History of the RAF: Part Two Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whittle

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle first patented his idea for a gas turbine as far back as 1932. His company, Power Jets Ltd was formed in 1935. Sir Frank passed away in 1996.

Answer: The Berlin Airlift

Following the blockade of Berlin by Soviet forces, the British, Americans and French began a massive airlift to supply the people of Berlin. The RAF delivered 1,340 tons of supplies every day. The airlift continued until October 1949. The counter-terrorism operation in Malaya, which also took place in June, was called Operation Firedog.

Answer: Canberra

The first Canberra squadrons were formed in 1951 with the B2 variant. The photo reconnaisance version followed later. The Vampire and Swift were both fighters and the 'Shack' was a four-engined aircraft designed for maritime operations. One squadron of Canberras was still in service in September 2004.

Answer: Valiant

Because of fatigue problems, all the Valiants were retired from service in February 1965. When the Royal Navy took over the nuclear deterrent role, the remaining Vulcans and Victors were assigned other jobs. The Vixen was a twin boom naval jet.

Answer: False

The weapon was Blue Steel. It was a stand-off missile with an initial range of 100 miles, allowing the bombers to launch them with less chance of being detected. It was fitted with a 1-megaton warhead, and was withdrawn in 1969 when Trident was introduced.

Answer: Lightning

The English Electric Lightning was, possibly, the most spectacular aircraft ever flown by the RAF. The first squadron was formed in 1960. The sight of a Lightning doing an almost vertical climb, in full re-heat, is a sight that, once seen, would be remembered for ever.

Answer: Defence cuts

The TSR2 was cancelled because of massive cuts in defence spending by the incumbent Labour government. The initial design and concept were so far advanced, that if production had gone ahead, the TSR2 would still be a front-line aircraft.

Answer: Puma

In 1953 275 Squadron was formed at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. They used the Sycamore helicopter. The Whirlwind was introduced three years later. After ten years service these were replaced with the Wessex, which had two engines. The Wessex remained in service into the 1990s, but in 1978 they had started to be replaced by the Sea King.

Although the Puma can act in the SAR role if required, it is primarily a support/transport aircraft.

Answer: True

On March 10 1975, during the last hours of the Vietnam war, RAF Hercules aircraft were used to evacuate civilians from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Answer: Per Ardua Ad Astra

"Per ardua ad astra" is a well known Latin proverb of very long standing and predates aviation. It was often translated as "by rough roads to the stars". Exactly how the RAF came to adopt it as its motto is not clear, but its use goes back to the formation of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912. The story given on the RAF website http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/hrafmotto.html clearly ignores the previous status of the motto as a proverb and should be treated with scepticism. That website suggests that a young officer had read the words in a book by Rider Haggard. It is possible that it dates back to an old Irish family, the Mulways, who had used it as a family motto for hundreds of years. It is generally translated by the RAF as 'Through struggles (or hardships) to the stars'. Obviously, when used of flying, the traditional translation with its reference to 'rough roads' isn't particularly appopriate.

'Après moi le déluge' ('After me the flood') is the squadron motto of 617 Sqdn (famous as the Dam Busters), and is originally attributed to Louis XV of France or his mistress. 'Offence Defence' was the motto of Fighter Command. 'Reach for The Sky' was a movie about Douglas Bader.