F e a t u r e s
first eighteen months. When the United States of America entered the war in December, 1941, the British Isles acted as a stronghold and launching pad from which the United Nations could take the war back to Germany; initially through the Combined Bomber Offensive, and later as the springboard for Allied armies to re-enter the continent and begin the liberation of western Europe.
The Battle of Britain acts as a touchstone for today’s RAF. The courage and self- sacrifice of our forebears serves as a continuing inspiration to our people, and also acts as a constant reminder that the RAF’s foremost duty remains the control of the air. The threat to the UK may have changed in character, and the ongoing control of the air mission in Afghanistan takes a very different form, the objective remains the same: to secure the free use of the air for ourselves and our allies and to deny it to our adversaries.
A contest for control of the air remains a fundamental prerequisite for any putative military endeavour in the twenty-first century: quite simply, it enables all other activities. For example, it would be impossible to even deploy a fighting force – in its vulnerable transport ships, aircraft and land vehicles – to a crisis zone without control of the air, let alone move it freely around a theatre of operations after arrival and without it, the success of any military operation will be compromised.
At present, the most significant air threat to the United Kingdom itself is a terrorist attack, with a hijacked airliner being used as a suicide bomb. Consequently, a force of Tornado and Typhoon fighters is held at Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) all year round, day and night, with a remit to ‘scramble’ within a few minutes. In 2009, this happened more than once a month, on some occasions to check out airliners that were not complying with proper procedures or were failing to communicate, but also to intercept Russian patrol aircraft.
From Spitfire to Typhoon Although 70 years on since the Battle of Britain, for one RAF pilot flying through history is all in a day’s work. Flt Lt Antony ‘Parky’ Parkinson, is an instructor on the Typhoon but also gets to take to the same Lincolnshire skies in the iconic Spitfire, as a member of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF).
Parky has clocked up many flying hours including a tour on the Red Arrows. “The Reds was probably the ultimate job, but some things are the same for all pilots. Whether I am air-to-air refueling in the Typhoon or getting the Spitfire in formation on the wing of the Lancaster – I am visually, manually flying – the same raw skills that pilots would have used 70 years ago”.
“If I had to choose a favourite aircraft it would be the Spitfire. It gets to you emotionally – you really feel as if it’s a part of you when you are
flying, it’s such an agile and beautiful aircraft – it’s a total privilege and delight to fly.”
Parky has been lucky enough to fly both the Typhoon and the Spitfire on the same day. “Both aircraft represent the cutting edge technology of their time, and they are both easy for a pilot to fly, although it is more difficult to land a Spitfire!
He admits that he probably has the best job in the world, flying the two aircraft. “The great thing about being able to fly them both is that I feel I can bridge the 70 year gap between them. I love meeting the old boys who were fighter pilots in World War II. To see them sitting in the Spitfire and then looking around the Typhoon – that’s when it really brings the heritage of the RAF altogether – the then and now.”
For further information go to:
www.raf.mod.uk/history/ battleofbritain70thanniversary;
www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf
12 Autumn 2010
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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