FlyPast Magazine February 2018 Vorige editie

The brand new February edition of FlyPast features a special section dedicated to the men and machines of RAF Bomber Command. A total of 55,573 of its airmen were killed during World War Two, representing over 44 percent of the overall numbers of the ‘bomber boys’. Those who paid the ultimate price are today remembered on a memorial at London’s Green Park. Bomber Command continued to operate with distinction long after the war. We pay tribute to those who served with a series of themed features.

Messerschmitt warbird
Our cover star is the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum’s Messerschmitt Bf 109E. This aircraft is one of very few original ‘Emils’ still flying. We feature exclusive air-to-air images by lensman John Dibbs and words by ‘Cricket’ Renner.

Attack of the Heinkels
Chris Goss reflects on the early years of Luftwaffe torpedo-bomber operations.

Infamous White Paper
Sixty years on, the Defence White Paper of 1957 can still evoke bitter recrimination. Andrew Brookes examines its intentions.

Mitchells over the Pacific
Warren E Thompson recounts the exploits of the 345th Bomb Group, nicknamed the Air Apaches.

Sturmovik restoration
A collection of images illustrating the return to flight of the Vadim Zadorozhny Technical Museum’s Ilyushin Il-2.

Plus we visit the RAF Museum at Laarburch – the German attraction houses a treasure trove of memorabilia – and we reveal a portfolio of rarely seen images showing the de Havilland Venom NF.2s of 253 Squadron. Liam Shaw reports from Southend where Avro Vulcan XL426 has been taxying, while Filipe Silva tells how a pair of Bristol Beaufighters escaped the scrapman in Portugal.