Scramble! - The Summer of 1940

It is that time of year again when IWM Duxford holds its winter spotlight exhibition; this year, it is "Scramble!" - the signal for RAF pilots in the Summer of 1940 during the Battle of Britain to run to their aircraft, take off, and engage the Luftwaffe in a battle for the skies. 

The exhibition brings together some of the aircraft that actually flew during the Summer of 1940 during both the The Battle of France and The Battle of Britain campaigns; the captions on the photos describe where they were used.

All exhibits have an interesting history. For example, the first Supermarine Spitfire Mk I (G-CFGJ) is the only airworthy aircraft in this IMW collection; it was issued to RAF Duxford in April 1940 flown by Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson and was shot down in late May 1940 onto a beach near Calais - the remains were rediscovered in the 1980s; it returned to flight in 2014 and was then gifted to IWM Duxford. In addition, the Hispano Buchon was a Spanish license-built version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter - it featured in the film "Dunkirk" and the TV series "SAS Rogue Heroes". Furthermore, the MG Midget TA (GPC 671) car is of interest because it was registered to Douglas Bader who led the five-squadron "Big-Wing" from RAF Duxford in Sept 1940; Bader owned it until 1946, and is now in private ownership.

Another interesting exhibition at IWM Duxford.Read more