On This Day, 1939: On 21 October 1939, 46 Squadron Hurricanes intercepted Heinkel He 115 floatplanes over the North Sea in the…
Read the entry →Second World War Articles
In-depth articles, analysis and long reads from The RAF Chronicle.
First RAF Attack on Norway Opens Air Campaign at Stavanger
Second World War
first RAF attack on Norway: How RAF Wellingtons and Blenheims attacked Stavanger-Sola on 11 April 1940, opening sustained air operations in Norway.
Read the article →RAF Aircraft Fuel Systems, Range and Operational Endurance
How RAF fuel systems, tank design and fuel management shaped aircraft range, endurance, mission planning and operational reach.
Leonard Trent and the Amsterdam Power Station Raid
Squadron Leader Leonard Trent won the Victoria Cross after pressing home the 1943 Amsterdam power station attack under…
The RAF in the Desert Air War and North African Campaign
How the RAF fought and adapted in the desert air war, where North African conditions helped shape modern…
The RAF and D-Day Air Power in Operation Overlord
How the RAF helped make D-Day possible through air superiority, transport missions, tactical support and the wider air…
RAF Losses and Attrition Across the Second World War
How RAF losses in war included combat, training and hidden attrition, shaping policy, doctrine and the conduct of…
RAF Aircrew Training WWII: From Recruit to Front Line
How RAF aircrew training expanded from pre-war limits into a vast wartime system that sustained front-line operations across…
RAF Bombing Strategy: From Daylight Raids to the Night War
How RAF bombing strategy evolved from costly daylight raids to a sustained night offensive shaped by loss rates,…
Norwich Blitz: German Reprisal Raid Devastates City
Norwich Blitz: The destructive German raid on Norwich in 1942 hit large areas of the city, though the…
Sergeant Norman Cyril Jackson VC and the Burning Lancaster
Sergeant N. C. Jackson earned the Victoria Cross after climbing onto the wing of a burning Lancaster over…
Baedeker Raids Open with the Bombing of Exeter in 1942
Exeter was among the first cities hit in the 1942 Baedeker raids, retaliatory Luftwaffe attacks aimed at Britain’s…
RAF Coastal Convoy Patrols in the Second World War
How RAF Coastal Command convoy patrols protected shipping, pressured U-boats and helped sustain Britain through the Battle of…
S for Sugar Flies Its Final Mission with Bomber Command
Lancaster R5868 ‘S for Sugar’ flew its 137th and final operation in 1945 before becoming one of the…