Bristol Beaufighter, part thirteen. Beaufighter Mk. IF

 

As the Luftwaffe switched from day to night bombing at the Fall of 1940, airborne radar sets were given priority, specially installed in a suitable night fighter airframe. The Royal Air Force (RAF) had few aircraft suitable for that role, although the Bristol Blenheim was being employed as an interim night interceptor. The situation called for a large aircraft which could host the radar installation with its correspondent operator, and with enough performance to catch up with the German intruder aircraft, something that the Blenheim couldn't do it effectively, so the Beaufighter offered the RAF an ideal answer.
Back in late 1940, aircraft's performance in night fighting combat wasn't so important and the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Ford managed to fit an Airborne Interception (AI) Mk. IV radar into a single Beaufighter Mk. IF (the letter 'F' stands for 'Fighter') for trials.
Beaufighter Mk. IF R2059 flew the first night interception sortie of the type, while still assigned to the FIU on the night of 4th to 5th September 1940. The first interception mission performed by a RAF Beaufighter squadron was on 17th to 18th September when No. 29 squadron based at RAF Digby sent up R2077 on patrol. However no enemy aircraft were found during that first sortie. Anyway, on 25th October No. 219 squadron recorded the first night kill by a Beaufighter. This was followed by some more victories, albeit the Beaufighters in which they were scored were not equipped with an AI radar, so it wasn't until 19th November 1940 when an AI assisted kill was achieved. During the following six months, radar-equipped Beaufighters took down around twelve enemy aircraft. 
A total of four squadrons were equipped, total or partially, with the Beaufighter, to test the effectiveness of the AI radar, those were, Nos. 29, 25, 219 and 604 squadrons. On 8th September 1941 No. 600 Squadron, which was specialized in night fighting, also received its first Beaufighters IFs. 
On 7th December 1940 the 100th Beaufighter was completed at Filton factory and the 200th exemplar was followed on 10th May 1941. By that date production was licensed to Fairey's shadow factory at Stockport and the Ministry of Aircraft Production plant at Weston-super-Mare at a steady pace. 

An experimental variant of the Beaufighter, the Mk. V was, basically a Beaufighter Mk. II with the turret taken from a Boulton-Paul Defiant attached. During March 1941 this experiment was carried out because, theoretically, it gave the Beaufighter more defensive firepower in the form of four 0.303 inch Browning machine guns. Furthermore, that turret was going to replace not just all of the wing guns, but also one pair of cannons. The observer's dorsal blister was faired flush with the fuselage which retained the lower edge 'scoop out' of the original design. 
Even if the turret arrangement showed its merit when attacking Luftwaffe's bombers at night, as proved by the Defiants and, on the other side, by the Schrage Musik upward firing cannon, the advantages were not obvious enough to justify a serial production of the Mk. V and it was realized that the standard Beaufighter could undertake interception duties with its standard armament well enough.
Two Mk. II airframes, powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin, were fitted and operationally tested, the first one assigned to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) and the FIU and then passed on to No. 406 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The second machine was assigned straight to No. 600 Squadron where it served until it was lost to an accident on 29th September 1941.
A&AEE wrote a handling report about the turret Beaufighter in August 1941, where it stressed the drop in top speed of the Mk. V variant. Squadron usage reports also revealed that the turret obstructed the pilot's scape hatch, so all Beaufighters Mk. V were modified with a floor hatch which could be unlocked in case of emergency and forced back by the slipstream to form a windshield for the crew, each member of which then dropped straight through the hatch. However, no further Mk. Vs were built. 

Sources:
1st Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 153 - Bristol 'Beaufighter' in Action
2nd Scale Aircraft Modelling - Modellers Datafile 6 - Bristol Beaufighter
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter

Gloster E.28/39

 

The Gloster E.28/39 (AKA Gloster Whittle, Gloster Pioneer or Gloster G.40) was the first British jet-engined aircraft to flight in 1941, making it the fourth jet to fly after the Heinkel He.178 (1939), the Caproni-Campini N.1 (1940) and the Heinkel He.280 (1941).

In 1939 the British Air Ministry issued a specification, E.28/39, for an adequate aircraft that could serve as testbed for the new jet propulsion systems that Frank Whittle was developing during the 1930s. Both Gloster and George Carter (Gloster's chief designer) collaborated with Whittle to design a conventional aircraft fitted around the Power Jets W.1 engine rated at 1.760 lbf (7.8 kN) of thrust. Though unarmed, it had provision for four Browning 0.303 in machine guns placed in the wings.

The first prototype flew for the first time on 15th May 1941 and was followed by two additional prototypes to be employed in flight test programme. After some successful initial tests, the prototypes were kept flying to refine the jet engines and new aerodynamic features. In spite of the lost of the second prototype (which was caused by improper maintenance that lead to an aileron failure), the E.28/39 was considered a success. 

The E.28/39 gave initial vital experience with the jet engine and eventually led to the development of the Gloster Meteor. The first prototype was kept in active until 1944, when it was withdrawn from service. In 1946 it was transferred to the Science Museum in London, where it has been in static display ever since. 

Sources:

1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_E.28/39

 

Caproni Ca.310, foreign users, part two

 

The Caproni Ca.310 Libeccio, was an Italian twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft used during the World War II. It was mainly employed by Italy, but it also had many other foreign users, among them, those in the previous post, and the following ones:

• United Kingdom: The United Kingdom was going to be the most important foreign customer for the Ca.310, as the Royal Air Force (RAF) was undergoing major expansion programme after the Munich crisis in 1938. An element of that programme included enlarging the RAF's bomber force, which required an effective crew trainer aircraft. The RAF's high command decided that the Ca.310 could fit that role in late 1938 (albeit with some minor modifications, like for instance, replacing the 12,7 Breda-SAFAT defensive machine-gun with a British Vickers K gun). Negotiations continued well after the beginning of the World War II, when Italy was still neutral. The order wasn't cancelled even after 3rd September, when France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. However, Germany issued a formal protest to Italian government and, Caproni, which apparently was sympathetic to the Allied cause, tried to sell the aircraft through their Portuguese subsidiary. In December 1939 the British government, informed Caproni that they were going to buy 200 examples of the Ca.310 plus 300 of the Ca.313. Eventually, the order was changed to replace the Ca.310 with Ca.311, which was better. When Italy entered the War on 10th June 1940, all plans were scrapped.
• Peru: The Peruvian Cuerpo Aeronáutico del Perú (Peruvian Aeronautical Corps) bought 16 Ca.310s in 1938. Fifteen of them were shipped in May and the last one was ferried from Italy to Peru. The flight took place on 2nd August 1939, but the aircraft crashed on his way killing its pilot, Captain Pedro Canga Rodriguez. The Peruvian Ca.310s were employed during the Ecuadorian-Peruvian War of July 1941 as part of various bombing squadrons. They often flew bombing missions against Ecuadorian cities, escorted by the North American NA-50 "Torito" (Spanish for 'Little Bull') fighters. After that war ended, they were used as trainers.
• Nationalist Spain: It was during the Spanish Civil War that the Ca.310 was used in combat for the first time. A total of 16 Ca.310 were employed by the Aviación Nacional (Spanish Nationalist Air Force during the civil war) from July 1938 until the end of the conflict. They were assigned to Grupo 18 (Group 18) and were used in the reconnaissance-bomber role, and saw little action, mainly in the Catalonian front.
• Yugoslavia: This country was the first foreign customer of the type when, in 1938, they bought 12 Ca.310. While every other country bought the Ca.310 as a light bombers, Yugoslavia bought them as bomber trainers, as the Royal Yugoslav Air Force was undergoing a modernization process with more modern bombers such as the Bristol Blenheim, the Dornier Do.17k and the Savoia-Marchetti Sm.79, so they needed a multi-engined crew-trainer aircraft with retractable landing gear. 
  Apparently Yugoslavia was the only foreign customer satisfied with the Ca.310's performance, so they ordered a second batch of 12 Ca.310bis machines in 1939, which was a developed variant with an unstepped glazed cockpit (it would eventually serve as the prototype for the Ca.311) which was delivered at the end of the year. After the country was invaded by Axis forces, the Ca.310 were divided between the Independent State of Croatia, Italy and Germany. 
  During the late stages of the war, Yugoslav partisans seem to have re-captured some ex-Croatian machines and sent them to serve with the Yugoslav Partisan Air Force and its subsequent postwar air force. As we couldn't find graphical info about the Ca.310 serving with the SFR Yugoslav Air Force, the drawing should be regarded as speculative.

Sources:

1. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235096763-caproni-ca310/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caproni_Ca.310

Fairey Spearfish

 

The Fairey Spearfish was designed by Fairey Aviation to a specification issued by the Admiralty for a replacement of the Fairey Barracuda for a torpedo/dive bomber. Compared to the Barracuda, the Spearfish was powered by a much powerful engine, had a bigger internal weapons bay and had a retractable ASV Mk. XV surface-search radar mounted behind the bomb bay. The Spearfish was half as large as the Barracuda, as it was designed to operate from the Malta-class carriers which eventually were never completed.

In August 1943 Fairey received an order for three prototypes to be built against the Specification O.5/43 and the prototype was built at Fairey's Hayes factory. It flew for the first time on 5th July 1945 from Heston airfield, in London. Two further prototypes were also built, but they didn't take off until 1947. In November 1943 the company was also ordered to produce a dual-control dive-bombing trainer variant, under the specification T.21/43. It was built at Heaton Chapel Factory and flown at Ringway airport, in Manchester, on 20th June 1946. Three further development machines were ordered in May 1944. These were going to be assembled at Heaton Chapel with the last two powered by a Rolls-Royce Pennine engine. However, only the first one, powered by a Bristol Centaurus engine was built, but never flew.

An initial production order for 150 machines was placed, to be manufactured at Heaton Chapel. All of them were to be powered by the 2.600 hp Bristol Centaurus engine in different variants. With the cancellation of the Malta-class aircraft carriers, the Fleet Air Arm no longer had a requirement for new torpedo bombers and the programme was cancelled. Work continued on the two other prototypes, albeit very slowly. 

The first prototype was used by Napier & Son at Luton for trials on the company's in-flight de-icing system, it was then used again for ground-training purposes on 30th April 1952 and it was scrapped shortly afterwards. The second prototype was used by the Royal Navy for carrier trials at RNAS Ford, in Sussex, until it was sold for scrap on 15th September. The third prototype was employed for ASV Mk.XV radar trials, but was damaged in a heavy landing on 1st September 1949 and sold for scrap as it was beyond reparation. The fourth prototype never flew and was used as a source of spare parts. The only Heaton Chapel-built aircraft was the closest to the planned production and was used for engine-cooling and power-assisted flying control trials, until it was struck off charge on 24th July 1951.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Spearfish

2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Spearfish-t54911

Fairey P.4/34

The Fairey P.4/34 was a competitor for a light bomber to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Even if it didn't proceed beyond the prototype stage, it formed the basis for the Fairey Fulmar.
Back in 1934 the Air Ministry issued a specification called P.4/34 calling for a light bomber that could also play the close-range support role to replace the Fairey Battle. Three companies, Fairey, Gloster and Hawker presented proposals but contracts were granted only for those designs of Hawker and Fairey. The P.4/34 was a low-wing metal monoplane powered by Rolls Royce Merlin I which yielded 1.030 hp of power. It had a crew of two accommodated in tandem position under a long-glazed canopy. Its configuration was similar to that of the previous Battle bomber, but the P.4/34 was smaller and had a wider track, inwards retracting undercarriage. It was prepared for dive bombing, as the specification required, and carried its load of two 250 lb (110 kg) underwing, while the competing design, the Hawker Henley, had an internal bomb bay. Apart from the bombs, the P.4/34 was armed with just one forward-firing 0.303 in machine gun placed in the nose.
Two P.4/34 were ordered, with the first flying on 13th January 1937. For comparison, the prototype Hawker Henley flew on 10th March 1937. When tested, the Hawker was clearly superior but, as the need for a light-bomber had changed, it entered service as a target tug.
The P.4/34 served as the basis for a two-seat long-range carrier-based fighter for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to meet the requirements of the specification O.8/38. The second P.4/34 prototype was modified to reduce its wing span and its tail-plane was lowered to make it more aerodynamic for the Fulmar. It was later used to test retractable Fairey-Youngman flaps which would eventually be used on the Fairey Firefly.
In 1938 the first prototype was at Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough, where it was used for testing the effects of barrage balloons, by deliberately flying it into a weighted cable hung beneath (not the actual tether cable). Testing was carried out at RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, and at Pawlett, in Somerset, from September 1938. The whole process was filmed by a chasing Battle from RAF Mildenhall. The P.4/34 was later joined by another Battle, both of them were reinforced to withstand the impacts but severe damage to the fuselage was, nonetheless, usual. Most of the flights were made by Johnny Kent, as the original intended pilot, Arthur E. Clouston had taken leave to go for the London-New Zealand speed record. Kent accumulated more than 300 collisions and was awarded The Air Force Cross for his efforts. He said about the P.4: "a delightful aeroplane through all manoeuvres, except for the spin, which was really vicious".
In 1938 a contract was signed between the Royal Danish Navy and Fairey for building, under license, the P.4/34 in Denmark. It would've been manufactured at the Danish Naval Shipyard, in Copenhagen. In 1939, they received the order to manufacture 12 machines, however, none of them was completed when Germany occupied Denmark in April 1940.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_P.4/34
2. http://www.navalhistory.dk/English/NavAir/NavalAviation.htm
3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/fairey_p4-34.php
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-P-4-34-t197999

Westland Welkin

The Westland Welkin was a British twin-engine heavy fighter designed by William E.W. Petter and manufactured by Westland Aircraft Company that was designed to fight at extremely high altitudes, in the stratosfere. As a matter of fact, the word "Welkin" means "the vault of heaven" or "the upper atmosfere".
Westland placed their P.14 project, which was basically a high altitude adaptation of the Whirlwind, to meet Air Ministry Specification F.4 of 1940 for a high altitude fighter. Welkin's most predominant feature was its enormous high aspect ratio wings with a span on the production aircraft of 70 ft (21 m). The troublesome engines of the Whirlwind were replaced by the more powerful two-stage Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk.76/77 and it featured a pressurized cockpit made entirely out of heavy-gauge duraluminium bolted directly to the front of the main spar. The cockpit hood used an internal layer of thick perspex the hold the pressure, and an outer thin layer to form a smooth line. It featured a mechanism to blow heated air between the two layers to keep the canopy clear of frost.
The Ministry of Aircraft Production authorised the building of two prototypes in January 1941. The specification F.4/40 was revised into F.7/41 that same year, so the Welkin design was now in competition against the Vickers Type 432 which was powered with Merlin 61 engines.
The pressurisation system was driven by a Rotol supercharger attached to the left-engine,which was the difference between the Merlin 76 and 77 engines, which provided a constant pressure of 3.5 psi over the exterior pressure. This, resulted in an apparent cabin altitude of 24.000 ft (7.300 m) when the aircraft operated at the altitude it was designed for, 45.000 ft (14.000 m). Given that this cabin altitude was too high for the pilot the breathe, he had to wear oxygen mask when flying. A rubber gasket filled with pressurized air sealed the canopy when the system was turned on and a valve ensured the pressure was controlled automatically. The pilot must also wear a high altitude suit as he may had to bail-out at high altitude in case he was shot down.
The Welkin also featured a sophisticated electrical system, which was done to minimise the number of seals and points of entry in the cockpit for the control and instrumentation. An experienced electrician in the electrical features of the Welkin needed 4 hours to undertake a pre-flight check of this system. The wings were so large that the fowler flaps of the Whirlwind weren't needed so they were replaced by a simple split flap. The extra wing area also required more stability and the tail was lengthened to provide a longer moment arm. It was armed with four Hispano 20mm cannons, just like the Whirlwind, but they were carried in a tray in its belly to make their loading easier. In that position muzzle flash was less likely to dazzle the pilot.
Welkin's long aspect-ratio seriously handicapped its compressibility, so it needed to be thick at root for strength reasons. Compressibility caused the flight envelope (flyable speed range) between high-incidence stall and shock-stall became very small at high altitudes (any decrease in air speed caused a "normal" stall, while an increase caused a "shock-stall" due to the aircraft's limited critical match number). This reduction of speed envelope is common to all sub-sonic high altitude designs and also happened with later designs like the Lockheed U-2.
The Welkin was kept as top-secret during World War 2 and any information about its existence was only released after the end of the conflict. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 76 or 77 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines which were rated at 1233 hp each.
A two-seat radar-equipped night fighter version was also developed, known as the Westland Welkin NF.Mk.II, for F.9/43 specification, but eventually just one was produced as the variant wasn't ordered into production.
When the Welkin Mk.I was completed and under manufacture, it was evident that the Luftwaffe was no longer performing high altitude missions due mainly to the successful interceptions made by specially modified Spitfires. Just 77 machines were completed at Westland's factory in Yeovil, Somerset, plus further 26 engine-less frames. Only two Welkins served with the Fighter Interception Unit, based at RAF Wittering from May to November 1944, where they were used to gain experience and formulate tactics for high altitude fighter operations, but, eventually, the Welkin was never used operationally by the Royal Air Force.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Welkin
2. https://www.valka.cz/Westland-Welkin-F-Mk-I-t10702
3. https://www.valka.cz/Westland-Welkin-NF-Mk-II-t35453
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
5. 4+ Publications - 20 - Westland Welkin

Supermarine Seagull (1948)

The Supermarine Seagull was a British military flying boat, the last built by the Supermarine company. It was designed during the World War 2, but it didn't fly until three years after the end of the conflict and the project was cancelled without it being adopted for service.
The Seagull was made entirely out of metal with a two spar parasol mounted wing on a pylon connecting it to the fuselage. The single Rolls-Royce Griffon 29 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine yielded 1815hp of power and drove contra-rotating propellers. Radiators were mounted below the engine in the pylon where an observer's position with two windows was placed too. An eye bolt was fitted on the wing to make it easier for the aircraft to be lifted by crane.
The wings were fitted with slotted flaps and full length leading edge slats and could be folded for compact ship-board stowage. It also had a variable angle of incidence, pivoting at the front spar and actuated by an electrically driven jackscrew attached to the rear spar in order to reduce stalling speed and increase lift, allowing the aircraft this way to use a smaller wing, as compactness was an important feature for a ship-borne aircraft.
Supermarine had already tested this arrangement in their previous Type 322 design, and its capability was demonstrated when test pilot Mike Lithgow flew a Seagull at just 35mph (56km/h). In July 1950 a Seagull piloted by Leslie R Colquhoun, achieved an air-speed record for an amphibian aircraft over a 100 Kilometre (62 milles) course by flying at an average speed of 249.1mph (389.3km/h).
The hull was a normal frame and longeron design with chines. The tailplane, which was carried on top of the fin, had a very large dihedral, with smaller fins mounted on its tips, perpendicular to its surface. A third fin was later added to the centre after discovering that, in the first prototype, instability in yaw. It was added to the second prototype while it was still under construction.
The undercarriage retracted into bays on either side of the fuselage and could be easily removed saving 180Kg (400lb) of weight when the aircraft operated as a pure flying-boat. It was also fitted with an arrestor hook for carrier operations, as well as JATO rockets just above the wheel wells.
The crew normally consisted of three, a pilot, a navigator and a medic. It could acommodate up to seven survivors.
In October 1940 the British Air Ministry issued the specification S.12/40 both to Supermarine and Fairey for a catapult-launched amphibian reconnaissance and spotter aircraft to replace both Supermarine Walrus and Supermarine Sea Otter. An order for three prototypes was placed on Supermarine in March 1943.
As Supermarine's design office at Woolston was bombed, there a was an interruption in design as the office had to be moved. Further delays were caused by the extensive wind tunnel testing that was needed and the switch from the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the more powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon. The design specification was also changed in 1944 to a new requirement, S.14/44 - the role of the aircraft changed from a ship-based reconnaissance and gunnery spotting to land-based Air-sea rescue, forcing the removal of a four-gun turret that initial designs featured.
The first prototype took off for the first time on 14th July 1948 from Southampton Water at the hands of test pilot Mike Lithgow. The second aircraft, flew in September 1949 and was used for carrier trials on HMS Ark Royal (R09), later in that year. During that testing it showed its passenger capacity of five passengers. Experiments with rocket-assisted take off were also carried out.
By early 1950s it was clear that the helicopters were the future on air-sea rescue, even if their range and endurance was too low and the project was discontinued leading to the two prototypes to be scrapped in 1952.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Seagull_(1948)
2. http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft32244.htm

Westland Whirlwind, part two

No.25 Squadron, based at North Weald, was the first squadron to receive the Westland Whirlwind. The Whirlwind was evaluated by that squadron in late May 1940 however it was decided to re-equip the squadron with the night-fighter version of the Bristol Beaufighter as the No.25 was already a night-fighter squadron and the Whirlwind would've required some adaptations which the Bristol Beaufighter didn't.
The first squadron to fly the Whirlwind operationally was the No. 263 Squadron, which was undergoing reformation at Grangemouth, Scotland after sustaining heavy losses during the Norwegian campaign. The first Whirlwind arrived on 6th July 1940. However, deliveries were slow and on 17th August 1940 there were only 5 of them and none of them were serviceable, with the squadron flying the Hawker Hurricane as an interim fighter. In spite of the Battle of Britain and the urgent need for fighters in the South of England, the squadron remained in Scotland as Air Chief Marshall Hugh Downing stated that the No.263 Squadron couldn't be deployed in the South because "there was no room for 'passengers' in that part of the world."
Shortly after, on 7th December 1940 No.263 Squadron was rebased to RAF Exeter, this time fully equipped with Westland Whirlwind. Initially they conducted convoy and anti E-boat patrols. The first confirmed kill by a Whirlwind took place on 8th February 1941 when an Arado Ar.196 was shot down with the responsible Whirlwind crashing into the sea killing the pilot. From then on, the squadron enjoyed certain success with the Whirlwind fighting against the Junkers Ju.88, Dornier Do.217, Messerschmitt Bf.109 and Focke-Wulf Fw.190.
The 263 squadron also carried out ocasional escort missions. For instance, they escorted a formation of 54 Blenheims on a low-level raid against power stations in Cologne on 12th August 1941. Due to the short range of the Whirlwinds (and the rest of the fighter escort), they had to turn back at Antwerp, leaving the Blenheim unescorted and losing ten of them in the raid.
The squadron flew mostly attack sorties both against ground and naval targets. The Whirlwind proved a challenge for German fighters flying at low level as proved on 6th August 1941 when four Whirlwinds which were on an anti-shipping strike, were intercepted by a formation of Messerschmitt Bf.109 with three Bf.109 claimed and no British losses.
A second Whirlwind squadron, the No.137 Squadron, was formed in September 1941, specialising in attacks against railway targets. One year later, the improved version, Whirlwind Mk.IA appeared which carried underwing bombs, which proved very effective in ground attack missions.
No.137 Squadron took heavy losses on 12th February 1942 in the Channel Dash, when they were sent to escort British destroyers, unaware of the German ships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the area. They took off 13:10 hours and soon they spotted the German warships about 20mi (32Km) off the Belgian coast when they descended to investigate and were intercepted by a large formation of 20 Bf.109s of the JG.2. The Whirlwinds were heavily outnumbered and four of the eight were lost during the ambush.
The last Whirlwind mission with the No.137 Squadron took place on 21st June 1943 when five Whirlwinds took off for a ground attack patrol against the German airfield in Poix-de-Picardie, France. One of the Whirlwinds was unable to locate the target and instead attacked a train located north of Rue. While returning his engine malfunctioned and had to force land at RAF Marston heavily damaging the aircraft with the pilot walking away unhurt. The Whirlwinds were replaced by the Hawker Typhoon soonly after.
That way, the No.263 squadron became the very last one to be equipped with the Whirlwind, flying its last mission on 29th November 1943, converting them to the Hawker Typhoon in December that year. On 1st January 1944 the Whirlwind was declared obsolete with the remaining serviceable aircraft being transferred to the No.18 Maintenance Unit which scrapped most of them for serviceable parts and repairing only those which were in near-flyable condition.
One Whirlwind was bought by the US Navy in 1942 and was used also by Grumman for testing purposes. There are no pictures of it, but apparently it was sent to NAS Pensacola in Florida and saw various colour schemes between 1942 and 1944 when it was scrapped. As there aren't no pics the drawing should be considered as speculative.
There were proposals to equip the Whirlwind with a radar, which were discarded, just like the ones to equip the Whirlwind with Rolls-Royce Merlin 76/77 engines, which were also discarded due to the development of the Westland Welkin.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Whirlwind_(fighter)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._137_Squadron_RAF
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._263_Squadron_RAF
4. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/airfix-1-72-westland-whirlwind-i-02064-a50096-t1068-s75.html
5. https://sites.google.com/site/72ndscaleaircraft/home/comparison-articles-menu/westland-whirlwind-comparison
6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Vultee P-66 Vanguard

During the late 1930s Vultee Aircraft Division conceived what later would be the Vultee Vanguard from a set of common wings ,aft fuselage and tail assemblies. Four designations were assigned by the company, V-48 for a single-seat fighter, BC-51 for a double-seat basic combat trainer, B-54 for an advanced combat trainer (where BC-54D would be the basic trainer variant). Eventually, the BC-51 became the Army Air Corps BC-3 and the BC-54D became the Vultee BT-13 Valiant.
Therefore, in 1938, Richard W. Palmer, designed the V-48 fighter. It featured a metal-covered, semi-monocoque fuselage and fully retractable landing gear. It was powered by a 1200hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine. When the first prototype was being constructed, a decision was taken to lengthen the propeller shaft and install a tight cowling to provide a pointed nose to reduce drag. That way, the first prototype made its maiden flight in September 1939 piloted by Vance Breese. Nicknamed "Vanguard", on the 9th May 1940, when performing a test flight, the prototype collided with a Lockheed Sirius, while landing at Vultee airfield, severing one of the undercarriage legs. However, Breese managed to skillfully land the fighter with little additional damage. The prototype was subsequently rebuilt with the orthodox cowling that was employed in the subsequent exemplars.
Flight testing revealed inadequate cooling, however, measures to modify the cooling ducting were of little avail. The design was re-evaluated and it was reached to the conclusion that the insignificant drag reduce wasn't worth the added weight and ducting problems. The second prototype, named V-48X was modified with a conventional cowl, and the first aircraft was subsequently modified.
It flew for the first time on 11th February 1940 and, as result of flight tests, changes were made to the design including substantially increasing the areas of the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces.
On 6th February 1940 the Swedish government ordered 144 Vanguards which were labelled as the V-48C. The production prototype flew later on 6th September 1940. The model V-48C was similar to the V-48X except for the engine which was a later version of the R-1830 engine with a better high-altittude performance and provision for four 0.30in (7.92mm) machine guns in the wings and two 0.50in (12.7mm) machine guns in the fuselage.
When the aircraft was placed into production in September 1941, the U.S. Government placed an embargo on exporting the aircraft to Sweden. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent reorganization of the U.S. Army Air Corps, they were given the designation of P-66. Production ended in April 1942 with around 50 aircraft were retained by the USAAF and used them mainly at pursuit training bases in the Western U.S. assigned to the 14th Pursuit Group in defensive roles. Pilots were impressed by the P-66s handling, however it was considered less than robust and a tendency to ground-loop destroyed more than 15 aircraft in landing accidents.
The British government took possesion of 100 P-66s which named them as Vanguard I with the intention of using them as advanced trainers in Canada. However, they reliquished the aircraft to China where 104 Vanguards, some of them being USAAC's machines, were shipped under lend-lease program. They were originally intended to serve with the 3rd American Volunteer Group (AVG), but plans for additional groups were discarded after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In late 1942 the Chinese received the machines via India and they were pushed into service with USAAF insignia and serials as well as Chinese markings and Vultee serials on factory models.
It didn't have a distinguished career in China due to problems that began back in transit towards China when some were destroyed in tests in India and others were lost while en route to China. Most of the assembled P-66 were not marked as airworthy and were abandoned in Karachi, with just 12 Vanguards serving in Kunming with the 74th Fighter Squadron, 23th Fighter Group where they barely saw any action at all.
Two Chinese squadrons from the 3rd and 5th Groups, based at An-Su, saw some combat action with the Vanguard from August 1943 onwards. However, many P-66s were shot down on the ground during Japanese attacks and many others were shot down by friendly fire when they were mistaken for the Nakajima Ki-43 and Ki-44. Even if the P-66 had a decent top speed of 340mph (550Km/h), it wasn't a rival for the agile Japanese fighters in high-g maneouvers and they had to employ hit-and-run tactics against the Japanese.
In Chinese service, the P-66 was replaced by the Curtiss P-40 in 1943. Some few P-66s were placed in storage at caves for use in the upcoming civil war against the Chinese communists. However, as late as 1947 they were still in their crates and it's not known that they were using after World War II.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vultee_P-66_Vanguard
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Miles M.20

At the beginning of the World War 2, Miles aircraft began their work on an aircraft that could supplement the RAF's Spitfires and Hurricanes. They built a wooden mock-up model which was inspected by Sir Kingsley Wood, Secretary of State for Air, but no orders were followed. As, at the beginning of the Battle of Britain in July 1940, the RAF suffered a serious shortage of fighters so, in order to face the threat of the Luftwaffe, the Air Ministry ordered Miles to design a fighter that should be easy to build and simple, as stated in the specification F.19/40.
In order to reduce manufacturing time it was made entirely out of wood and used many parts of the earlier Miles Master Trainer, it lacked hydraulics and has a spatted landing gear. The fixed landing gear freed enough space for twelve 0.303 Browning Machine guns to be fixed in the wings with 5000 total rounds and a fuel capacity of 154 imperial gallons (700 litres). Both weaponry and range doubled the capacity of both the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire and its bubble canopy gave an excellent 360º vision.
As Miles had to simplify their design and re-use available components, it was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V12 inline engine with a capacity of 1260hp (940Kw) which also powered the Bristol Beaufighter or the Avro Lancaster. This granted flight performance that fell between those of the Britain's two frontline fighters.
The first prototype was tested by the Royal Aircraft Establishment on 15th September 1940 and was armed with eight 0.303 Browning machine guns (out of a capacity of 12), like the Hawker Hurricane and proved to be faster, but slower than the Spitfire versions that were in production but, on the other hand, it had greater range and greater ammo capacity than those two. However as the Luftwaffe was defeated over Britain, the need for the M.20 decreased and the design was abandoned without entering into production with the first prototype being scrapped at Woodley, in Berkshire.
A second prototype was built to comply with the specification N.1/41 for a shipboard fighter to serve with the Fleet Air Arm and was equipped with an arrestor hook and catapult launching points. It flew for the first time on 8th April 1941 and was intended to serve on board of Catapult Merchant Ships which, as they lacked flight decks, the aircraft had to be ditched after each mission so, in order to facilitate it, a jettisonable undercarriage was fitted. In the end that role was filled by obsolete Hawker Hurricanes so there was no need for this type of aircraft and this shipboard variant was also scrapped.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.20
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Saunders-Roe SR.A/1

The Saunders-Roe SR. A/1 was a prototype flying-boat fighter that was inspired by the moderate success of the Imperial Japanese Navy's seaplanes like the Nakajima A6M2-N, which was a seaplane adaptation of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero or the Kawanishi N1K. Theoretically they were better suited to the Pacific Theatre of Operation as seaplanes could turn any calm coastal area into an airbase, with their main disadvantage being the way in which the bulk of their flotation gear penalised their combat performance.
Saunders-Roe saw the, back then, new jet-engine technology as an opportunity to overcome that drawback as, thanks to the jet, there wasn't any need for a propeller clearance, so the fuselage could sit lower into the water and use a flying-boat type fuselage. Saunders-Roe presented first their idea to the air-ministry back in 1943, the SR.44 which was never materialised and it was going to be powered by am almost prototypical Halford H.1 engine with an expected performance of 520mph (837km/h) at 40.000ft (12.200m). However, the air-ministry deemed the design as having a thickness/chord ratio as too high for a high-speed fighter operating at high altittudes. Therefore, the design was modified to comply with the newly issued E.6/44 by the air ministry in April 1944 on the modified design together with a development contract for three prototypes in May 1944.
However, as the war was over, its development was secondary and Saunders-Roe concentrated their efforts on the Saunders-Roe Princess long-range civilian flying-boat.
So, as the project was considered secondary, it wasn't until 16th July 1947 that the prototype flew for the first time at the hands of Geoffrey Tyson and, both the first and its two sisters showed good performance and handling with Tyson making a demonstration of aerobatics and inverted flight at the 1948 SBAC display. Anyway, the need for such aircraft had gone with the end of the war and, furthermore, the war in the Pacific showed that aircraft carriers were more effective at protecting the airpower over the ocean, although Saunders-Roe argued that both carriers and escorts were still very vulnerable to both aircraft and other ships. Additionally the cockpit canopy was small and heavily framed having a poor field of view. An automatic mooring system was added to aid the pilot without having to leave the cockpit.
It was powered by two Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl that yielded 3850lbf (17.2Kn) of thrust power, but there was a problem as Metropolitan-Vickers ceased on the production of jet engines, making therefore the availability of such engine very limited. Therefore, project was cancelled and the prototype was put into storage in 1950. After the outbreak of the Korean War, it was briefly resurrected in November 1950, before the realisation that it was obsolete when compared to land-based fighters and the inability to solve the shortage of engines so both factor combined, forced the cancellation of the project which flew for the last time in June 1951.
Two of the three prototypes were equipped with Martin-Baker ejection seats and the expected armament was 4 20mm Hispano Mk.5 cannons in the front part and a payload of 1000lb (455kg) of bombs or rockets under the wings.
It never received an official name, but company workers referred to it as "squirt".
It also served as the main inspiration for the P.121 which was never matherialized and which will be covered in future posts.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saunders-Roe_SR.A/1
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Bell YFM-1 Airacuda

Materializing many innovative features and designed by Robert J. Woods, the Airacuda was a five-seat long-range bomber destroyer. It was powered by two engines in a pusher configuration and it accommodated two gunners in forward extensions of the engine nacelles. Those crew members were provided with wing crawlways in order to reach the main fuselage in the event that it was needed to evacuate the nacelle gun positions.
The first prototype XFM-1 was powered by two 1150hp Allison V-1710-13 12-Cylinder liquid-cooled engines which drove three-blade propellers via 64-in (1.62m) extension shafts and flew for the first time on 1st September 1937.
Twelve further evaluation models were ordered, nine as YFM-1 and other three YFM-1As which was different just in having tricycle undercarriage. The engines kept being two 1150hp Allison V-1710-23s, but three of them were fitted with the V-1710-41 of 1090hp as YFM-1Bs. The 12 YFMs were delivered to the United States Army Air Corps between February and October 1940 and they were armed with one 37mm T-9 cannon in each gun nacelle with 110 rounds each, plus one 0.3in (7.62mm) M2 machine gun with 500 rounds in each of the retractable dorsal turret and ventral tunnel positions and one 0.5in (12.7mm) M2 gun firing from each of the port and starboard beam positions. Twenty 30lb (13.6Kg) bombs could be fitted internally.
During flight testing performed by Bell, many problems and flaw were encountered with two of them being lost to accidents and most of them being damaged. The most accident occurred to an YFM-1A on a flight between Chanute Field, Illinois and Keesler Field, Mississippi when a broken oil line sparked a fire due to some serious fuselage vibration encountered during the flight. As there wasn't any way of extinguishing the fire, both pilot and crew chief agreed to bail out. The pilot was killed as his parachute didn't open. That was the only fatality occurred during the testing of the Airacudas.
In spite of all those problems, a full operation Airacuda squadron was assembled and operated from 1938 to 1940. Funds were appropriatted but never released for the purchase of two further groups of Airacudas. However, as the continued problems persisted, the aircraft received the reputation of "hangar queens". Near the end of the aicraft's operational life they were flown mainly for photo oportunities and always accompanied by a chase plane for security purposes. It was decided eventually to disperse the aircraft through various airfields to give pilots the chance to add the unusual aircraft to their log books, so they were sent to Langley Field, Virginia, Maxwell Field, Alabama, Hamilton Field, California and Wright Field, in Dayton, Ohio. One of them was displayed at the 1940 New York World Fair finished with the colours of the 27th Pursuit Squadron but during this time the aicraft saw limited flight time as pilots weren't interested in flying the unusual aircraft.
Many plans were made to modify them to make them operational, including the modification of the airframe and adding more powerful engines but all of them were rejected. In early 1942 despite the danger of enemy attacks against American bombers, the Airacuda was rejected.

Sources:
1. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_YFM-1_Airacuda

Amiot 356

The Amiot 356 was a variant of the Amiot 351/354 twin-engined bomber that was to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin X engines delivering each of them 1030hp of power.
Thirty-five of them were ordered in January 1939 together with on-hundred of the 353 type. On 1st December 1939, the order was increased to forty.
It made its maiden flight on 18th March 1940 in Villacoublay but, due to the German invasion and it was flown to Tolouse, in southern France, where it was storaged. In April 1941 it was one of the five aircrafts that was part of the Vichy's fleet that had their weapons removed and used by Air France and, between July 1941 and November 1942 was used as a liaison aircraft between metropolitan Vichy France and the colonies in North Africa.
As it had British engines, we thought it would've been feasible that some units of the Royal Air Force would've used it if France had resisted the Blitzkrieg.

Amiot 353

The Amiot 353 was a version of the Amiot 351/354 that was powered by two British made Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled engines delivering each of them 1030hp of power.
It was part of a project of testing the airframe of the Amiot 350 with as many engines as possible. Sixty of them were ordered when the original contract for the Amiot 351 was modified for the third time in early January 1939 and, when the second production contract was issued for more Amiot bombers, one-hundred 353 were ordered in late January 1939. The order remained active until 1st December 1939 but, due to more important issues that the French Armée de l'Air had, the Amiot 353 fades away and, apparently a single prototype was completed that was probably destroyed during the German invasion in May 1940.
As this variant was half-British, we couldn't resist the tentation of painting in early Royal Air Force colours in an hypothetical French resistance of the Blitzkrieg.

Sources:
1. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_amiot_353.html
2. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiot_354 (translated)
3. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action - French Bombers of World War II in Action

Martin-Baker M.B.6 & MB.7

The Martin-Baker MB.6 was a jet fighter project that was made in 1945, just before the end of the World War II.
It would've been a single-seat jet fighter made of all-metal stressed-skin with a low wing. The fuselage was going to be cigar shaped with an air intake in the nose. The tail was designed to be conventional all-metal single-fin and rudder with a tailplane and elevator positioned on top of the aft fuselage.
The most notorius feature was also that it was going to be fitted with skids undercarriage instead of the conventional tricycle wheels. However, most likely they could've been replaced by wheels.
It wasn't specified what engine would fit, but it was most likely the Rolls-Royce Derwent. The cockpit was placed in the nose with a clear bubble view and it was going to be armed with four 20mm Hispano cannons placed at the front with a provision of 200 rounds per gun.
The Martin-Baker MB.7 was a project of a Delta shaped interceptor for the F.43/46 air ministry specification, which, most likely, was the official that was going to be given, to the Martin-Baker Delta which we already covered previously.

Sources:
1. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.aviation.military/NVwltBtoD0A
2. http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,3600.0.html

Martin-Baker Delta

The Martin-Baker Delta was Martin-Baker's contestant for the F.43/46 Air Ministry specification which required an interceptor powered either by the Rolls-Royce AJ.65 or the Metrovick F.9. Many candidates were presented to the specification, Gloster P.234, Gloster P.248, Gloster P.250, Hawker P.1054 and Martin-Baker Delta.
It was a delta-shaped design, just like the German Lippisch P.13a, with a fin commencing with the cockpit section that extended upwards and along the remaining fuselage length. It was designed to have a tricycle undercarriage retracting upwards and stowed to the rear in line with the fuselage. It was going to be powered by a Roll-Royce AJ.65 with nose intake and fuel capacity for 300 gallons (1363,83 litres) in two fuel tanks mounted in the wings. It was going to be equipped with a single ejection seat, placed above the engine, enclosed in a fully pressurized cockpit and it was going to be armed with two 20mm Hispano cannons placed in the wings section, one in each side, just adjacent to the fuselage with 200 rounds per gun.
In the end, the specification F.43/46 was superseded by the F.3/48  which was won by the Hawker P.1077 that was the prototype of the famous Hawker Hunter.

Sources:
1. http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,1217.0.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Air_Ministry_specifications
3. Midland Publishing - British Secret Projects

Martin-Baker MB 1

The Martin-Baker MB 1 was the first airplane of the Martin-Baker company that was founded in 1934. The design departed from the traditional two-seater touring aircraft of the time, being an example of an advanced design.
The construction involved a simply, yet ingenious, method of a round section thin gauge steel tubing with a fabric covering. It was powered by a 160hp inline Napier Javelin engine which drove a fixed pitch wooden propeller. The tubular mounting was designed so that all the parts were accessible for easy maintenance and it was electrically started. The undercarriage was fixed, and it carried low pressure tyres with shock absorber struts.
Answering to Martin-Baker's simpleness-on-design philosophy, the prototype was very quick and easy to build and it was rapidly assembled by a group of just 12 semi-skilled workers. The wings were designed to be foldable backwards by just one person, in order to make it easier to storage and additional long triangular welded-aluminium fuel tanks were designed to be quickly detachable and were carried in the centre of each wing spar.
It was reported by a contemporary aeronautical magazine that the seats were very comfortable and the cockpit was totally enclosed with an oval transparent hood with a sharp vee-type with vertical front panes which shouldn't collect any rain or snow and should obviate any reflection from internal or external lightning.
The prototype was tested on 1st April 1935 by Cpt. Baker himself with the registration of G-ADS and reached a top speed of 125mph (201.15km/h). It had pleasant flying characteristics which later would set a millestone on Martin-Baker's later designs.
Unfortunately the sole prototype was destroyed in a fire at the works hangar in Denham, Uxbridge, in March 1938, however it inspired Martin-Baker's next project, the MB 2.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_1
2. http://www.martin-baker.com/about/mb1-mb5

Martin-Baker MB 4 & MB 5

Today we bring you two fighters for the price of one, being one of them a never-built one.
The Martin-Baker MB 4 was an unbuilt project of refitting a Bristol Centaurus engine into the fuselage of an MB 3, while the MB 5 was the ultimate development of the MB fighter series. Unfortunately not much is known about the MB 4.
Martin-Baker designed the MB 5 to compete in the Air Ministry's F.18/39 specification for an agile and sturdy fighter that could go faster than 400mph (643km/h).
After the crashing of the second prototype of the MB 3, Martin Baker decided to go with a completely new design that used wings similar to those of the MB 3 but had a completely new steel tube fuselage. It was powered by a 2340hp Rolls-Royce Griffon engine that drove two three-bladed contra-rotating propellers. It was armed with four 20mm cannons placed in the wings, just outboard of the retractable landing gear. It was, as every Martin Baker design, very easy to maintain and repair.
The prototype flew for the first time on 23rd May 1944 and both its performance and general instruments layouts were praised by the test pilots and it was considered way better than the Spitfire, in fact, it was expected to enter service during the last weeks of the World War II over Germany. However the Royal Air Force centered their attention in the jet powered fighters (namely the Gloster Meteor or the De Havilland Vampire) maybe because the Griffon engine failed when the airplane was being demonstrated to Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, the Chief of Air Staff and another VIPs. Sadly enough, the prototype ended its days as a target in a gunnery range, so it was destroyed.

Sources:
1. http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7053.msg60590.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_5
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Martin-Baker MB 3

The Martin-Baker MB3 was a British fighter project that was designed by James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker using the experience learned from the previous MB1 and MB2. It was powered by a 2000hp Napier Sabre engine with a variable pitch three bladed propeller.
It was designed to meet one of the Air Ministry's specifications and was armed with six 20mm (0.79in) cannons in the wings, three per each wing, making it one of the most armed fighters of the World War II if it had been produced and, following Martin-Baker's tradition, they were easily accessible and maintaineable. Retaining the characteristics of the previous designs, it introduced many new features, as the fuselage was still made in round steel tube but metal place replaced the wood and fabric on earlier models. The wing construction integrated torsion-box construction and a laminated steel spar, giving it that way a strong and stiff structure with minimum flexing. It had also a very effective, simple, sturdy and reliable pneumatically-controlled undercarriage.
It was tested and flew for the first time on 31st August 1942, and it revealed to be highly maneouvrable and easy to handle, however, on 12th September, the engine failed soon after taking off and it crashed unfortunately killing the pilot, Captain Valentine Baker. This leaded to various delays and late deliveries, making the project uninteresting for the Air Ministry.
There were, however, plans to redesign it as an Mk.II version with a bubble canopy and powered by either a Napier Sabre, or a Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. Those versions apparently weren't the MB4 but some developed variants of the MB3. Trully a good looking fighter.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_3
2. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7053.0
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Martin-Baker MB2

The Martin-Baker MB2 was a British fighter that was briefly evaluated by the Royal Air Force.
It was designed by James Martin, to respond to the specification F.5/34 that required an air cooled engined fighter for tropical climates. It was built in steel tubing and incorporated many details that made it very easy to manufacture, repair and maintain.
It was powered by a 1000hp Napier Dagger III HIM engine and it was theoretically able of reaching the speed of 300mph (480km/h) and was armed by eight 0.30in M1919 Browning Machine guns fitted in the wings. It had a fixed undercarriage with the port one carrying the air cooler. Apparently it was planned a version with a retractable wheels but it was abandoned when this airplane was discarded.
Fuselage lines were designed to be square cut and clean keeping a constant depth from nose to tail and the fuselage was longer than the wingspan in order to keep good stability and control in yaw.
System's installation was simple but highly effective, having the cockpit set well back but giving at the same time a good field of view downwards under the wings when flying. A characteristic feature, was its crash post, which extended automatically to minimise the damage and pilot's injuries in the event of a nose-over landing.
It was flown for the first time by Cpt. Valentine Baker at Harwell, Oxfordshire on 3rd August 1938 and it was stated that, in spite of its fixed undercarriage, it could perform as well as its contemporary fighters and it was very easy and cheap to manufacture as well as maintaining and repairing it.
The prototype was adquired by the Air Ministry and passed on to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment in June 1939 to make some minor improvements and from there it passed on to the Air Fighting Development Unit, in RAF Northolt, Greater London in late 1939 where it remained at least until December 1941 but it was never flown as there were already consolidated fighters like the Hawker Hurricane or the Supermarine Spitfire serving with the Royal Air Force.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin-Baker_MB_2
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters