AA38303 - Fokker Dr1 Triplane - Jasta 6 Leutnant Johannes Janzen, March 1918
Janzen joined the German Air Force on 4 May 1916. Following pilot training he was assigned to Jasta 23 in November 1916 and scored his first victory with this unit before being reassigned to Jasta 6 in October 1917. He briefly assumed command of Jasta 4 on 28 March 1918 but just a week later returned to Jasta 6 as the new CO. Scoring his 5th victory on 4 May 1918, Janzens Fokker Dr1 was shot down five days later. He survived the crash and scored 8 more victories, giving him a total of 13 kills, before he was shot down again on 9 June 1918. On this occasion, the interrupter gear on his Dr1 malfunctioned during a dogfight with a SPAD and he shot off his own propeller. Janzen again survived but was captured and remained a prisoner until the end of the war.
Sopwith Camel
Henry Botterell does not qualify as an air Ace - he had one accredited `kill' whereas five are required for official recognition. However he gained celebrity in his final years as the sole surviving Royal Naval Air Service pilot and the oldest FirstWorldWar fighter pilot of any nation. When he died in January 2003 aged 106 there were none left. Born in Ottowa Canada in 1896 he applied to be a civilian pilot and was sent to England for training in 1916. He enlisted with the Royal Naval Air Service No.8 squadron in May 1917 but on only his second flight he crash landed and sustained multiple injuries. He was discharged from service on medical grounds but en-route back to Canada he met some old chums from No.8 squadron and was persuaded to re-enlist. His old squadron had become No.208 squadron of the newly formed RAF and Botterell flew a variety of aircraft including a staggering 91 sorties in a Sopwith Camel in just 60 days between July and August 1918.
R.A.F. SE5A
Despite being virtually blind in his left eye Edward `Mick' Mannock was accepted by the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and assigned to 40 Squadron at St Omer in France. As a staunch socialist his political views were not respected. It was not until he scored his first victory - an enemy balloon that he began to to be admired. In February of 1918 he became flight commander of 74 Sqdn then became commanding officer of 85 Squadron. Mannock was killed when his aircraft was shot down by machine gun fire from the ground - he had 61 victories to his name. On July 18 1919 it was announced that Mannock had won the Victoria Cross.
Albatros D.V
R”th was badly wounded while serving with an artillery regiment. He transferred to the German Air Force after recovering from his wounds but was injured in a flying accident during training. In and out of hospitals for nearly two years R”th eventually scored his first three victories on 25 January 1918. On that day he shot down 3 enemy balloons in less than ten minutes. On 30 July 1918 he scored his 17th victory shooting down a Bristol Fighter flown by Irish ace John Cowell. R”th was wounded in action on 14 October 1918. By the end of the war he was Germany's highest scoring balloon buster. Of his 28 confirmed victories 20 of them were balloons. Extremely depressed that Germany had lost the war R”th committed suicide. His Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max-Joseph was awarded posthumously in 1919. His Albatros DV was finished in yellow varnished plywood with all metal cowling panels wheel covers and struts being painted grey and the spinner white.
Spitfire Mk.XIVe
AA38705 - Spitfire F.MkXIVe (clipped wing) RN135, YB-A, Sqn. Ldr. James 'Ginger' Lacey, OC No. 17 Sqn RAF
Squadron leader James Harry Lacey was one of the RAFs leading fighter pilots of the Second World War with 28 aircraft destroyed, 4 probables and 9 damaged. Ginger Lacey experienced his first aerial combat with 501 Sqn in France during May 1940 and was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his 5 victories. In June 1940, 501 Sqn were in the thick of the Battle of Britain with Lacey becoming one of the highest scoring RAF pilots with 18 victories. He was awarded the DFM on August 23rd 1940 and on November 26th, 1940, Lacey received a Bar to the DFM for his continuous and outstanding courage and bravery. Following various postings within the RAF during 1941-42, Lacey was posted to 20 Sqn based at Kaylan, India in March 1943 before joining 1572 Gunnery Flight in July. Lacey remained in India, taking command of 155 Sqn in November 1944, and 17 Sqn later that month. RN135/TB-A, is the clipped wing version of the Spitfire XIV flown by Squadron Leader Lacey while Commanding Officer of 17 Sqn, based at Seletar, Singapore in late 1945.
Spitfire PR.XIX
AA38702 - Spitfire PR XIX - PM631 Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, based at RAF Coningsby - NEW TOOL
Built in November 1945 as a high altitude photo reconnaissance aircraft with a Griffon 66 engine and pressurised cockpit, PM631 was too late to see operational service in WWII. She was delivered to the RAF in 1946 and issued to 203 Advanced Flying School in May 1949. Modified for meteorological work, she was flown with the Temperature and Humidity Monitoring (THUM) Flight based at Hooton Park and Woodvale. On 11 July 1957, in formation with Spitfires PS853 and PS915, the aircraft was flown to Biggin Hill to form the Historic Aircraft Flight which later developed into the BBMF. PM631 has remained in flying condition with the Flight and is the BBMFs longest serving aircraft, with 2008 having been her 51st year of continuous service. PM631 is painted as an early PR.XIX of 541 Squadron which performed high altitude reconnaissance missions over the European theatre from early 1944 to the end of the war. Appropriately the 541 Squadron motto was Alone Above All. Spitfire PR.XIXs were unarmed but could fly at 370mph at 40,000 feet (with pressurised cockpits) and had a range of 1500 miles, demonstrating the incredible development potential of the original Spitfire design.
Spitfire Mk.I
AA39202 - Spitfire MkI - K9789, Sqn Ldr Henry Cozens, No 19 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Duxford, Aug 1938
19 Squadron was the first to receive Spitfires which replaced their open cockpit, fixed undercarriage Gauntlets biplanes. For pilots, the Spitfire was a huge step forward in technology. K9789 was the first and was flown by Squadron Leader Cozens on 11th August 1938. At this time there were no training units or even manuals and pilots were provided with only basic instructions before making their first flights. Orders were received to use K9789 for intensive trials and over 400 hours were flown by squadron pilots in a very short space of time and the findings reported. Various propeller types were used and it was found that the constant speed propeller was the best. As a result, all operational Spitfires were fitted with them before the start of the War. A bulged canopy was also recommended and adopted on future production aircraft along with other suggestions. K9789 survived the war but was scrapped in 1945.
Spitfire Mk.XIV
AA38701 - Spitfire Mk XIV - 91 Sqn RAF, Flt Lt H D Johnson, West Malling, July 1944 - NEW TOOL
The introduction of the powerful 2,035hp Griffon engined Spitfire MkXIV saw a performance improvement at all altitudes over the earlier Merlin engined variants. It gave the Spitfire a significant advantage over the German FW190A and it also made it ideal for tackling the menace of the V1 buzz-bomb flying bombs. No.91 Sqn, based at West Malling, achieved the best record against the flying bomb, shooting down 184 with its Mk XIVs. One of the squadrons most successful pilots during the V1 campaign was Flt Lt H.D. Johnny Johnson. In total he claimed 13.5 destroyed with his first (shared) kill being in Spitfire MkXIV RB188 on 23rd June, 1944. He brought down a further four buzz-bombs in the same aircraft which bore the distinctive nose art of a naked lady riding a V1. RB188 later served with 130 and 350 Sqns in Europe and was transferred to Thailand after the war.
