Vickers Warwick - ASW

Vickers Warwick -- white for anti-submarine warfare

Sub Chasers of the Civil Air Patrol > .
Why Aircraft Patrols Were a Source of Fear for Nazi U-Boats > .
Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It > .

Coastal Command's Operational Research Section (CC-ORS): While performing an analysis of the methods used by RAF Coastal Command to hunt and destroy submarines, one of the analysts asked what colour the aircraft were. As most of them were from Bomber Command they were painted black for night-time operations. At the suggestion of CC-ORS a test was run to see if that was the best colour to camouflage the aircraft for daytime operations in the grey North Atlantic skies. Tests showed that aircraft painted white were on average not spotted until they were 20% closer than those painted black. This change indicated that 30% more submarines would be attacked and sunk for the same number of sightings. As a result of these findings Coastal Command changed their aircraft to using white undersurfaces."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_research .

V-22 Osprey

20-8-28 V-22 Osprey: Plane & Helicopter - Mega > .

Helicopter Carriers ..

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft.

The failure of Operation Eagle Claw during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980 underscored the requirement for a new long-range, high-speed, vertical-takeoff aircraft for the United States Department of Defense. In response, the Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental (JVX) aircraft program started in 1981. A partnership between Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopters was awarded a development contract in 1983 for the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell Boeing team jointly produce the aircraft.[5] The V-22 first flew in 1989, and began flight testing and design alterations; the complexity and difficulties of being the first tiltrotor for military service led to many years of development.

The United States Marine Corps began crew training for the MV-22B Osprey in 2000, and fielded it in 2007; it supplemented and then replaced their Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knights. The U.S. Air Force fielded their version of the tiltrotor, CV-22B, in 2009. Since entering service with the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, the Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait. The U.S. Navy plan to use the CMV-22B for carrier onboard delivery (COD) duties beginning in 2021.

WAAF, Biggin Hill

.How RAF Prepared For Luftwaffe's Offensive | Battle Of Britain | Timeline > .

WAAF, Biggin Hill

When Biggin Hill was suffering one of its worst raids from German aircraft during the Battle of Britain in 1940, three brave members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) remained at their posts. As the building tumbled around them Sergeants Elisabeth Mortimer, Helen Turner and Corporal Elspeth Henderson worked throughout the attack to keep the station operational: they were later awarded the Military Medal for their bravery. This is just one example of how important for British victory were the roles played by the WAAF.

The WAAF was first established in 1939 by King George VI. There was previously an Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the female force equivalent to the Territorial Army, but the WAAF itself sprung into being when the Government decided that a separate women’s air service was necessary. The WAAF was not an independent organization, nor was it completely integrated into the RAF. Rather it was interlinked with the RAF so that whenever possible RAF personnel could be substituted for women.

Originally the roles of the women of the WAAF were relatively domestic duties such as cooking and driving. Women were certainly not permitted to fly and it seems that their general abilities often doubted in the early years. However, during the Battle of Britain the RAF were under huge strain, resulting in a change of role for the WAAF. It became essential for the women of the organisation to take on more technical roles, and they were trained in radar plotting, the maintenance of barrage balloons and photographic interpretation.

There were several thousand young WAAFs in Fighter Command during that summer of 1940 and they played a vital role in the Dowding system of defence. This was essential during the Battle of Britain and later in guiding night fighters against the bomber formations attacking the UK. Initially, women served as radar reporters, using the huge Chain Home radars to locate raids and report their positions, as well as plotting these reports in the Sector Control Rooms. It was the plotter’s job to obtain information from the signals staff, often WAAFs themselves, who were listening to the reports from radar and Observer Corps’ posts. This information was then transferred to visual plaques on racks which were then positioned on the map, showing the position and direction of the raid as it progressed. Every raid was allotted a serial number and a prefix to indicate if it was friendly, hostile or unknown.

Many WAAFs were based at Fighter Command airbases such as Biggin Hill, Hawkinge, and Manston, which put them in great danger: these were all targets in the first raids by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Without the tireless work and bravery of the WAAF the RAF would have struggled to cover all the necessary angles, which ultimately could have affected British victory. Many women who were possibly undervalued before their efforts in WAAF were transferred to the after the Battle of Britain had been won. They were not only valuable to the war effort but also to the general role of women in society. Through their exceptional work the women in the WAAF proved that women were fully capable of aiding the British war effort.

Women in the Military - watm >> . 

The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the Battle of Britain

Westland Lysander - STOL

.Secret Agents Who Served The French Resistance By Night - Time > .

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's exceptional short-field performance enabled clandestine missions using small, unprepared airstrips behind enemy lines to place or recover agents, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance.

Field of view, low-speed handling characteristics and STOL performance were the most important requirements

British army air co-operation aircraft were named after mythical or historical military leaders; in this case the Spartan general Lysander was chosen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Lysander

STOL - Westland Lysander - spy taxi > .
The Westland Lysander with Shuttleworth Pilot Frank Chapman > .
Lysanders (1940) > .
Lysander - Crazy Looking Aircraft 2 > . 
Pilot chat - playlist >> .

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's exceptional short-field performance enabled clandestine missions using small, unprepared airstrips behind enemy lines to place or recover agents, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance.


Field of view, low-speed handling characteristics and STOL performance were the most important requirements

British army air co-operation aircraft were named after mythical or historical military leaders; in this case the Spartan general Lysander was chosen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_Lysander

Westland Lysander 'spy taxi > .taxi'

Zero - Rise, Fall

The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Zero > .