COVER IMAGE: Special features on the de Havilland Mosquito begin on page 34. JOHNM. DIBBS of the Plane Picture Company captured British Aerospace’s RR299 on camera in 1996.

Contents

August 2011 Vol 39 No 8 Issue No 460 (on sale Jun 28)

Features16FLIGHTOFTHEVULTURE

Following meticulous research and close co-operation with the families of each of the three crewmen, John WashingtonSmith tells the fascinating story of an epic round-the-world flight attempt in 1924

24 DEFENDERS OF THE

40 NEXT TO FLY

Jerry Yagen recently spoke to Tony Harmsworth about his soon-tofly Mosquito FB.26 for our latest In the Workshop report

46 TOY PARADISE

Jarrod Cotter visits the Hornby Visitor Centre to discover the history of Britain’s best-loved toys

NORTH WEST FRONTIER Martyn Chorlton describes the operations of 39 (Bomber) Sqn that earned the unit the Battle Honours North West Frontier 1930-31 and 1935-39, Mohmand 1933 and 1935

50 ESCAPING LIFE’S

GRAVITY Scott Germain flies two sorties with The Horsemen to understand what it takes to escape gravity and chase perfection in the classic North American P-51 Mustang

30 WINDY CITY

WARBIRDS Steve Lundin highlights the training available from Gauntlet Warbirds in Chicago

34 MOSQUITO FIGHTER SQN

In the spring of 1943 The Aeroplane was invited to visit 264 Sqn, which had been flying the de Havilland Mosquito for almost a year. Jarrod Cotter recounts what the reporters found

38 MOSQUITO DESIGN

TEAM Naming the team that designed the de Havilland Mosquito

60 “WATCH YER 6”

To mark the publication of Storm Front, his new book about Britain’s secret part in Oman’s unknown strategic bombing campaign during the 1970s, Rowland White provides an exclusive account of the decisive contribution made by the Hawker Hunter in bringing the conflict to a conclusion

100 RAAF PILGRIMAGE

James Kightly takes part in a great flying tribute to mark the Royal Australian Air Force’s 90th anniversary

DATABASE

In News

Thunderbolt unveiled Page 6

Pacific Mustang visits UK Page 8

Vulcan welcomed home Page 10

Geoffrey returns to Biggin Page 11

First War aerodrome fly-in Page 12

15PAGESOFDETAIL

696969696969 WESTLAND WELKININ

IN

69 WESTLAND WELKIN Tony Buttler tells the story of a pioneering high-altitude fighter which, fortunately, proved to be unnecessary titude fighter which fortunately,

WIN!WIN!

47 Competition Your chance to win one of five of Airfix’s brand-new 1:72-scale Vickers Valiant B.1 model kits established 1911

Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The Aeroplane, founded by the legendary C.G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was relaunched as a monthly magazine in 1973 by Richard T. Riding (Editor for 25 years until 1998)

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