The odd coupling Page 14

Unarmed and alone Page 44

Features 14 Beyond Unconventional Karlheinz Kens takes a detailed look at the bizarre Blohm und Voss Bv 141 asymmetric reconnaissance aircraft — and why it lost out to the Fw 189 . . .

20 Pakistan’s Delta Force Usman Shabbir and Yawar A. Mazhar relate how, in 1971, Pakistan’s small force of Mirage delta jet fi ghters made its mark in the Indo-Pakistan war

26 Fly Navy! We celebrate a century of Royal Navy aviation with a selection of Aeroplane images from the Navy Days of the 1940s and 1950s

30 Propliner Progress Roger Carvell reports from Duxford on the continued resoration of the Duxford Aviation Society’s elegant Airspeed Ambassador airliner

51 Reader Survey Tell us what you think! Complete our reader survey and you could WIN a pair of Gold Passes for Flying Legends Air Show at Duxford in July

58 Tourist Twosome Two brothers, two classic Waco UBF-2 biplanes — Frank B. Mormillo explains a unique double act in the USA

A tale of two biplanes Page 58

SPITFIRE SP E C I A L 41 Yanks over Normandy This month’s Hidden History fi nds Ron Jones investigating why US Navy pilots were fl ying RAF Spitfi res on D-Day 44 Speed & Guile Doug Taylor uses the experiences of former photo-recce Spitfi re pilot Joe Dalley to explain how the lone PR pilot had to be his own pilot, navigator and fl ight engineer 50 Spitfi re pull-out poster A splendid Richard Paver portrait of Peter Teichman’s Spitfi re PR.XI COVER IMAGE RICHARD PAVER photographed Peter Teichman fl ying his D-Day Invasion-striped Supermarine Spitfi re PR Mk XI, PL965/G-MKXI, over Kent in August 2005.

THIS PAGE A trio of Fairey Gannet AS.1s of 703 Sqn’s X Flight arrive overhead Yeovilton with their bomb bays open and radomes down at the air station’s Navy Day in May 1954 — for your chance to WIN one of fi ve pairs of tickets to join in the Royal Navy’s centenary celebrations at Yeovilton on July 11, see page 102.

Contents

June 2009 Vol 37 No 6 Issue No 434 (on sale May 1)

Regulars 4 News All the latest preservation news, compiled by Tony Harmsworth

28 Aircrew The role of Vickers Vimy Navigator, as demonstrated by Arthur Whitten Brown 90 years ago

AircrewAircrew

34 Readers’ Archive An evocative selection of pictures from Malta, sent in by Ron Richards

38 Where on Earth? A virtual search for aircraft amid the Black Sea coast, with Peter Davison

63 Picture of the Month Nautical but nice — this month’s

subject is an RN Grumman Martlet

85 From the Archives Nick Stroud revisits the aviation news and issues of 50 years ago — 1959

93 Crosswind John Fricker provides sideways comment on the aviation world

John Fricker provides sideways comment on the aviation world

98

98 Skywriters A selection of readers’ letters on a wide range of topics

99 Flying Visit Melvyn Hiscock puts his usual questions to Maurice Hammond

104 Hairy Moment Our regular spot for your historic-aviation close calls

In Database

65 The Vickers Vimy To coincide with the 90th anniversary of Alcock and Brown’s monumental transatlantic fl ight, JAMES KIGHTLY tells the full story of the trusty type they used — Vickers’ dependable Vimy 66 The big bomber’s beginnings 67 Scale drawings by Juanita Franzi 69 The Vimy’s entry into RAF service 72 Construction and systems: includes cutaway illustration by Mike Badrocke 75 The Vimy’s many record fl ights 78 Adapting the bomber into an airliner 81 The fi nal variants — Vernon to Valentia 83 Pilot’s Perspective — what it’s like to fl y

PAGES IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH IN-DEPTH PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES PAGES 20IN-DEPTH PAGES 20

IN-DEPTH

In News

B.E.2 fl ies again Page5

Junkers 52 returns Page 6

Kills found on P-47 Page 9

CWH Lysander Page 10

Hurricane memorial Page 12

In Navigator

Our Navigator section at the back of the magazine tells you all you need to know about what to buy and where to go:

87 Three Greens 87 Book Reviews 91 Web review 92 Information Exchange 93 Crosswind 94 Airshows and Events 95 Registration Update 96 Classifi ed 102 Aeroplane services — back-issues, subscriptions, binders, newsagent order form, annual index and more 103 Contacts and next month in Aeroplane

established 1911established 1911

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)

1968. It was relaunched as a monthly magazine