from there for the remainder of the war. her clear as day. She was a wonderful person. airframes back to life as the Allies advanced
Not long after, I was taken to a POW camp but across Holland and into Germany.
On 30 March 1945, Flying Officer Frank was liberated six weeks later. After the war, I
Johnson was shot down over Germany. tried to find her as I wanted so much to thank Right: Another battered airframe that was
Although he survived, his back was badly her but sadly, I was unable to do so.” brought back to life was Frank himself after being
damaged, shrapnel in his right shin, a bullet shot down on 30 March 1945!
in his left hip and he was bleeding from his
forehead and covered in mud, blood and
aircraft oil. He was a mess. “I was captured by
a German advance field unit and they couldn’t
have been gentler. I was freezing that night
and one of the German soldiers guarding me
noticed I was shivering and handed me a bottle
of Schnapps — and brother, I wasn’t cold after
that. Ernst was his name. He wrapped me
in his great coat. He even gave me his own
bedroll. I don’t think they wanted to go to the
trouble of trying to transport me to an aid
station or hospital so they took me the next
morning to a farmhouse. They may have known
the lady of the house as she took one look at
me and told the soldiers to bring me in.

‘This German lady pulls back an eiderdown

bed cover and there are these beautiful white
linen sheets, on a beautiful bed, and the
soldiers just put me on it. I was bloody. I had
muddy boots on. And this lady, she took my
boots off, undressed me and she kept talking
to me, and she gets a big bowl of hot water
and cleans all this mess off. She bandages my
hip and then...she washed my face, my arms,
my chest — everywhere — and left me lying
there on that beautiful bed. I wish I was able to
understand her.

‘Now, why would she do this? I was the

enemy. To this day, I still can’t get over it. She
goes downstairs and comes up with a big bowl

9
 Wally’s story
WORLD WAR II

Flt Lt Wally Ward 440 Squadron

‘The first trip that I did, we came back over

Dieppe [Normandy, France]. Why I don’t
know, but we did. Because it was my first
flight, I was the tail end Charlie [air force slang
used to designate the last aircraft in an aerial
formation]. I was off at the end of the wing
and I just got over to Dieppe and pow, bang, was, how badly was I hit? Well, I got hit in the “I got across the English Channel, losing Above: Wally Ward ready for his next mission in
bang, these great big black clouds of shells radiator at the front there and my cooling was height all the way, and when I got the coast, I his 440 Squadron Typhoon
exploding all around me, it was anti-aircraft in jeopardy, which meant I was losing glycol was down to about 2,000 feet but there was an
fire, which you’d expect around Dieppe of and in time, when you lose your coolant, then aerodrome right at the coast, [RAF] Tangmere.
course. And I was hit! My aircraft was hit! And your engine’s going to overheat and it would As they had radioed ahead I just went straight
I remember thinking: Well, that’s a stupid seize up. I radioed to my squadron leader and in and landed safely and when I taxied in and
thing, I don’t think I like this war if this is what he kept somebody with me, because I had shut the engine off, there was this stream of
they’re going to do. Anyway, my first concern slowed down. liquid still pouring out the front of the aircraft.

10
 Armourers loading bombs under the thick and sturdy wings
of a Typhoon. This is an early example with the ‘car door’

WORLD WAR II
type canopy. Compare it with the ‘bubble’ canopy on the
previous page.

11
 “We were 143 Wing [143 Wing, Royal “What they would do is when they could see of times when they used another technique.
Canadian Air Force, established on January us getting close to the target, (they’d hear us If it was overcast and it was solid cloud and
WORLD WAR II

10, 1944, as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force and see us, coming in at about 10,000 feet), you couldn’t see the target, they had a system
(TAAF)] and we had three Canadian squadrons they would fire a few shells which, when they whereby there would be somebody with
there. There were other squadrons there but exploded, would land right on the target area equipment up close to the target area that
we were three, 438, 439 and 440. And every and red smoke would come up. It was very would be in radio communication with us. He
target we had was tactical. That is, we were in helpful to us in making sure we attacked the would plot us to the target area and tell us when
the Second Tactical Air Force, which meant that right area. We had to be very careful not to to drop the bombs. We never saw the target.”
our prime role was to support any targets that bomb our own troops. There were a couple
were identified by the Canadian Army.

A groundcrewman guides a Typhoon pilot through the puddles and out towards a runway in early 1945.
The yellow outer ring to the upper wing roundel was introduced in January 1945.

Walter Ward passed away May 30, 2019

12
John’s story odds meant nothing to them.
“When the British Prime Minister
28 July 1944 on an airfield somewhere in France,

WORLD WAR II
pilots of 245 Squadron study maps of the local area
Winston Churchill made that famous little
F/O John Thompson 245 Squadron whilst waiting for their next ground support mission.
speech; ‘Never in the field of human conflict
have so many owed so much to so few,’ that L-R: Pilot Officer Sam Bennett of Toronto,
stuck in my mind. From then on, I wanted to Flying Officer George Wharry of Edmonton,
be a pilot. Not just a pilot, but a fighter pilot. Warrant Officer Chester West of London Ontario,
I read about Spitfires and Hurricanes and I and Pilot Officer John Thompson of Woodbridge,
wanted to fly one.” Ontario.
Becoming a fighter pilot with its initial
training sessions was a long, drawn-out
process. Thompson would discover,
however, that in war, time for thorough
training was a commodity neither side could
afford if losses were heavy and replacements
were needed quickly. “I got my wings in
Canada and I was so proud. I was then sent
to England in December 1942 where I started
in the pilot training school.”

It would still be more than another year

before Thomson would fly in combat.
Once in England, the training stepped up
The skies swarmed with German Luftwaffe a major notch giving him a taste of fighter
and Royal Air Force fighter planes hell bent on work flying Spitfires, the kind of planes he
obliterating each other as the Battle of Britain knew had been in the thick of the Battle
raged between 10 July-31 October 1940. of Britain. The trainers were tough men,
Thousands of kilometres away in Woodbridge, pilots who had been ‘on ops’ (operations in
Canada, a 17 year old was mesmerized by daily war). “You were being trained by guys who
radio and newspaper reports about this clash had done the whole bit. When I flew, I felt
of civilizations that could decide the future of a like I was flying with guys who had done it.
world in conflict. When our training finished, we were the
pilots who were supposed to be able to go
John Thompson, a high school student, was to a squadron and meet the enemy. The
eager to sign up with the Canadian military realization it was going to get deadly finally
as soon as he turned 18 in April 1941, but the set in. The guy on your tail was going to try
question he faced was which branch to fight shooting you down. The problem was that
with: army, navy or air force? “The guys who when I finished that course, I was posted as
flew in the Royal Air Force were outnumbered an instructor at bomber defence training.
but the English pilots had something more, No meeting the enemy, at least not yet.”
they were fighting for their homeland and the

13
 For the next seven months from late 1943 as a combat flight unless you were shot at or
and early 1944, Thompson, flying in all kinds fired your guns off. So, every time we went out,
WORLD WAR II

of weather, practiced fighter attacks over and we shot at something. I crashed a couple of
over on Lancasters and sometimes Wellingtons, their planes, but nothing bad. Thankfully, I was
or whatever happened to be available. “We never hurt.”
were flying 50 to 60 hours a month, which is a
lot of flying time in all kinds of conditions. My ‘The RAF 245 Squadron I joined were all
Squadron commander asked me what type of Limey [English] toffee noses, and weren’t
plane I preferred to fly and I told him a smaller, very welcoming to me at first. I was the only
faster fighter like the Hurricane.” Canadian. I was a ‘colonial.’ I didn’t like the
Typhoon aircraft and I didn’t like the people.
The Squadron Commander had noted Once I had flown the Typhoon in battle and
Thompson’s seven or eight hours of flight time came to grips with the plane and what it could
on a Typhoon and ordered him to fly one. He really do, I grew to like the aircraft over time
would pilot Typhoons for the rest of the war. and the Limeys finally accepted me as one of
the boys. Nevertheless, like it or not, this was
“I was assigned to 245 Squadron about a war and the squadron was ready for D-Day.
month before D-Day. Flying to me was just a We made a couple of flights on D-Day without
piece of cake. When you’re flying a seven tonne being fired on and by the middle of June we
Typhoon full high octane fuel and loaded with had moved into Normandy. From then through
so much explosive ordnance, every take off and July and August, we took part in the Falaise Gap
landing was an experience. A flight didn’t count battle, the liberation of Caen, and then followed

John Thompson’s first posting was as an

instructor at a bomber defence training unit.
Here he flew over 50 hours a month carrying
out mock interceptions against all types of RAF
bombers. In the photo below, a war weary Spitfire
carries out a mock attack on a Central Gunnery
School Wellington over Cambridgeshire.

14
 WORLD WAR II
Left: Just after D-Day, Typhoons were sharing forward airstrips in England with USAAF aircraft as they
used them to ‘hop’ over the Channel to France. This Typhoon is parked next to a B-26 Marauder of the
450th BS at Woodchurch.

Below: John Thompson poses with his Typhoon, the PSP (Pierced Steel Plank) mats under the aircraft
would suggest that this photo was taken at an airfield in France.

the German retreat through Belgium, into

Holland and made a lot of attacks on Arnhem.

“When we did meet the enemy, we

depended on a helpful squadron of Spitfires
nearby to do the heavy fighting of aerial
combat. We were instructed not to try and
fight any German fighters because our turning
radius was way behind the enemy’s capability.
They could turn inside us and if they turned
inside you, you were dead. Our worst enemy
was the damn trigger-happy Americans.
To them, we looked like a Focke-Wulf or a
Messerschmitt. Any time there were American
fighters around, your eyes were wide open
because they bounced (attacked) every time.
It didn’t seem to matter to them that we were
a British aircraft with those great big invasion
stripes on each wing. Between them, the
Luftwaffe and the flak, it wasn’t the easiest
sky to fly in. We were mostly ground-attack
specialists, so everybody shot at you, even a
guy with a machine gun.

15
WORLD WAR II

Left: 245 Squadron had one of the most strikingly

decorated Typhoons in the entire Royal Air Force,
complete with sharkmouth and checkerboard
skyband!

Below: The advanced airfields were tricky to

negotiate and this Typhoon appears to be in need
of manual guidance back onto the very narrow
taxiway.

Right: John Thompson in retirement. He had

flown 100 missions by the end of the war.
(Steve Somerville, Vaughn Citizen, Nov 2012)

“If a fellow pilot was killed, there was no

time for sentiment. Guys who got shot down,
they were gone, you never thought about them
again. I mean, you might have thought about
them, but nobody dwelt on it. There’s nothing
you can do about it and as a result I didn’t
make any close friends. They just disappeared.
They didn’t come back. I was posted to many
different stations, I’d meet 25 to 30 guys who
were on course with me and I’d never see them
again. You didn’t try to form any strong bonds,
you knew people, but you didn’t make any
great friendships.

“My war officially ended after I had flown my

100th mission in May of 1945, just as the war
in Europe was ending. Our air wing commander
brought me in and said I was due for a rest. He
gave me a couple of options saying I could go
on instructing or send me home. I chose to go
home. Who wouldn’t?”

16
JET AGE PIONEERS

17
WORLD WAR II

Gutless and flawed; the Gloster

E.28/39 and Heinkel He 178 were
nonetheless the first of a new
generation. As the jet aeroplane
marks its 80th anniversary, Steve
Bridgewater takes a look at the
trailblazing pioneers.

A
s early as the 1920s, British pilot
and inventor Frank Whittle was
contemplating the technology behind
the turbojet engine.

Expanding on the ideas published in AA

Griffith’s seminal 1926 paper ‘An Aerodynamic
Theory of Turbine Design’ Whittle patented
the centrifugal-flow turbojet in 1930. However,
five years later when the patent was up for
renewal, the RAF pilot could not afford the
£5 fee and the Air Ministry refused to pay it
on his behalf, referring to the design as being
“impracticable.”

Meanwhile, on mainland Europe,

German engineer Hans von Ohain had been
independently studying a concept for “an
engine that did not require a propeller” and by
1936 he earned a patent for his version of the
jet engine.

Although broadly similar to the British

concept, von Ohain used a centrifugal
compressor and turbine with flame cans
Gloster E.28/39 W4041/G makes a low pass over the airfield during a test flight. wrapped around the outside of the engine.

18
 alterations, he quickly signed up both von Back in Britain, however, Frank Whittle had which used a machined compressor, turbine
Ohain and Hahn to his design team at the not been sitting idle. Having secured limited stages and a reduced cross-sectional area to

WORLD WAR II
Marienehe airfield in Warnemünde. funding, he created Power Jets Ltd in 1936 and limit aerodynamic drag. This proved to be too
the WU (Whittle Unit) engine ran successfully inefficient though, so the turbine size was
After a redesign to run on pressurised on 12 April 1937, just a month after the HeS 1 increased on the HeS 3b, which first ran in July
hydrogen, the resulting Heinkel- but with just a fraction of the budget and no 1939.
Strahltriebwerk 1 (HeS 1) was completed in official backing.
March 1937. It ran well, but the hydrogen Aerial testing beneath a Heinkel He 118 dive-
created high exhaust temperatures that burnt First of the Breed bomber proved successful and soon it was time
the metal and soon the combustors were The von Ohain engine was soon being to fit the engine to the special airframe Heinkel
changed to use normal gasoline. developed into the flight-worthy HeS 3 version, had been developing in secret.

Left: Hans von Ohain, inventor of the first jet engine to fly. Below: Max Hahn, who built the first working model of von Ohain’s engine.

Prototype Propulsion
Confident in his design, von Ohain paid
motor engineer Max Hahn 1,000 Deutschmarks
to complete a working model of his engine,
which he took to the University of Göttingen
(where he worked in the physics department)
for testing.

Despite teething problems, most notably

that the fuel would often not burn correctly
in the flame cans and would shoot flames out
of the back, his boss (Richard Pohl) saw the
potential in the design.

In February 1936, Pohl wrote to aircraft

designer Ernst Heinkel to make him aware
of the design. Heinkel was impressed with
the concept and after recommending some

19
 Aside from its revolutionary powerplant, the
Heinkel He 178 was a conventional aircraft.
WORLD WAR II

The fuselage was essentially a metal tube and

contoured to maximise airflow to the centrally
mounted engine. The straight, 23ft 3in span,
wooden wing was mounted high atop the
fuselage aft of the cockpit and the pilot sat
well forwards beneath a two-piece canopy. The
undercarriage was a tail-dragging arrangement
with the main wheels retracting up into the
fuselage, which was just 24ft 7in long. The jet
exhausted through a circular nozzle at the rear
of the airframe.

The aeroplane weighed just 3,505lb empty

and fully fuelled it tipped the scales at a shade
under 4,400lbs.

Heinkel’s engineers predicted the He 178

would be capable of 460kts, although the small
airframe’s fuel capacity limited range to just
125 miles and endurance to just 10 minutes.
Much of the He 178’s design was drawn
from the earlier He 176, which had become the
first aircraft to be propelled solely by a liquid-
fuelled rocket on June 20, 1939.

Above: This is the only known

photograph of the Heinkel He Above left: The Heinkel He 178 seen in the hangar
176 prototype, probably taken at at Rostock prior to its maiden flight in 1939.
Peenemünde in 1938. Much of
the rocket powered He 176 was Left: The retractable undercarriage was
incorporated into the He 178 project. a constant source of woes for the He 178
designers. Here the aircraft taxies out with the
undercarriage bay fared over, the engineers
clearly resigned to the fact that the gear was
destined to stay ‘down’.

20
HEINKEL He178

WORLD WAR II
k
[Link].u
y Hay ww
profile by And

Crew 1
Length 24ft 7in (7.48m)
Height 6ft 10in (2.10m)
Wingspan 23ft 3in (7.20m)
Wing Area 98sq ft (9.10m2)
Empty Weight 3,505lb (1,590kg)
Max Take-Off Weight 4,387lb (1,990kg)
Max Speed 380mph/608km/h)
Service Ceiling 13,123ft (4,000m)
Ferry Range 125 miles (200km)
Powerplant One Heinkel HeS 3 turbojet
(992lb thrust)
Armament Nil
First Flight August 27, 1939

Right: The Heinkel 178 heads out for a test flight. Few photographs exist
of the He 178 as both airframes were destroyed by Allied bombing raids
later in the war.

21
WORLD WAR II

Maiden Flight A week later, on 1 September 1939, Germany Ernst Udet (head of the RLM’s development Above: The He 178 was dropped in favour
Eighty years ago – on 27 August 1939 – test invaded Poland and World War Two officially wing) and Erhard Milch watched the aircraft of the Heinkel He 280. However, the twin jet
pilot Erich Warsitz eased the He 178 into the began in Europe. perform, but were reportedly unimpressed. fighter did not find favour with the RLM and
sky for the first time at Rostock. The world had The Luftwaffe commander in chief, Herman only nine examples were built. In this photo,
entered the jet age. Top Secret Goering, didn’t even show up. the engine cowlings have been left off to keep
Amazingly, Heinkel had developed both the engines cool.
Problems with the undercarriage meant the engine and the He 178 test-bed in almost Undeterred by this indifference, the Heinkel
the wheels remained in the down position complete secrecy and even the Luftwaffe was engineers progressed with flight-testing and a
throughout the flight, limiting the jet’s speed to unaware of the project. second aircraft (He 178B) was constructed, this
just 325kts. time with clipped wings. However the aircraft
On 1 November 1939, after the German was never to fly under its own power before
However, the flight ended unceremoniously victory in Poland, Heinkel invited the Luftwaffe Heinkel abandoned the He 178 project and
when the aircraft ingested a bird and the hierarchy and the Reichsluftfahrtministerium diverted attention to its new, twin-engined,
engine flamed out. Luckily Warsitz managed to (RLM or Reich Air Ministry) to Rostock for a twin-finned He 280 fighter.
‘dead stick’ land the aeroplane safely. demonstration of the new ‘wonder weapon.’

22
 The first prototype He 280 (DL+AS) was
completed in the summer of 1940, but the

WORLD WAR II
proposed HeS 8 engines were running behind
schedule. On 22 September the aeroplane
performed its maiden flight as a glider, after
being towed aloft. It would be six months
before test pilot Fritz Schäfer would take the
second prototype (GJ+CA) into the air under its
own power on 30 March 1941.

The He 280 was first demonstrated to Ernst

Udet a week later on 5 April, but once again
the Heinkel design was met with indifference.
Nine prototypes were built before Heinkel
was ordered to abandon the project and focus
attention on developing bombers.

‘Official’ Projects
Unbeknown to anybody at Heinkel, the
company was highly unlikely to receive
recognition for any of its jet propulsion projects.
This was because the RLM was already working
on a number of secret projects to develop jet
engines with both BMW and Junkers. These
‘official’ turbojet engines were axial-flow
engines, not centifugal-flow units, and would
go on to power the Messerschmitt 262, which
bore a strong resemblance to Heinkel’s stillborn
He 280.

The two He 178 prototypes were preserved

(one at the Berlin Air Museum and one at
Rostock) but both were destroyed in Allied
bombing raids in 1943. The He-176 was also
lost in an air raid and no He 280s were saved
for posterity.

Right: Two views of Heinkel He 280 V3 GJ+CB

after a forced landing in early 1943.

23
 Left: Frank Whittle. In 1930, Whittle Whittle’s Jet
patented the centrifugal-flow turbojet,
Meanwhile, back in Britain, Frank Whittle’s By the time war broke out in September
WORLD WAR II

but five years later when the patent was

Power Jets team had been enduring mixed 1939 (shortly after the He 178 had made its
up for renewal, the RAF pilot could not
fortunes. maiden flight) Power Jets employed just ten
afford the £5 fee and the Air Ministry
staff, leaving Whittle to surmise that: “I have
refused to pay it on his behalf, referring
Although the WU had run in April 1937, a good crowd round me. They are all working
to the design as being “impracticable”.
the project was still being conducted on a like slaves, so much so that there is a risk of
shoestring budget and it would be March 1938 mistakes through physical and mental fatigue.”
Below: The unpainted Gloster E.28/39
before limited funds were made available by
W4041 photographed on the ground
the Air Ministry. This, however, was a double- Luckily, the next time the Air Ministry
at Brockworth shortly after completion.
edged sword as the funds came with the visited, the WU ran for 20 minutes without a
The jet was initially fitted with a non
condition that the team signed the Official snag and the team went home convinced of
airworthy Power Jets W.1 engine
Secrets Act – something that made obtaining the engine’s importance.
but did conduct ‘hops’ from the grass
further outside investment almost impossible.
airfield at Brockworth prior to moving
to Cranwell where the long runway was
ideal for flight testing

24
 It issued a contract for Power Jets to start
work on the ‘Whittle Supercharger Type W1’

WORLD WAR II
engine and in September 1939 the Gloster
Aircraft Company was awarded the job of
designing a simple flight test aircraft to
evaluate the engine.

Gloster E.28/39
Gloster’s chief designer, George Carter, was
given the highly confidential job of creating
Britain’s first jet aeroplane. He had already
been instrumental in the development of the
Gauntlet and Gladiator and had come up with
a very innovative design to meet Air Ministry
Specification F.18/37, which eventually led to
the Hawker Typhoon.

Carter’s stillborn design was notable in that

the unconventional fuselage featured a battery
of 12 machine guns in the nose and an engine
mounted behind the cockpit driving a pusher
propeller between twin booms. This seemed
like an obvious configuration for the new breed
of jet aeroplanes and appealed greatly to
Whittle when he toured the Gloster factory.

Carter and his team also visited Power Jets’

Lutterworth facility in late 1939 and a close
working relationship between the two men soon
began. “My introduction to the jet engine took
place in September 1939, when asked by the Air
Ministry if we would take on the job of designing
a jet-propelled aeroplane,” Carter wrote in Flight
in 1949. “After some preliminary talk and a
look over a few of the drawings, we went along
to the test bay and I had my first sight of a gas-
turbine-cum-jet-propulsion unit. It seemed to
Above: Power Jets Ltd was founded in 1936 and its WU design was the first turbojet to run. The W.1 engine powered the Gloster E.28/39 on its maiden flight
me a quaint contraption – rather on the rough
and was also the first jet engine built in the USA where, as the General Electric I-A, it powered the Bell P-59A Airacomet. The uprated W.2 was built by Rolls-
and ready side – and by no means the kind of
Royce as the Welland, powering early versions of the Gloster Meteor.
thing to inspire confidence as a prospective
power installation.”

25
 He noted that the engine started with a
Left and Below: Despite the novel features
muffled “thud” as the fuel mixture was ignited
WORLD WAR II

and lack of computing power, George Carter

and quickly speeded up to register a modest
got it right first time. The Gloster E.28/39
amount of thrust, which he estimated was
was uncomplicated, simple and pleasant to fly
about 400lb.
and provided the perfect platform for proving
Whittle’s theories. Furthermore, during a testing
“Some parts of the engine casing showed a
career that lasted nearly four years, it was able to
dull red heat” he continued, “which, combined
accept engines capable of generating double the
with an intensely high-pitched volume of
original thrust.
noise, made it seem as though it might at any
moment disintegrate in bits and pieces.”
Despite his initial misgivings, Carter regarded
his first encounter with Whittle’s engine as “an
unforgettable and unique experience.” He also
“felt convinced that the prospect of ultimately
successful development of the engine far
outweighed the very hazardous nature of
the enterprise in accepting responsibility for
putting it inside an aeroplane.”

Carter’s initial drawings showed two

alternative arrangements – both featuring
a mid-mounted wing, but one had two
intakes either side of the forward fuselage
and a full-length tailpipe. The other had tail
surfaces supported by a boom extending from
the pilot’s cockpit with a shorter tail-pipe
exhausting mid-way between wing and tail.

Official Order
The Air Ministry subsequently issued Gloster
with a formal specification on 13 February
1940. This called for an aircraft capable of
330kts that could easily be converted from
trials machine to fighter and could carry four
Browning machine guns with 500 rounds each.
However, this armament was not expected to
be carried during the trials.

The contract was for two aircraft (later serials

W4041 and W4046) and £18,500 was allocated

26
per aircraft. The Air Ministry also agreed to the

WORLD WAR II
construction of two sets of wings; a ‘high lift’
wing for initial testing and a ‘high speed’ wing
for later trials.

Fears over disrupted airflow from the short

tailpipe design led the more conventional
design being adopted, albeit with a low set
wing. Unlike Heinkel’s He 178 the Gloster
E.28/39 had a tricycle undercarriage and was of
all-metal monocoque construction.

Construction
To avoid prying eyes the design work was
mostly completed on a farm near Cheltenham
and construction then began in high levels
of secrecy at Gloster’s Brockworth plant.
However, fears that the factory was susceptible
to German bombing meant the project
moved to the nearby Regent Motors garage
in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Today, this
historic site is occupied by a shopping arcade,
the Regent Arcade.

Once completed, the aircraft (by now

registered W4041) was moved back to
Brockworth airfield and the powerplant fitted.
Engine runs began on 6 April 1941 with the
aircraft in the hangar with only its jet pipe
protruding through the open doors.
Above and right: Two aircraft were

Making History ordered and serials W4041 and W4046

were allocated. Contract price was set at
Taxy trials began the following evening with
£18,500 per aircraft and the Air Ministry
test pilot Gerry Sayer praising controllability
also agreed to the construction of two
but criticising the lack of acceleration. The
sets of wings which enabled the initial
following day, Whittle himself was able to
tests to be made with a ‘high lift’ wing and
sample the aircraft for the first time and
later ones with a ‘high speed’ one. As it
conducted a series of high speed trials, but it
was feared that the short exhaust pipe
was Sayer who was at the controls when the
might result in an unpredictable airflow, a
aircraft left the ground in a series of short hops.
long pipe design was adopted.

27
 The grass runway at Brockworth was deemed
too short and bumpy for flight-testing though
WORLD WAR II

and the aeroplane was taken by low-loader to

RAF Cranwell, Lincs for further testing while the
team waited for a weather window.

Then, at 5.40pm on 14 May 1941, the rain

and cloud had improved enough for Sayer to
attempt a flight. With the canopy left open
he ran the engine run up to 16,500rpm before
releasing the brakes. After just 600 yards
Britain’s first jet aircraft was airborne.

After 17 minutes the aeroplane landed

successfully and Britain had entered the jet age
– almost two years after the He 178 had flown
in Germany.

Some 17 flights were conducted before the

aeroplane was trucked back to Gloucester
where the aeroplane was ensconced in
Crabtree’s Garage in Cheltenham while
engineers replaced the high lift wing with the
high speed one and fitted a newly arrived W1A
engine.

Tragic Loss
On 16 February 1942 W4041 flew again but
Sayer was killed in October when the Hawker
Typhoon he was flying was involved in a mid-air
collision and his assistant, Michael Daunt, took
over his role.

Left: The wreckage of the second prototype

E.28/39 W4046/G after it crashed
near Guildford on 30 July 1943. The pilot
abandoned the aircraft at high altitude after it
became uncontrollable. Despite it falling from
a great height, the wreckage of W4046/G is
remarkably intact.

28
GLOSTER E.28/39

WORLD WAR II
k
[Link].u
Andy Hay www.f
profile by

Crew 1
Length 25ft 3in (7.75m)
Height 8ft 10in (2.70m)
Wingspan 29ft 0in (8.9m)
Wing Area 146sq ft (13.6m2)
Empty Weight 2,886lb (1,309kg)
Max Take-Off Weight 3,748lb (1,700kg)
Max Speed 330kts (380mph/608km/h)
Service Ceiling 32,000ft (9,755m)
Ferry Range 410 miles (656km)
Powerplant One Power Jets W1 turbojet
(860lb thrust)
Armament Provision for four .303in
Browning machine guns Above: A jubilant Gerry Sayer gives the V for Victory sign from the cockpit of W4041. He continued as
First Flight May 15, 1941 Chief Test Pilot until October 1942 when he was killed in a Hawker Typhoon which was involved in a mid-air
collision. Sayer’s assistant, Michael Daunt, then took over the testing programme for the E.28/39.

29
 Flight-testing continued and the second Legacy Conversely, while just two He 178s were built
E.28/39 (W4046) joined the fleet in March W4041 continued flying until 1944, by and only one flew under jet power, the rival
WORLD WAR II

1943. It did not enjoy a long career however which time more advanced turbojet-powered Messerschmitt Me 262 – which was officially
as it was lost in July when its ailerons jammed, aircraft were available. The Gloster E.28/39 developed for the RLM using approved engines,
forcing Sqn Ldr Douglas Davie to bail out from was uncomplicated, simple and pleasant to fly flew under jet power for the first time in July
33,000ft. The second aeroplane had made and provided the perfect platform for proving 1942. In just a few years an amazing 1,430
134 flights in just five months – compared to Whittle’s theories. Furthermore, during its were built and, for a while, the jets became the
W4041 that would make just 110 flights in its career it was able to accept engines capable scourge of the Allied bomber crews.
entire four-year career. of generating double the original thrust.
Experience with the E.28/39 also paved the way
Legendary test pilot Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was for Britain’s first operational jet fighter aircraft,
at the controls for some of those test flights. the Gloster Meteor, of which nearly 4,000 would
He joined the test programme in April 1944 serve with air arms around the world.
and later recalled the E28/39 as “one of the
most exciting aircraft I ever flew.”

The E.28/39 was airborne after a take off run of just 600 yards and
Sayer later described the engine as “quite smooth.” The first flight
lasted just 17 minutes – but history had been made. Between May 25
and May 28 some 17 flights were made at Cranwell . In December
1942 the aircraft was transferred to RAE Farnborough and was
subsequently returned to Brockworth for further work. End-plate fins
were fitted to the tailplane to improve stability and a 1,700lb thrust
W2/500 engine was installed.

30
Photo Archive : Liberator FL927
31
PHOTO ARCHIVE

This superb view of FL927 shows the forward facing ASV aerial
in the nose and the two receivng aerials outboard of the engines. The Typhoon wasn’t the only RAF aircraft
The bulge below the nose is to house the ASV MkIII radar which to carry rocket projectiles. Coastal
was very similar to Bomber Command’s H2S. Command mounted them underneath its
Beaufighters and Mosquitos and even had
a go at firing them from a Liberator! Here
are a sequence of photos of Liberator
GRIII FL927 which was used as a testbed
for this U-boat bashing weapon.

Liberator FL927 started life as a B-24D

41-11626 and crossed the Atlantic on
11 August 1942. After modifications and
fitting of various pieces of equipment,
the plane was sent for testing at the
A&AEE Farnborough on 16 April 1943.

The primary purpose was to test

the instalation and firing of the rocket
projectiles that were mounted on rails
underneath the cockpit.

The rockets were first fired on the

ground which resulted in buckled bomb-
bay doors and broken nose perspex! In
the air, however, the system worked
well and it was recommended that the
rockets were fired in a 15 to 20 degree
dive at approximately 250ft asl.

Once the trials were concluded,

FL927 was grounded as a maintenance
airframe and was eventually scrapped
in 1947.

32
 PHOTO ARCHIVE
This view shows the side scanning ASV aerials. Earlier aircraft
had tall transmitting aerials on top of the fuselage, but by this
time, the transmitters had been incorporated into the smaller
aerials on the sides of the fuselage.

33
 A nice vertical view for modellers showing the upper camouflage
PHOTO ARCHIVE
scheme and the precise position of the roundels. Note the
underwing ASV aerials point 20 degrees away from the nose
giving a much wider search area.

34
 PHOTO ARCHIVE
A nice view of the undersides of FL927 showing the newly
installed and strengthened bomb-bay doors. The dark object
under the starboard wing is a mock-up Leigh Light.

35
PHOTO ARCHIVE

A view no U-boat captain wanted to see, Liberator FL927 approaches

the camera aircraft from astern.

A standard port side view of FL927, the ‘aerial’ just behind the nose
glazing is one of the two pitot tubes mounted on port and starboard.

The Mustang MkIa was equipped with 4 x 20mm cannons and is therefore easily
distinguishable from the MkI. Less than 100 MkIas were flown by the RAF so
these photos are quite rare. The even rarer MkII had four x 0.5 machine guns in
the wings.

36
 PHOTO ARCHIVE
A high-res close-up for all those weathering fans!

37
 The full frame of the previous image showing a wealth of detail for
PHOTO ARCHIVE
the modeller.

38
THE growth OF an Air Force

THE AIRCRAFT OF THE ESTONIAN AIR FORCE 1926 - 1940

39 39
BETWEEN THE WARS

In the second part of our look at the

Estonian Air Defence Force, Roger
Tisdale and Arvo Vercamer explore
the various types that were purchased
from European manufacturers before
war clouds again gathered above the
Baltic States.

B
y the mid to late 1920s, all of Estonia’s
First World War surplus military aircraft
were worn out, having far exceeded
their expected life spans. The Estonian
military recognised this fact but the global
economic crisis of the late 1920s had a severe
impact on Estonia’s budget and economy.
Estonia phased out the old “Mark” currency
and introduced the “Eesti Kroon” (Estonian
Crown) which contributed to the economic
re-invigoration of Estonia, which in turn led
a strong improvement of the Republic of
Estonia’s reputation within the international
community. The restructured economy
allowed Estonia to make a number of military
hardware purchases abroad, including
urgently needed military aircraft.

Hawker Hart IAN 148. Lieutenant Mart Napa

standing in front of “his” Hawker Hart, IAN 148.
This type was very well liked by the Estonian
flight crews as well as by their mechanics, who
appreciated the excellent design and mechanical
reliability of the aircraft.

40
 Below: Letov-Smolik S-228E, IAN 140. On 5

BETWEEN THE WARS

In 1928, the Estonian military reorganized such as the Avro Anson multipurpose aircraft. During the early part of 1939, Estonia October 1931, Estonia and Czechoslovakia signed
itself. The Aviation Regiment was placed Included in this make-up were also a few contracted and paid for 12 Spitfire Mk. I a contract for the purchase of four S-128 bomber
under the jurisdiction of a newly established Estonian-built training aircraft). fighters and a number of Mk. I Westland and reconnaissance aircraft, to be powered by
Estonian Air Defence Force/EADF (Õhukaitse) Lysanders from Great Britain. However, Gnome-Rhone Mercury VIIa engines. The Czechs
department, which now also included the In 1939, the EADF contained three “Flight when WWII broke out, London needed were asked to modify Estonia’s S-128 aircraft so
Estonian Anti-Aircraft Artillery units. Divisions (one in the City of Rakvere, one in the every available aircraft and cancelled the much that a new type designation was created -
In the early 1930s, the EADF was ready to City of Tartu, and one in the capital Tallinn). Estonian order. London promptly refunded the S-228/E (E for Estonian).
commence with new aircraft and by 1939 the Of interest to note is that until the mid-1930s, payments in full to Estonia. The Soviet Union
EADF contained close to 80 active fighters, the Estonian Navy also maintained two took advantage of this situation by force-
seaplanes and bombers (Bristol Bulldog II, multipurpose aircraft wings. negotiating Estonia to purchase a number
Hawker Hart and Potez 25 biplanes from the of Polikarpov I-16 fighters and UTI trainers.
1920s/early 1930s, but also the more modern,

41
 Payment was demanded in gold - but no with any Soviet military actions against Finland Of interest to note is that after August 1940, The former EADF became the Aircraft
BETWEEN THE WARS

aircraft were ever delivered by Moscow, and to - though a number of damaged Soviet combat a number of patriotic Estonian EADF personnel Squadron of the 22nd Territorial Corps (the
date, Moscow has not returned the paid funds aircraft did make forced landings in Estonia crated up a number of Estonian-built training former Estonian Army) of the Soviet Army in
to Estonia. during the Winter War. On 17 June 1940, the aircraft and buried the crates underground. the summer of 1940. While the EADF ceased to
three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Soviet military occupation officials never exist, its pilots would continue to fly for both the
After the fall of Poland in September were (bloodlessly) invaded by Soviet forces. located these crated aircraft. They were dug Allies and the Axis, until the end of the Second
1939, Estonia was forced to accept a Mutual up in late 1941 and flew with the Luftwaffe’s World War.
Assistance Pact with the Soviet Union. This pact During the Soviet invasion , occupation and Sonderstaffel Buschmann in and around the
was signed on 28 September 1939. The terms annexation of Estonia, the Estonian Air Defense Gulf of Finland and Leningrad.
of the accord allowed the Soviets to establish Force, under orders from above, took no action
military bases in Estonia, which were later against the Soviet invaders and as a result, EADF
used in the Winter War against Finland. The aircraft remained in a “standby mode” only.
EADF was under strict orders not to interfere

Armstrong-Whitworth AW IIIDC (Dual Control)

Siskin, IAN 135. The Estonian Air Defence Force
(EADF) operated two Siskin III DC trainers during
the interwar period.

42
 Gourdoue lessEurre

BETWEEN THE WARS

GL-22B3
Gourdou-Leseurre GL-22B3; IAN 77, 81 and 89 - Although Estonian
aviation specialists did not have much confidence in the airworthiness
of the French GL-22s, Estonia elected to purchase them, probably
because neighbours Finland had also purchased the GL-22.
Between 1924 and 1933, number 77 served in numerous Estonian
squadrons, each squadron transferring the aircraft to another
squadron because the aircraft was disliked by its pilots due to frequent
mechanical issues. (A major problem was that the fuel lines on the
aircraft were prone to leaks and ruptures.)
Another serious defect with the GL-22 type was its use of thin
aluminium undercarriage legs, which frequently
crumpled upon landing. Estonian technicians tried
to repair this defect by removing the forward
undercarriage strut (something the Finns also did),
and increasing the stiffness of the remaining two
undercarriage struts. However, this proved to be
only a partially successful solution.

43
 potez 25
BETWEEN THE WARS

Estonia was one of 18 nations which

operated the Potez 25 aircraft. In 1926, Estonia
purchased four Potez 25.13 (Potez 25 “Jupiter”)
reconnaissance aircraft. A short while later,
in late 1926 or early 1927, an additional order
for five more Potez 25 aircraft was placed with
French authorities. These aircraft were Potez
25A2’s and were equipped with Gnome-Rhone Potez 25.A2, IAN 101 - This aircraft was accepted for duty by the 5th (Estonian) Flight-Squadron
Jupiter V engines as seen here: on 7 May 1928. During transport to Estonia, some veneer panelling was damaged, and it took
over two months to repair the damage. She was sold to (Republican) Spain in 1934/1935.

Potez 25.25, IAN 97 - This aircraft had a smaller cockpit, a slightly more powerful
engine and a slightly wider undercarriage compared to the rest of Estonia’s Potez
25 aircraft. She was also painted in an all-silver finish upon her arrival in Estonia
and had had a high operating cost - 100 (Estonian) cents per kilometre flown.

Potez 25.A2, IAN 100 - On 15 September 1931, this aircraft’s

engine began mis-firing badly during an aviation-day exhibition and
made a forced landing near the village of Kõnnu. Her undercarriage
and right lower wing were heavily damaged in the incident. She was
withdrawn from service in 1937, and sold to (Republican) Spain.

44
 BETWEEN THE WARS
bristol bulldog

Bristol Bulldog, Mk. II, Type 105A, IAN 132 - On 21 March 1931, this
aircraft was accepted as service-ready by the EADF. She served well until
Above and below: Bristol Bulldog, Mk. II, Type 105A, IAN 123 - This Bristol Bulldog was
August of 1940, when Soviet military forces invaded Estonia and seized all
accepted as being fully operational in the EADF on 05 December 1930. She served well,
surviving EADF aircraft. This aircraft may have flown in Soviet VVS colours,
with no major mishaps or engine defects until 1937, when she was sold to (Republican)
before being destroyed in order to prevent their use by advancing German
Spain.
forces during the summer of 1941.

45
 aw siskin iii
BETWEEN THE WARS

The Estonian Air Defence Force (EADF)

operated two Armstrong Whitworth Siskin III
DC trainers during the interwar period. They
were allocated Estonian numbers 134 and 135,
and were assigned to the “Lennukool” (flight
school) of the EADF. Siskin number 134 was
permanently withdrawn from active service
on 11 May 1937. Number 135 was withdrawn
from active service in 1939, but it continued
to serve in supporting roles up to the Soviet
occupation and annexation of Estonia in 1940.

46
 letov 228e

BETWEEN THE WARS

Although a decent aircraft, the Letov 228E
suffered engine problems with the EADF. This
was due to their Mercury VIIa engines not
operating well below -15C (5F) which was often
the case in Estonia during the winter months.

47
 hawker hart
BETWEEN THE WARS

Estonia’s Hawker Hart numbers 145, 146, 147 and 148,

were equipped only with ski (winter) and wheeled (summer)
undercarriages. Numbers 149 to 152 were, in addition, also
equipped with floats for maritime operations.
After the Soviets occupied Estonia in the summer of 1940,
they removed all Estonian insignia on the Harts, and replaced
them with Soviet VVS markings. These aircraft did not fly very
much during the first occupation (August 1940 - June 1941), as
the Soviet military pilots were not yet familiar with type. The
Soviet authorities also feared that surviving Estonian Republic
pilots might try to escape in them.

48
 training aircraft

BETWEEN THE WARS

Left: Nr 155 - This Estonian-built training aircraft was originally identified as the ÕGL-1 (Õju-
ja Gaasikaitseliit - Air and Gas Defence League). Later, it was re-named as the PON-1a, in
honour of its constructors, Post/Org/Neudorff (formally Toomas).

Below: Nr 159 - Estonia operated only one Miles Magister M.14a training aircraft. The
profile depicts the aircraft outfitted with a larger rudder assembly - not the thinner one
normally used on Miles Magister M.14a aircraft.

Below: Nr 161 - The PTO-4 (Post/

Tooma/Org) was an Estonian-built
training aircraft powered by a British
Genet “Major” engine. Surviving
the 1st Soviet occupation period
(1940/1941), of interest to note is
that at least two of the four Estonian-
built PTO-4 trainers survived with the
German Luftwaffe until 1944.

Left: Nr. 160 - The PN-3 (Post/Neudorff) trainer, of which only one air-frame
was built, was an Estonian-built aircraft intended to train its pilots to fly the
Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Ia fighters, which were ordered from the UK. She took
her first formal flight in 1939.

49
 henschel 126
BETWEEN THE WARS

Right and below: Nr. 163 - Estonia ordered

12 Henschel Hs-126/B-1 Army Cooperation
aircraft from Germany in February of 1940. Only
five were actually delivered. Some of Estonia’s
Henschel Hs 126/B-1 aircraft were used by
the Soviet VVS in 1941/1942, to undertake
clandestine operations behind German lines.

Right and below: Nr 158. Only one Avro Anson

Type 652A, Mk. I, coastal reconnaissance
aircraft was operated by the EADF. This
airplane also flew in Soviet VVS markings in
1940/1941, during the first Soviet occupation
period of Estonia.

avro anson
50
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