RapidFireWeb Avro Anson (DND Photo, PL-9661) Avro Anson Mk. II, RCAF (Serial No. 7150), 12 August 1942. The Avro Anson was known by a number of nicknames including “Faithful Annie” or “Flying Greenhouse”. It was the first aircraft to be flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force to have a retractable undercarriage, which was a comparative … Read more
Avro Lancaster, RCAF 1942-1945 (Library & Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4207036) Avro Lancaster bombing a target in Europe, 21 March 1945. The Avro Lancaster is a four-engined heavy bomber, designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax and the Short Stirling. All three aircraft were four-engined heavy bombers adopted … Read more
Avro Manchester (RCAF & IWM Photo, CH 3888) Avro Manchester Mk.1A (Serial No. L7486), with extended tail fins. on an air test shortly after delivery to No 207 Squadron RAF at Waddington, Lincolnshire. It carried the code letters ‘EM-P’ and ‘EM-Z’ during its service with the Squadron. The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine medium … Read more
Beechcraft CT-128 Expeditor (RCAF Photo) Beechcraft CT-128 Expeditor Mk. 3TM (Serial No. A-734), (Serial No. CA-134), RCAF (Serial No. 1534), coded AO-N, Air Transport Command. The Beechcraft Model 18 (or “Twin Beech”, as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, … Read more
Bell P-39 Airacobra (RAF Photo) Bell P-39 Airacobra, No. 601 Squadron, RAF, ca 1941. None on the RCAF establishment, but a few were flown by RCAF aircrews overseas during the Second World War. The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It … Read more
Blackburn Roc (RN Photo) Blackburn Roc. The Blackburn Roc (company designation B-25) was a naval fighter aircraft. It took its name from the mythical bird of the tales of the Arabian Nights, the Roc. It was operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was active during the Second World War. The Roc was designed … Read more
Blackburn Skua (RN Photo) The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as the first dive bomber in Fleet Air Arm (FAA) service. The aircraft took its name from the sea bird which ‘divebombs’ any potential predators that come … Read more
Boulton Paul Defiant (World War Photos) Boulton Paul Defiant Mk. IF (Serial No. V1123), coded RA-R, No. 410 Cougar (NF) Squadron, RCAF, while based at RAF Station Drem, East Lothian, Scotland. The Boulton P.82 Paul Defiant was designed and built as a “turret fighter”, without any forward-firing guns. In the air battles over Britain that … Read more
Brewster Buffalo (IWM Photo. K 1228) Twelve Brewster Buffalo Mark Is of No. 243 Squadron RAF, based at Kallang, Singapore, in flight over the Malayan jungle in in formations of three, accompanied by a Bristol Blenheim Mark IV of No, 34 Squadron RAF (lower right), based at Tengah. (IWM Photo, E (MOS) 218) Brewster Buffalo Mark I, … Read more
Bristol Beaufighter (IWM Photo, CH13180) Bristol Beaufighter Mk. X (Serial No. NE425), coded 2–G, No. 404 Squadron, RCAF, later coded EE, being fitted with 3-inch 25 lb rockets. The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often referred to simply as the “Beau”) was a multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War in the UK. It was … Read more
