A-Z of British Military Aircraft Quiz

Answer: Anson

More than 11,000 Ansons were built. It started its career with the RAF in 1936 as a coastal patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. Although its service as a frontline aircraft ended in 1941, it continued to serve for many years as a trainer and communications aircraft.

Answer: BE2

The BE2 series was ubiquitous in RFC service during the early years of WW1. It was employed as a reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft, and was instrumental in fashioning the best tactics for the future as the British army worked out how to get the most out of these new-fangled flying contraptions.

It was while flying a BE2b in 1915 that Lieutenant W.B. Rhodes Moorhouse became the first airman to earn the Victoria Cross.

Answer: Camel

Camel pilots claimed more than 3,000 enemy machines during the 17 months that the type was in action during WW1. It was the first British fighter to incorporate a twin machine gun armament, and was possessed of astonishing manoeuverability and aerobatic qualities. Over 5,000 Camels were ordered, but it was phased out of service within six months of the war ending, due to defence cutbacks and its replacement by the Sopwith Snipe.

Answer: Defiant

The Boulton Paul Defiant was quite successful during its first sorties in the spring of 1940. Once German pilots realised it had no forward-firing armament, however, it suffered high casualties. In September 1940, it was removed from day fighter duties.

It was moderately successful as a 'stop gap' night fighter, however, and it continued as a trainer and target tug until the end of the war.

Answer: Elephant

The large Martinsyde Elephant was designed as a long-range fighter. It was found to be too limited to be effective in this role, however, and was converted into a bomber to exploit its range and load-carrying capability. It served on the Western Front until mid-1917, being redeployed to the Middle East until the end of the war.

Answer: Flycatcher

The Fairey Flycatcher was aesthetically unattractive but extremely popular with its pilots, thanks to its aerobatic capabilities and easy handling. Even when fitted with floats, it was still fully aerobatic. From 1924, it became the sole fighter type operated from RN aircraft carriers, and was to remain so until well into the next decade.

Answer: Gladiator

The Gloster Gladiator represented the limits of biplane fighter design, with its enclosed cockpit, four-gun armament and relatively high maximum speed of 257m.p.h.. It served heroically during the 1940 campaign in Scandinavia. It was a major fighter type in the Middle East until 1941, where it achieved some success against the equally obsolescent types of the Italian Regia Aeronautica.

Answer: Harrier

The Harrier was so good that the Americans developed their own version under licence - the McDonnell Douglas AV-8. Any concerns that the Harrier's subsonic performance would make it unsuited to interception duties were allayed by its excellent showing during the Falklands Campaign of 1982.

Answer: Iris

The Blackburn Iris had a huge wing span of 97 feet (approximately 29 metres). It served with only one squadron on maritime patrol duties, before being replaced by the Supermarine Southampton and Stranraer during the mid-1930s.

The Iris set a number of small endurance records during the early 1930s, such as the first non-stop flight between Iceland and the UK, and the first flight between the UK and Gibraltar.

Answer: Javelin

Despite its protracted development, the Gloster Javelin went on to equip 14 RAF squadrons. It was the first British fighter to be designed for all-weather capability and was the first to be armed with the 30mm Aden cannon, which was to become the standard gun armament on British fighters for the next 20 years.

Answer: Kangaroo

The Blackburn Kangaroo equipped one home-based squadron and was employed in the coastal patrol role during the last months of WWI. In this role it shared in the sinking of German submarine UC-10 on 28th August, 1918. After the war, the remaining Kangaroos were civilianised and enjoyed a successful career as passenger airliners until 1929.

Answer: Lancaster

Tha Avro Lancaster was developed from the Manchester, an operational failure. Its huge load-carrying capacity, versatility and general all-round performance led to it becoming the major bomber in the RAF's strategic campaign against Germany from 1942 onwards. On 17th May 1943, specially converted Lancasters from 617 Squadron destroyed German dams in the Ruhr using Barnes Wallis' 'bouncing bombs'.

Answer: Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was employed initially to intercept the V-1 Flying Bombs over southern England. From January 1945, two squadrons of Meteors were based in Belgium as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force's ground support mission. The integrity of its airframe meant that postwar versions such as the F.8 were twice as powerful as the first Meteors, enabling it to remain in frontline service for over a decade.

Answer: Nimrod

Since the late 1990s, the Nimrod has been replaced in its AEW role by the introduction of the American-built Boeing Sentry, another design based on a commercial airliner. It is still employed as the RAF's MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft) and can carry a large assortment of stores and weapons.

Answer: Overstrand

The Boulton Paul Overstrand introduced RAF crews to other refinements, such as heated cockpits, windshields for open gun positions, and an automatic pilot. The power-operated gun turret proved to be great success, becoming a standard and distinctive feature of most British bomber designs throughout WWII.

Answer: Pup

The Sopwith Pup was often described as, "the perfect flying machine". It flew with ten RNAS and RFC squadrons. It was a tractor design with a forward-firing machine gun, and its high speed and manoeuverability meant that it was the first British design capable of meeting the German Albatros and Pfalz fighters on equal terms. It entered service in the spring of 1916.

Often overlooked was the Pup's important contribution to the development of shipborne operations. 1,770 were built.

Answer: True

The Queen Bee was built by De Havilland, and was a development of their famous Tiger Moth primary trainer. A total of 380 of these pilotless drones were built, serving at nine gunnery ranges for more than a decade.

Answer: RE8

The Royal Aircraft Factory's RE8 was the definitive version of a series of reconnaissance biplanes produced by that company. It replaced the BE2 in its role as a reconnaissance and artillery spotting machine but it shared its predecessor's high casualty rates due to its poor performance, lack of manoeuverability and general obsolescence.

Despite this, it continued to serve with 25 front-line squadrons until the end of WW1.

Answer: Spitfire

No quiz on British military aircraft would be complete without a question on the Supermarine Spitfire, probably the most famous warplane ever built. It was the only Allied fighter to begin full production prior to 1939 and continue to be produced until after 1945. Over 40 variants were produced and a total of 20,351 Spitfires (plus 2,408 Seafires - the navalised version) were built.

Answer: Tabloid

On 8th October 1914, Lieutenant Marix of No.1 squadron (RNAS) was flying a Sopwith Tabloid when he destroyed German Zeppelin Z.IX by bombing the airship sheds at Dusseldorf. This raid was the first successful British aerial bombing mission on enemy soil.

Answer: False

I apologise for this work of fiction - but there have been no British military aircraft beginning with U! An earlier version of the Overstrand did exist, however - called the Sidestrand. It was the first twin-engined bomber design to enter service since the DH.10 of 1918.

Answer: Vulcan

As they were being phased out of front-line service in the early 1980s, Vulcans were deployed in the Falklands War on the extraordinary 'Black Buck' operations, bombing the Argentinian-occupied Port Stanley runway - an amazing feat of airmanship considering that they were flown all the way from bases in England and re-fuelled in flight at least twice on the round trip.

Answer: Wapiti

The Westland Wapiti was one of the most ubiquitous and prolific aircraft to serve with the RAF during the inter-war years. It was designed as a replacement for the DH9, a design dating from the First World War, and it replaced this type and others in the Middle East and India during the late 1920s. The name Wapiti became almost synonymous with the RAF in India throughout the 1930s.

Answer: York

An Avro York became famous as the personal transport of Prime Minister Winston Churchill from 1943 onwards. It entered full RAF service during the last months of WW2 and came to prominence during the Berlin airlift operations of the late 1940s.

Answer: False

The American-designed Taylorcraft Zephyr was a classic civilian light aircraft. But, unlike the Auster, which was built under licence by British Taylorcraft, it did not see any military service with the RAF.