Spies in the Skies

During the Second World War, Aerial Reconnaissance Units special squadrons - such as the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) - were tasked with flying behind enemy lines to gather intelligence from the air, operating far behind enemy lines in specialised aircraft modified to carry high performance cameras.

The Lockheed 12A Electra Junior G-AFTL was a civilian aircraft adapted for use as a reconnaissance in 1939; the Spitfire was continuously modified during the war for this purpose and a Westland Lysander V9312 served as a reconnaissance aircraft with 225 squadron, flying over 30 sorties in 1940-41.

These were all on display at an interesting and informative exhibition in the AirSpace super hangar.Read more