Showing 1 to 10 of 187 search results
Projector Searchlight 90CM Mark VI
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1936-Circa 1945, London, Hangar Five, 79/O/554
Searchlights were used to illuminate enemy aircraft at night. They saw little use at the start of the Battle of Britain but became important once night raids started on Britain's towns and cities.
Plotting Block, Friendly Forces
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1940, London, Hangar Five, X002-6607
Plotting blocks and counters were used in Operations Rooms in the Second World War and particularly in the Battle of Britain to track the movements of incoming formations of enemy aircraft.
Royal Air Force identity card of Flying Officer Edgar John Wilcox, circa 1940
Archives, Circa 1940 {cg}, In Storage, X007-1390/009
Charred identity card of Flying Officer John Wilcox of no. 72 Squadron, who was shot down during the Battle of Britain on 31 August 1940.
'Figaro' Emblem of Ian Gleed
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1940, London, Hangar Five, 71/A/222
Flight Lieutenant Ian Gleed flew his Hurricane Mk I throughout the Battle of Britain. He had the wily cartoon cat Figaro, from the Disney film Pinocchio, swatting a swastika, painted on his cockpit door.
Spitfire Fund Brooch
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1940, Cosford, Hangar Two, X006-8819
Lapel brooches like this one, formed from an old penny, were sold to raise money for Fighter Funds. This example was purchased by Mary Avis Taylor, a member of the Woman’s Auxiliary Air Force.
'Figaro' Door
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1940, Cosford, Hangar Two, 71/A/221
Flight Lieutenant Ian Gleed flew his Hurricane Mk I throughout the Battle of Britain. He had the wily cartoon cat Figaro, from the Disney film Pinocchio, swatting a swastika, painted on his cockpit door.
Bust-length portrait of Flying Officer Edgar John Wilcox, circa 1940
Archives, Circa 1940 {cg}, In Storage, X007-1390/008
Edgar Wilcox was born in 1917 and educated at Winton House School and Croydon High School. He joined the RAF in 1937 and after completing his flying training was posted No. 72 Squadron in July 1938.
Post Instrument Mark IIC
Aircraft & Exhibits, 1936-1945, Cosford, Hangar Two, 79/I/932
Post Instruments were used in the Second World War by members of the Observer Corps as an aide to assess the height, bearing and location of enemy aircraft.
Fighter Fund Jigsaw
Aircraft & Exhibits, Circa 1941, Cosford, Hangar Two, 1986/0962/C
Many products, including toys, were made and sold to raise money for aircraft during the Second World War. A London-based manufacturer created this jigsaw, which has over 200 pieces, for the Hendon Fighter Four Fund.
Gloster Gladiator Mark I
Aircraft & Exhibits, AUG 1937-MAR 1948, Cosford, Hangar Two, 74/A/17
The Gloster Gladiator was the RAF's last biplane fighter and the first to feature an enclosed cockpit for the pilot. Deliveries began in 1937, with Gladiators continuing to serve in the early years of the Second World War.
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- Battle of Britain, 1940
- France, Invasion of, 1940 [10]
- Dynamo, 1940 [8]
- Overlord, 1944 June [7]
- Blitz, The, 1940-1941 [6]
- Cold War, 1946-1989 [6]
- United Kingdom, Bombing of, 1939-1945 [6]
- Dunkirk, Battle of, 1940 [5]
- "Battle of Britain", Filming Of, 1969 [3]
- Falklands Conflict, 1982 [3]