On This Day, 1940: On 22 July 1940, an RAF Blenheim used airborne interception radar to shoot down a Dornier Do 17…
Read the entry →Second World War Articles
In-depth articles, analysis and long reads from The RAF Chronicle.
Battle of Talingon: RAF Air Power in the Burma Campaign
Second World War
On 19 February 1945, No. 20 Squadron RAF supported the Battle of Talingon in Burma, destroying Japanese tanks during hard fighting west of Mandalay.
Read the article →First Thousand Bomber Raid on Cologne by RAF Bomber Command
On 30–31 May 1942, RAF Bomber Command sent more than 1,000 aircraft against Cologne, proving the scale of…
RAF Aircraft Structures, Materials and Survivability
How RAF aircraft structure evolved from fabric and wood to metal airframes, shaping durability, repairability and combat survivability…
Bismarck Is Sunk as the Atlantic Breakout Ends in 1941
On 27 May 1941, Royal Navy forces sank Bismarck, ending the breakout attempt after a hunt shaped by…
From Dunkirk to Air Mobility: RAF Transport Under Pressure
How Dunkirk’s evacuation pressures exposed the limits of improvised RAF transport and pointed towards the later growth of…
RAF Cover Begins as the Dunkirk Evacuation Starts in 1940
On 26 May 1940, Operation Dynamo began and RAF Fighter Command started flying cover over Dunkirk and the…
Lysanders Drop Supplies to the Surrounded Calais Garrison
On 22 May 1940, Army Co-operation Lysanders began hazardous supply drops to the surrounded Calais garrison during the…
The RAF and the Fall of France: Retreat and Lessons of 1940
A long read on the RAF in the Fall of France, from bomber losses and retreat to evacuation,…
PRU Spitfire Finds Bismarck in Norwegian Fjord in 1941
On 21 May 1941, a photo-reconnaissance Spitfire found Bismarck in Norway, giving British planners crucial intelligence before the…
RAF in the Battle for Crete: Air Superiority and Withdrawal
RAF in the Battle for Crete shows how German air superiority shaped the campaign, weakened the defence and…
RAF Withdraws from Crete Under Luftwaffe Air Superiority
On this day in 1941, the RAF withdrew its remaining aircraft from Crete as Luftwaffe air superiority made…
617 Squadron Launches the Dams Raid with Upkeep Mines
On this day in 1943, 617 Squadron launched the dams raid, using Barnes Wallis’s Upkeep mine in the…
Strategic Bombing Offensive Effectively Begins in 1940
On this day in 1940, Bomber Command sent ninety-nine bombers against Ruhr targets, effectively opening the RAF’s strategic…