Classic Aircraft

THE SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

Brainchild of R. J. Mitchell
The Spitfire was designed
As a short-range,
High-performance
Interceptor aircraft
The Supermarine Spitfire
Was the perfect flying machine
With its elliptical wings
And Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
It was fast and manoeuvrable
Which helped it dominate the skies
During the Battle of Britain

THE HAWKER HURRICANE

The Hawker Hurricane
Always overshadowed by the Spitfire
Whether as an interceptor-fighter
Or a fighter-bomber
Yet during the Battle of Britain
It shouldered a greater proportion
Of the burden against the Luftwaffe.

THE HAWKER SEA HURRICANE

The Sea Hurricanes
Were carrier based
Catapult-launched
Convoy escorts,
Known as "Hurricats"

THE HAWKER TYPHOON

The Hawker Typhoon
Single-seat fighter-bomber
Known affectionately as the Tiffy
Began life a medium
And high altitude interceptor
But with its Typhoon speed
It found its niche as
A low-altitude interceptor
But when ground attack rockets
Were added to its armoury.
The Typhoon earned a reputation
As the RAF’s
Most successful ground-attack aircraft.

THE DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito
Was a British multi-role combat aircraft
"The Wooden Wonder"
Known more affectionately
As the "Mossie" to its crews
Was the most versatile
British aircraft
Of the Second World War

THE AVRO LANCASTER

The Avro Lancaster
Was a four-engine British
Second World War heavy bomber
An iconic plane of the RAF
It first saw active service
With Bomber Command in 1942
Where it soon overshadowed
Its close contemporaries
The Handley Page Halifax
And the Short Stirling
It was affectionately known
As The "Lanc"
Perhaps best remembered
For Operation Chastise
Or the dam busters raid
Where it delivered
Barnes Wallis’s "Bouncing bomb"
With devastating effect
It was on to carry
The earthquake boms
Tallboy and Grand Slam
Used on V2 installations

THE AVRO LINCOLN

The Avro Type 694,
Was a four-engine
British heavy bomber
That never saw active service
In the Second World War
It was originally designated
As the Lancaster Mk IV
But were renamed
As the Avro Lincoln,
Though it became operational
Too late for World War Two
It saw plenty of action
In subsequent conflicts
Until the Jet age retired them

THE VICKERS WELLINGTON

The Vickers Wellington
Was a British twin-engine
Long range medium bomber
Known as “the Wimpy”
Designed originally
For daylight operations
It was widely used
As a night bomber
In the early years
Of World War 2.
Before being displaced
As the bomber of choice
By the large four-engined
Heavy bombers like the Lancaster
But the Wellington
Took on a new roll
As an anti-submarine aircraft
It was the only British bomber
To remain in production
For the duration of the war
And was first-line equipment
From beginning to end

THE VICKERS WELLESLEY

The Vickers Wellesley
Was a British light bomber
That was all but obsolete
By the time the war came
It was totally unsuited
To the European air war
Of the Second World War
But the Wellesley found a purpose
In the desert theatres
Of East Africa, Egypt
And the Middle East

THE HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX

The Handley Page Halifax
Was a British four-engine
Second World War heavy bomber
Where it was soon overshadowed
By the Avro Lancaster,
But the Halifax remained in service
Until the end of the war

THE HANDLEY PAGE HASTINGS

The Handley Page
H.P.67 Hastings
Was a British troop-carrier
And freight transporter
The largest transport plane
In the world in its time

THE WESTLAND LYSANDER

The Westland Lysander
Was a British army
Co-operation and liaison aircraft
Which came into service
Prior to the Second World War
But when it became obsolete
In the army co-operation role,
Its exceptional characteristics
Came into their own
The Lysander’s short-field capability
Made it a natural
For clandestine missions
Being able to land on small
Unprepared airstrips
Deep behind enemy lines
To place or recover agents,
Particularly in occupied France

THE SHORT STIRLING

The Short Stirling
Was the very first British
Four-engine heavy bomber
The RAF had in the World War 2
It first entered service in 1941
And had a very brief career
As an operational bomber
Quickly being surpassed
By the Halifax and the Lancaster
Relegating the Stirling
To second line role
But it still had a significant
Contribution to make
First as a glider tug
And then as a resupply aircraft
During the allied invasion
Of Europe in 1944-1945

THE AVRO ANSON

The Avro Anson
Was a British twin-engine
Multi-role aircraft
Used by the RAF
Before, during, and after
The Second World War
It was originally the Avro 652
And was designed as an airliner
But was quickly redeveloped.
For a marine reconnaissance role
Though was soon rendered obsolete
As an operational entity
It was saved from the scrap heap
And became a multi-engine
Air crew trainer
And remained in production
Until 1952

THE AVRO SHACKLETON

The Avro Shackleton
Was a long-range British
Maritime patrol aircraft
Which came into service
With the RAF in 1951
It was a distant cousin
Of the legendary Lancaster
Which evolved first
Into the Lincoln
And then into the Shackleton
Its speciality was
Anti-submarine warfare
Then airborne early warning
And search and rescue
It was finally retired in 1990

THE AVRO LANCASTRIAN

The Avro 691 Lancastrian
Was a mail transport
And passenger aircraft
Used by Canada and Britain
In the 1940s and 1950s
The Lancastrian was basically
A modified Lancaster bomber
And delivered people and mail
As efficiently as death

THE AVRO MANCHESTER

The Avro 679 Manchester
Was a British heavy bomber
Of the Second World War
But it was an operational failure
Due to its underpowered
And unreliable twin-engines
However it lead directly
To the successful four-engined
Avro Lancaster, which became
The most successful
British bomber of the war

THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER

The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter,
Affectionately known as the Beau,
Was a British long-range fighter
A successful reworking
Into a heavy fighter
Of the Beaufort torpedo bomber design
Beaufighter is a portmanteau
Of "Beaufort" and "fighter"
But unlike the Beaufort,
The Beaufighter had a long career
And served in almost all theatres
Of the Second World War,
Firstly as a night fighter,
Then as a fighter bomber,
Eventually even replacing
The Beaufort as a torpedo bomber

THE BRISTOL BEAUFORT

The Bristol Beaufort
Was a British twin-engine
Torpedo bomber
Which saw service
With RAF Coastal Command
And then the Fleet Air Arm
Of Royal Navy
They were versatile and not
Used exclusively as torpedo bombers,
They were also utilized with great effect
As conventional bombers and mine-layers
However despite distinguishing themselves
In the Mediterranean
And in the defence of Malta
Their day in the sun
Was over all too soon
They were relegated to a trainer
Until the war ended

THE AVRO YORK

The Avro York
Was a British transport plane
And was yet another Avro aircraft
Derived from the legendary
Lancaster heavy bomber,
Which was used in military
And civilian roles
Between 1943 and 1964

THE BRISTOL BLENHEIM

The Bristol Blenheim
Was a Second World War
British light bomber
It had an all-metal stressed-skin
Retractable landing gear
Powered gun turret
And variable pitch propellers
State of the art at the time
And cutting edge for the RAF
But in truth it was no match
For the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
So its time as a front line
Combat aircraft were short lived

THE SHORT EMPIRE

The Short Empire
Was a medium range
Four engine monoplane flying boat
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies

THE SHORT SUNDERLAND FLYING BOAT

The Short S.25 Sunderland
Was a British flying boat
And Royal Air Force patrol bomber
In the Battle of the Atlantic
Hunting German U-boats
But it was capable of more
Humanitarian missions
And took part in the Berlin airlift

THE SHORT SANDRINGHAM

The Short S.25 Sandringham
Was a medium range
British civilian flying boat
Converted from Shorts Sunderland
And replaced the Short Empire
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies

THE LOCKHEED LIGHTNING

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Was a World War II
American fighter aircraft
With distinctive twin booms
And one central nacelle,
Housing the cockpit
The P38 was nicknamed
The "fork-tailed devil"
By Luftwaffe Pilots
It was the very definition
Of versatility in fact it had it all
And was in the thick of it
From Pearl Harbour
To Victory over Japan Day

THE AVRO VULCAN

The Avro Vulcan
Was an RAF
Delta Wing strategic bomber
And was the backbone of the Uks
Airborne nuclear deterrent
During a long period
Of the Cold War
It carried no defensive weaponry
So had to rely on its high-speed
And high-altitude flight
To evade interception
Until the advent
Of Electronic countermeasures
And although it spent
Much of its career
Armed with nuclear weapons
The Vulcan was still capable
Of performing conventional
Bombing missions
A fact underlined
Very effectively in 1982
When it was used in
Operation Black Buck
During the Falklands War

THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING

The English Electric Lightning
Was a supersonic jet fighter
From the days of the Cold War
Noted for its great speed
The only all-British Mach 2 fighter
And the first in the world
Capable of Supercruise
Renowned for its interceptor capabilities
The Lightning was the best of the best

THE WACO HADRIAN

The Waco CG-4A
Was the most widely used
Troop/cargo military glider
Of World War II
Named the Hadrian

THE LOCKHEED HERCULES

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Is a four-engine turboprop
Military transport aircraft
An uncomplicated work horse
Take-offs and landings
Can be made on any unprepared ground
And its uses are too numerous to mention
In fact it would be easier to list
What the Hercules can’t do

THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HAMILCAR

The General Aircraft
GAL. 49 Hamilcar
Was a large British military glider
Produced during World War II
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops
And heavy cargo into battle,
When completed
The Hamilcar was capable
Of transporting heavy equipment
In support of airborne troops.
The glider could transport
A single light tank
Or two Universal Carriers.
Hamilcars were only used
On three occasions,
But only in support
Of British airborne forces.
They first saw action in June 1944
Transporting anti-tank guns
Assorted armoured Vehicles
And Tetrarch light tanks
Into Normandy during Operation Tonga
They were used in a similar way
During Operation Market-Garden
And finally in March 1945
During Operation Varsity
When they landed in Germany

THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HOTSPUR

The General Aircraft
GAL.48 Hotspur
Was a military glider
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops into battle
The Hotspur was the result
But its tactical limitations
Meant it was only used for training

THE AIRSPEED HORSA

The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa
Was a British World War II
Troop-carrying glider
Used for air assault by British
And allied armed forces
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Horsa,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Horsa showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe

THE HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Is more popularly known
As the "Harrier Jump Jet"
And was the first operational
Vertical take-off aircraft
Its unique abilities
Made it easier to disperse
An attack squadron
Away from vulnerable sir fields
The Harrier is quite simply
The most remarkable
Aircraft ever made

THE SLINGSBY HENGIST

The Slingsby Hengist
Was a British military glider
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Hengist,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Hengist showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe

THE DOUGLAS DAKOTA

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Or as the RAF preferred the Dakota
Was a military transport aircraft
A successful development
From the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner
A valuable asset to the Allies
During World War II
And like the Hercules
The Dakota’s uses
Were too numerous to mention
And it would be easier to list
What the Dakota can’t do

THE BRITISH AEROSPACE SEA HARRIER

The British Aerospace Sea Harrier
Was developed directly
From the Hawker Sidderley Harrier
And was used by the Royal Navy
Operating them from
Invincible-class aircraft carriers
Informally known as the "Shar"
The Sea Harrier
Served in the Falklands War,
Both Gulf Wars and the Balkans