Brief history of 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight, 1941-1945

1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight was a Royal Air Force flight established during the Second World War that tested German and Italian aircraft in order to evaluate and analyse their features.

The flight in its Second World War iteration, was in existence from 21 November 1941 to 17 January 1945 and gained the nickname of Rafwaffe. Axis aircraft made its way to the unit through a variety of different methods such as capture by Allied forces, defections by Axis personnel as well as induced and mistaken landings. The demonstration and evaluation of Axis aircraft enabled RAF personnel to learn important information in order to become acquainted with what they were up against and how to counter the threat they posed.