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| SS Eleanor on the River Mersey circa 1957 - Robert G. Lloyd |
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| Bristol Beaufighter Mk VI Image from Tamiya scale model kit |
Bristol BeaufighterThe prototype flew on 17 July 1939 and the first production Beaufighters were delivered to the Royal Air Force in the following April. The type was the first high performance night fighter equipped with airborne interception radar and successfully operated against the German night raids in the winter of 1940-1941. Later the Beaufighter was introduced into Coastal Command as a strike fighter. Its original formidable gun armament was retained but rockets and torpedoes were added giving it an even greater fire power.
Not only did the Beaufighter operate with distinction in North West Europe but also a considerable reputation was earned in the Middle and Far East.
5562 Beaufighters had been produced by the time the last one was delivered in September 1945 and fifty-two operational Royal Air Force squadrons had been equipped with the type.
Beaufighter crews accounted for over half of the Luftwaffe bombers shot down during the Blitz.
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| Bristol Hercules Sleeve Valve Engine |
The Beaufighter was powered by a pair of Bristol Hercules 14-cylinder, air-cooled, sleeve-valve, radial piston engines, 1,600 hp each. The Hercules was followed by the Centaurus, which also used sleeve valves.
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| Supermarine Spitfire Grey Nurse |
This aircraft was the last Spitfire acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) with the original Military serial number A58-758. It was built by Supermarine in England in 1944, test flown and then shipped to Australia. The Air Force took delivery of the aircraft in April 1945, and, with World War II drawing to a close, the aircraft was not required on active service and was instead placed into storage.
The iconic Supermarine Spitfire was critical in defeating Luftwaffe air attacks during the Battle of Britain in 1940. More Spitfires were built than any other British combat aircraft before or since World War Two - 20,341 in total. There are five Spitfires on the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Wikipedia page
Duck Me 2
Catapult to Oblivion
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| Short Sunderland Mark V |
The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber. The aircraft took its service name from the port of Sunderland in North East England.
The Sunderland was fitted with various offensive and defensive armaments, including machine gun turrets, bombs, aerial mines, and depth charges. The Sunderland was powered by four Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial engines and was fitted with various detection equipment to aid combat operations, including the Leigh searchlight, the ASV Mark II and ASV Mark III radar units, and an astrodome.
During WW2, the type was heavily involved in Allied efforts to counter the threat posed by German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. On 17 July 1940, an RAAF Sunderland performed the type's first unassisted U-boat kill.
During the post-war era, use of the Sunderland throughout Europe rapidly declined, while greater numbers remained in service in the Far East, where large developed runways were less prevalent. Several squadrons of RAF Sunderlands saw combat action during the Korean War. Around a dozen aircraft also participated in the Berlin airlift.
Several examples have been preserved, including a single airworthy Sunderland which has been placed on display in Florida at Fantasy of Flight.
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| Cutaway drawing of Short Sunderland Mk. II Captions might be in Russian |
HS2 is a travesty for the people of Makerfield and Greater Manchester. Vote Binface and #Makerfield Great Again! pic.twitter.com/d9Dh2SvO2U
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) June 18, 2026
HS2 is the UK's version of California's high speed rail project, i.e. it's a giant money pit.
Gotta love the UK. Remember Boaty McBoatface? Via Finding life hard?
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| Avenging the Hood - Ron Cole |
The Fairey Swordfish is a retired biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as several overseas operators, including the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Royal Netherlands Navy. It was initially operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft. During its later years, the Swordfish was increasingly used for anti-submarine and training duties. The type was in frontline service throughout the Second World War.Despite being obsolescent, the Swordfish achieved some spectacular successes during the war, including sinking one battleship and damaging two others belonging to the Regia Marina (the Italian navy) during the Battle of Taranto, and the famous attack on the German battleship Bismarck, which contributed to her eventually being sunk. Swordfish sank a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during the war. The Swordfish remained in front-line service until V-E Day, having outlasted some of the aircraft intended to replace it.
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| Whitworth Wrench |
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| Fairey Barracuda Mk.II 'Pacific Fleet' |
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| Supermarine Walrus |
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| Lysander and cars at Shuttleworth |
The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War.
After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's short-field performance enabled clandestine missions using small, improvised airstrips behind enemy lines to place or recover agents, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance. Royal Air Force army co-operation aircraft were named after mythical or historical military leaders; in this case the Spartan admiral Lysander was chosen.
The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aviation, automotive and agricultural collection located at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire, England.
The collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While flying a Fairey Battle at night on 2 August 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed. His mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust "for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture."
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| Avro Lancasters |
The Lancaster conducted a total of 156,000 sorties and dropped 608,612 long tons of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Only 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations and was ultimately retired from service and scrapped in 1947. From 1942 onwards, the Lancaster became the mainstay of the British heavy bomber fleet; by the end of the war in Europe, there were roughly 50 squadrons equipped with the Lancaster, the majority of these being the Lancaster B.I model. From its entry into service, the original model of the Lancaster was operated in almost every major bombing raid of the European conflict.
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| Croydon Airport - Victor McLindon |
The beautiful the Handley Page H.P.42 and H.P.45 were four-engine biplane airliners designed and manufactured by British aviation company Handley Page, based in Radlett, Hertfordshire. It held the distinction of being the largest airliner in regular use in the world upon the type's introduction in 1931.
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| Refuelling Hanno at Samakh, Tiberias, Palestine, October 1931 |
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| Lancaster fire bomber - Steve Cox |
From Steve Cox Aviation Artist:
In 1970, this ex RCAF Mk 10 Avro Lancaster, built by Victory Aircraft at Malton Ontario, was converted to be the first and only Lancaster firebomber. The bomb bay doors were removed, and four slurry tanks were installed in the fuselage. After a series of successful flight tests, the aircraft flew missions during a wildfire in 1971 at the Wood Buffalo National Park.
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| Former Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith, 2009 |
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former royal yacht of the British monarchy. She was in their service from 1954 to 1997. She was the 83rd such vessel since King Charles II acceded to the throne in 1660, and is the second royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the racing cutter built for the Prince of Wales in 1893. During her 43-year career, the yacht travelled more than one million nautical miles around the world to more than 600 ports in 135 countries. Now retired from royal service, Britannia is permanently berthed at Ocean Terminal, Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, where it is a visitor attraction with over 300,000 visits each year.
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| Handley Page Halton |
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| BOAC's flagship Halton, G-AHDU (c/n 1372) 'Falkirk' is captured in flight shortly after delivery - BA Heritage Centre |
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| Silk classic two stroke |
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| 1937 Model 8 350 Sports Sunbeam |
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| 1937 Sunbeam Model 8 |
Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website has a bunch of pages about Sunbeam Motorcycles.
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| 1932 Lagonda 2 Litre |
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| 1932 Lagonda 2 Litre |
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| Barmouth Bridge - Episode 3, just after the 20 minute mark. |
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| Barmouth Bridge |
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| Barmouth Bridge location on the Irish Sea |
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| Badminton House |
Whether or not the sport of badminton was re-introduced from British India or was invented during the hard winter of 1863 by the children of the eighth duke in the Great Hall (where the featherweight shuttlecock would not mar the life-size portraits of horses by John Wootton, as the tradition of the house has it), it was popularised at the house, hence the sport's name.
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