Wings
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Merville aerodrome, 67, 182
Mesopotamia, 133, 151
Messerschmitt Me 109, 184, 197, 202, 305, 317
Messerschmitt Me 110, 178, 198
Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, 330
Middle East Command, 257
MiG 15, 336, 338
Miller, John ‘Dusty’, 251
Ministry of Economic Warfare, 281
Ministry of Information, 212
Mitchell, Reginald, 164, 168
Moffat, John, 246, 249
Mogridge, A., 254
Mönchengladbach, 181
Mons, 44, 47
Monte Cassino, 305
Montgomery, Lieutenant General Sir Bernard, 270
Moore, Lonnie, 338
Moore, W. G., 122
Moore-Brabazon, Lieutenant John, 62
Morane planes, 65
Morgan, David, 1, 351, 357
Morse code, 62, 241
Mortain, 322
Moscow, 341
Msus, 263
Mülheim, 286
Mullers, Erika, 181
Munich crisis, 240, 273
Munitions Ministry, 126
Münster, 182
Nagasaki, 327
Naples, 305, 308
NATO, 335, 341, 368
naval aviation, 21, 38, 51, 116, 139, 171, 239, 347
see also Fleet Air Arm; Royal Naval Air Service
navigation, 150, 177, 209, 214
see also Gee electronic navigation
Neil, Tom ‘Ginger’, 205
Netheravon aerodrome, 42
Neuve Chapelle, 64
New York Herald Tribune, 81
New York Times, 124
Newman, Ken, 222
Nichol, John, 361
Nieuport planes, 32, 77, 96
Nigeria, 32
night-fighters, 293, 298
Nivelle, General Robert, 101
No. 1 Engine Repair Section (ERS), 272
Normandy campaign, 309, 313
North Africa, 210, 257, 270, 279, 309
North American F-86 Sabre, 336, 338
North American P-51 Mustang, 269, 304, 319, 337
North American T-6 Harvard, 211
North Foreland, 197, 310
Northern Ireland, 343
North-West Frontier, 151, 219
Norway, German occupation, 179
nuclear weapons, 327, 334, 336, 340
Nuremberg, 297, 310
Observer Corps, 194, 196
O’Connor, General Richard, 259
Official Secrets Act, 330
O’Gorman, Mervyn, 20
Operational Training Units (OTUs), 226, 231
Orde, Cuthbert, 189
Orley, Marian, 274
Ostend, 52, 91
Oxford University, 148, 211
Pakistan, 368
Palestine, 133, 151, 257
Panavia Tornado, 361
Parachinar, 151
Parachute Regiment, 10, 358, 365
parachutes, 61
Parfitt, Herbert, 44
Park, Sir Keith, 193, 305
Parliamentary Air Committee, 85
Pas de Calais, 174, 198, 313
Passchendaele, 72
Pearl Harbor, 207
Penfold, ‘Bertie’, 356
Penn-Gaskell, Leslie da Costa, 46
Peshawar, 152
Peters, John, 362
Philpott, Monty, 311
photography
aerial, 62
operational, 215, 229, 299
Polaris missiles, 341
polo, 151, 161
Popham, Hugh, 240
Port Stanley, 1, 8, 346, 356
Portal, Air Charles, 112, 143, 216, 219, 279, 281, 324
Poulainville airfield, 132
Pratt and Whitney engines, 238
Pretyman, George, 61
prisoners of war, 102, 178, 326
Proctor, John, 189
public schools, 28, 96, 110, 142, 144
Pudney, John, 9
Rabagliati, Euan, 47
radar, 168, 183, 194, 202
airborne, 236, 248
Blue Fox, 2
German, 286, 293, 298
H2S, 215, 294
RAF
apprentices, 140, 145
bomber strategy, 157, 162, 167, 171
conditions, 159
demobilization, 136, 326
expansion, 133, 135
formation, 128
inter-war operations, 150
NCOs, 146, 159
rearmament, 158
short-service commissions, 140, 147, 169
social composition, 136, 143, 159, 226
social status, 31
strength after war, 325
see also Bomber Command; Coastal Command; Fighter Command
RAF High Speed Flight, 331
RAF squadrons
3 Squadron, 182
12 Squadron, 180
20 Squadron, 151
31 Squadron, 152
32 Squadron, 189, 198
45 Squadron, 153
66 Squadron, 196
73 Squadron, 193
74 Squadron, 197
83 Squadron, 321
89 Squadron, 175
106 Squadron, 286
111 Squadron, 198
144 Squadron, 213
238 Squadron, 202
249 Squadron, 268
609 Squadron, 201, 310
616 Squadron, 330
617 Squadron, 276, 288, 311, 320, 361
RAF Staff College, 159
RAF stations
Bentley Priory, 194
Biggin Hill, 189, 262
Bircham Newton, 254
Coltishall, 196, 203
Coningsby, 342
Cranwell, 140, 172, 192, 328
Elsham Wolds, 290
Halton, 140, 145
Hornchurch, 173
Kenley, 182, 262
Manston, 310
Manton, 197
Middle Wallop, 202
Ruislip, 160, 166
St Eval, 202, 236
Scampton, 175, 276
Snaith, 297
Syerston, 286
Tangmere, 172
Uxbridge, 159
Waddington, 276
Warmwell, 201
Wickenby, 300
Wigsley, 284
Woodhall Spa, 311, 313
Worthy Down, 198
RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), 169, 172, 189
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 28, 36
Read, William, 60
reconnaissance, 17, 25, 38, 44, 49, 52, 57, 61, 64, 77, 177
Red Cross, 89, 106
Rees, Fred, 110n
Reeve, Leader John, 346
Regia Aeronautica, see Italian air force
Reims air show, 18, 22
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 315, 319
Rhodes-Moorhouse, Will, 67
Richtofen, Lothar von, 103
Richtofen, Manfred von, 90, 95, 100, 130
Rickenbacker, Eddie, 15
rifles, 47, 69
Robertson, General Sir William, 127
Robey, George, 59n
rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), 365
rockets, 319, 322
Rockwell B-1 Lancer, 359
Rolls, Hon. C. S., 20
Rolls-Royce aero engines, 38
Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, 164, 166, 220, 319
Rome, 306
Romeike, Franz, 182
Rommel, General Erwin, 260, 262, 266, 270, 319
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 283
Roskill, Captain Stephen, 245
Rostock, 230
Rothermere, Lord, 18, 130, 137
Rothschild, Lionel de, 141
Rotterdam, 181, 220
Rover engines, 330
Royal Aero Club, 12, 23, 26, 29
Royal Air Force College, see RAF Cranwell
Royal Aircraft Factory, 20, 37
Royal Aircraft Factory BE2, 37, 41, 70, 72
Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c, 66, 77, 87, 117
Royal Aircraft Factory BE8, 44
Royal Aircraft Factory FE2 ‘Fee’, 77
Royal Aircraft Factory SE5, 100, 102
Royal Engineers Air Battalion, 20
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) amalgamation with RNAS, 128
conditions, 115
discipline, 35
esprit de corps, 34
ethos, 68
expansion, 56, 73, 85, 115, 128
flying drills, 36
formation, 26
headquarters, 57
losses, 46, 102, 113, 133
motto, 26
roundels, 58
routine, 58
social composition, 30, 110
solo tactics, 97, 100
tradesmen, 27, 29, 34
unconventionality, 30, 98, 109
uniforms, 27
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, 141
Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), 38, 51, 80, 85, 118
amalgamation with RFC, 128
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, 240
rugby, 142
Ruhr, the, 181, 210, 283, 286, 294
Rusby, Ted, 256
Russian Revolution, 114
Rutland, F. J., 118
Saint-Nazaire, 247
St Omer, 57, 105
St Quentin, 47
Salmond, Geoffrey, 33
Salmond, John, 33, 65, 153
Salter, Jo, 361
SAM missiles, 362
Samson, Charles, 25
San Carlos water, 8, 356
Sanchez, Hector, 6, 356
Sandhurst, 140
Saulnier, Raymond, 74
Saumur, 321
Saundby, Robert, 153
Savoia-Marchetti bombers, 259
Scapa Flow, 120
Scharnhorst, 252
Scheer, Vizeadmiral Reinhard von, 118
Schey, Ingeborg, 181
Schillig Roads, 54, 177
Schneider Trophy, 164
Schramm, Wilhelm, 90
Schroder, Hans, 104
Schutte-Lanz airships, 88
Schweinfurt, 280
Scunthorpe, 284
Sea King helicopters, 345
seaplane bases, 38, 51
seaplane carriers, 53, 118
seaplanes, 24, 38, 80, 117
searchlights, 83, 87, 93, 128, 286
Second Air Board, 125
2 TAF, 309, 314
Second World War
Allied invasion of France, 309
Allied invasion of Italy, 279, 303
the Blitz, 204, 210, 217
Blitzkrieg, 180
in North Africa and Mediterranean, 257
US entry into war, 207
war at sea, 233
see also Battle of Britain; strategic air campaign
Sefton-Brancker, William, 43
Seguin brothers, 18
Senger und Etterlin, General Fridolin von, 307
Serbian air force, 10, 364
sexually transmitted diseases, 111, 224
shadow factory system, 193
Shanghai, 156
Shannon, Dave, 321
Sheerness, 81
Shorncliffe camp, 91
Short brothers, 23, 25, 38, 237
Short seaplanes, 25, 53, 118, 120
Short Stirling, 168, 212, 229, 237, 295
Short Sunderland, 237, 335
Short-Wright flying machine, 20
Sicily, 267, 303, 305
Sidewinder missiles, 4, 7, 350, 354
Sikorsky, Igor, 91
Singapore, 257
Singleton, Mr Justice, 218
Skene, Bob, 42
Slade, R. J., 76
Slessor, John, 112, 137, 151, 179, 254, 306
Smart, Phyllis, 278
Smith, Dave, 1, 6, 8
Smith, Leonard B., 247
Smith-Barry, Bob, 44
Smuts, General Jan Christian, 93, 127, 137
Snaith, Leonard, 175
Somaliland, 151, 261
Somerville, Admiral James ‘Slim’, 247
Somme, river, 130
Sopwith, Tommy, 32
Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter, 77, 124
Sopwith Camel, 102, 114, 116, 122, 131
Sopwith Pup, 120
Sopwith seaplanes, 118
Sopwith Tabloid, 52
Sorley, Ralph, 162, 164
South Africans, 260
Soviet Union, 2, 266, 334, 341, 368
Spanish ’flu pandemic, 90
Spanish Civil War, 259
SS Canberra, 347, 356
Stalin, Josef, 223, 335
Stephens, Maurice, 182
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 103
Stewart-Moore, James, 248
Stock, Ewan, 114
Strange, Louis Arbon, 46, 66, 70
strategic air campaign, 181, 209, 279, 323
Strategic Air Command (SAC), 340
Stringer, Pat, 250
submarine warfare, 101, 234
see also U-boats
Sudan, 257
Suez crisis, 343, 348
Supermarine Spitfire, 33, 173, 185, 211, 267, 270, 305, 309, 315, 317, 319
and Battle of Britain, 192, 196, 201, 206
development of, 164
superstitions, 109, 291
Sutton’s Farm airfield, 86
Swansea, 198
Sykes, , 27, 33, 35, 43
Syria, 273
Tait, James ‘Willie’, 221
Takali, 269
Takoradi air bridge, 258
Taliban, 10, 309, 359
Taranto, 243
Target Indicators, 311
Taube monoplanes, 47
Tedder, Arthur, 112, 169, 258
Tempelhof aerodrome, 335
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 16
Terraine, John, 325
Thomas, Steve, 353
Tirpitz, 253
Tizard, Sir Henry, 168, 218, 329
Tobruk, 261
Tokyo, 327, 341
Tomahawk cruise missiles, 364
Tondern, 122
torpedoes, 39, 120, 235, 243, 249, 251
Townsend, Peter, 172
train-busting, 3009–10
Transjordan, 153
transverse arresters, 23
Trefusis-Forbes, Jane, 273
Trenchard, Hugh Montague, 153, 157, 159, 191, 308
character, 31, 63, 137
and formation of RAF, 129, 137, 143, 146
and RFC, 31, 43, 64, 66, 73, 77, 97, 101
tropopause, 334
Tunis, 303
Turkish army, 154
U-boats, 117, 119, 216, 230, 234, 237, 253
United Nations, 336
United States Air Force (USAF), 338, 340, 368
United States Army Air Force (USAAF), 139, 271, 303, 308, 311, 314, 335
University Air Squadrons, 148, 211, 329
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), 365
Unwin, George, 160, 166, 169
Upavon, 26, 32
US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, 341
USS Birmingham, 22
USS Pennsylvania, 23, 121
V-1 flying bombs, 321, 330
Valletta, 267
Vazquez, Alfredo, 5, 7
V-Bomber force, 341
Versailles Treaty, 158
Very pistols, 62, 198
Vickers FB5 ‘Gunbus’, 73, 76
Vickers Valentia, 260
Vickers Valiant, 341
Vickers Vernon, 154
Vickers Victoria, 150
Vickers Vildebeest, 235
Vickers Virginia, 150
Vickers Warwick, 255
Vickers Wellington, 167, 176, 181, 212, 229, 260
Victoria Crosses, 30, 67, 72, 89, 117, 134
‘Viff’ (Vector in Forward Flight), 350
Vigors, Tim, 172
V-weapons sites, 313
Waller, J. H., 77
W
allis, Barnes, 321
Wangerooge, 53, 178
War Office, 21n, 40, 43, 51, 86, 89, 125
War Policy Committee, 125, 128
Ward, Nigel ‘Sharkey’, 352, 355
Warneford, Reginald, 82
Warsaw, 220
Waterfall, Vincent, 46
Waterton, Leader Bill, 331, 337
Watson, Mike, 352
Watson-Watt, Robert, 169
Waugh, Evelyn, 31
Webb, Gordon, 297
Webster, Sir Charles, 182
Weir, Sir William, 93, 126, 129
Wells, H. G., 17
Wessex helicopters, 345
West, Peter, 342
Western Air Plans, 178, 181
Westland Wapiti, 150
Whittle, Frank, 328
Wilhelm II, Kaiser, 83
Wilhelmshaven, 53, 175
Williams, Hazel, 275
Williams, Lieutenant Colonel Huw, 359
Williamson, M. N., 243, 245
Wilson, Lieutenant C. W., 47
Wilson, Denys Corbett, 66
Wilson, H. J. ‘Willie’, 331
Window, 293, 313
wireless telegraphy, 62
Withers, Martin, 346
Wolff, Hans Joachim, 131
women, 13, 28, 111, 148, 273, 360
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), 273
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force Corps, 149
Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF), 149, 273
Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), 273
Wood, Ralph, 221, 231
Woodiwiss, Lieutenant, 66
Woods, Eric, 213
Woods, Mike, 366
Worcester air show, 11
World Disarmament Conference, 157
Wren, Sir Christopher, 141
Wright, Orville and Wilbur, 15, 21
Wuppertal, 286
Wyllie, Harold, 60
Yates, Harry, 291
Yeullet, Walter ‘Toby’, 123
Young, Flora, 100, 102
Young, John, 195
Ypres, 67, 72
Yule, Lieutenant J. S., 26
Zeppelin, Count Ferdinand von, 19
Zeppelins, 19, 21, 52, 81, 118, 122, 367
A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR
Patrick Bishop has been a foreign correspondent since 1982, covering numerous conflicts around the world. He has reported from the front line of almost every major war of our era. In the last six years he has emerged as a military historian of the first order with his top-ten bestsellers Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys, which cast new light on the men who fought in the Battle of Britain and the Strategic Air Campaign against Germany. He is also the author of the much-praised Battle of Britain, 3 Para and Target Tirpitz.
Endnotes
1. To be fair to the navy, the War Office, and French and American governments also declined the offer.
2. This song was a favourite of the singer and actor George Robey. It is about an errant husband who is stopped by his wife from leaping, unclothed, into the water to save his paramour ‘Miss Hewitt’.
3. Fred Rees on Shaun Spadah in 1921.
4. The South African Air Force stuck to army ranks.