Blog Archive

Commander Giles Binney, the naval aviator who has died aged 87, survived enemy and friendly fire, and being shot down while flying as a passenger. Read his obituary on The Telegraph.

Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss, who has died aged 88, had an unusual breadth of operational flying experience, which proved invaluable when, in 1982, he was appointed Air Commander for Operation Corporate, the recovery of the Falkland Islands. Read his biography on The Telegraph.

Air Vice-Marshal John Smith, who has died aged 89, started flying on wartime operations before his 18th birthday; he went on to fly the RAF’s strategic nuclear bombers before filling a number of senior appointments in politically sensitive roles overseas. Read his obituary on The Telegraph

The Friends of the SAAF Museum located at AFB Ysterplatt in Cape Town, South Africa are in the process of restoring a Blackburn Buccaneer. One of sixteen S.50 Buccaneer variants flown by the South African Air Force (SAAF), Buccaneer 416 had a long career flying for the SAAF, serving from 1965 to 1991 when its …

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Flight Lieutenant Tony Snell, who has died aged 91, was shot down in his Spitfire over Sicily and escaped from a German firing squad. Recaptured, he leapt from a train and finally escaped over the Alps into neutral Switzerland. Read his obituary on The Telegraph.

Squadron Leader Peter Tunstall, who has died aged 94, was an inveterate escaper who spent longer in solitary confinement than any other Allied PoW; he was court-martialled by the Germans on five occasions and became one of the most notable inmates of the infamous Colditz Castle. Read his obituary on the Telegraph.

Lt Gen Baron Mike Donnet, the distinguished airman who has died aged 96, made a dramatic escape from his native Belgium in 1941 then served in the RAF throughout the war as a fighter pilot. He later held senior appointments in the Belgian Air Force and in Nato. Read his obituary on the Telegraph.

Squadron Leader Harry Baker, who has died aged 93, was a wartime fighter ace, shooting down at least five enemy aircraft from his Spitfire in operations over Dunkirk, during the Battle of Britain, and in the defence of Malta. Read his obituary on The Telegraph.

Nadezhda Popova, who has died aged 91, was a member of an elite corps of Soviet women — known as the “Night Witches” — who fought as bomber pilots in the air war against Germany, and the only one to win three Orders of the Patriotic War for bravery. Read her obituary on The Telegraph

Yankee Air Museum, of Van Buren, Michigan, and the Michigan Aerospace Foundation are leading an effort to save and preserve a small, but important piece of the Willow Run B-24 bomber plant that’s scheduled for demolition. More on this subject can be read on the EAA’s website.

On June 12, the sole surviving Short S.16 Scion in Britain was moved from long-term storage at Redhill to Rochester Airport where it was built 75 years ago. It is hoped that the aeroplane will eventually be displayed in a Heritage Centre at the airport following restoration. Read more on Aeroplane Monthly.

Captain Ken Jenner, who has died aged 92, flew bomber operations in the European, Middle Eastern and Burmese theatres of war before becoming one of the earliest Comet pilots with BOAC. Read the full obituary on the Telegraph.

Operations to recuperate the Dornier Do 17 that is laying in Goodwin Sands (off the coast of Kent) under 50 ft of water will begin this Friday. The aircraft will then be restored by the RAF Museum Hendon. Source: BBC News

A Gloster Meteor T7 was transported by a RAF Chinook from Imjin Barracks, Insworth, to the Jet Age Museum, its new owner. Source