Short Sunderland MR5

By the start of the Second World War three RAF squadrons were equipped with the Short Sunderland, a long-range reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrol flying boat.

Used throughout the war, 749 Sunderlands were built and the type remained in RAF service until 1959. Its large numbers of machine guns led the Luftwaffe to nickname the Sunderland 'The Flying Porcupine'. Sunderlands were later used in the Berlin Airlift in 1949 carrying 4,847 tons of freight. During the Korean War, in the early 1950s, Sunderlands based in Japan undertook nearly 900 operational sorties with over 13,350 hours of flying. This example, serial number ML824, flew with No. 201 Squadron during 1945 and later served with the French Navy. Privately conserved in 1961, it joined the RAF Museum collection 10 years later.