MATTHEW WILLIS
The controversial 1937 Tupolev ANT-25 flight distance record
When the Soviet Union, with the Tupolev ANT-25, set a new world distance record in 1937, The Aeroplane’s editor C. G. Grey felt the whole thing was a fix, said so in print, and nearly caused an international incident. The record stood — but was he right?
1930s Fleet Reviews
At a time of great change for the service, the Fleet Air Arm demonstrated its strength during a pair of royal reviews
The real story behind Malta's Gloster Gladiators
Everyone knows the legend of the three Gloster Sea Gladiators, named Faith, Hope and Charity, which held the line in Malta. But what’s the real story behind them? New research reveals it to be a rather different tale, but one in which the outmoded biplane fighters still played a crucial role
The plan to kill Hitler by DH.88 Comet
It’s an unlikely killing machine, the elegant, distinctively un-warlike de Havilland DH88 Comet racer G-ACSS — but, in the late 1930s, it was at the centre of a plan to assassinate Hitler. How feasible was it, and who was behind the secretive plot?
Flight Line - Aeroplane February 2021
People involved in aviation have always needed a sense of humour. The creativity of aeronautical humourists was apparent during the writing of last month’s Flight Line, with...
de Havilland 100: Hornets in Malaya
The initial conception of the de Havilland Hornet as a Pacific theatre fighter seemed distant...
Battle of Britain at 80: The Many Behind the Few
Britain’s aircraft factories, another ‘front line’ of the battle, braved the threat
of enemy attack...
Battle of Britain at 80: Forgotten Force
The Battle of against the Luftwaff e, whatever it might say on...