28 March 2018
The Royal Mail has issued ten special stamps to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force.
Key aircraft from the RAF’s 100-year history are featured in original artwork by aviation artist, Michael Turner.
They include the Sopwith Camel F1, Hurricane Mk 1, Vulcan B2, Lightning F6, Nimrod MR2 and Typhoon FGR4. The Red Arrows also feature in four formations – Flypast, Swan, Syncho and Python.
Sopwith Camel F1
The Sopwith Camel was a single-seat biplane fighter, which entered service on the Western Front in May 1917. By the end of WW1, almost 5,500 had been produced, and it had become the most successful Allied fighter, being credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft. It was flown by some of the most famous pilots, including Captain A R Brown of No. 209 Squadron, who was credited with shooting down Baron von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’.
Hurricane MK1
The single-engine Hawker Hurricane powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine first flew in November 1935.It was to achieve fame during the Battle of Britain, equipping 33 squadrons. Hawker Hurricane PZ865 was the last of 14,533 Hurricanes built and named The Last of the Many. It now flies with the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
Lightning F6
The English Electric P1 first flew on 4 August 1954. Development of this prototype led to the Lightning F1, which entered operational squadron service as an all-weather interceptor capable of flying at twice the speed of sound (Mach 2) in July 1960. The final version – the F6 – was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon 310 engines with afterburner. Its spectacular rate of climb and supersonic speed allowed it to intercept aircraft at heights in excess of 50,000 feet.
Vulcan B2
The delta-wing Avro Vulcan was the second of the RAF’s V-bombers designed to carry a nuclear bomb. It first entered RAF service in 1957, with the more powerful Mk2 following three years later, and eventually equipped nine squadrons. The force formed part of the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent until 1969. The aircraft’s only operational missions took place during the Falklands War in May 1982.
Typhoon FGR4
The RAF’s latest combat aircraft, the agile single-seat, twin-engine Typhoon, first entered squadron service in March 2007. It was initially operated in the air defence role, but the latest version, the FGR4, has a multi-role capability and has been deployed to the Middle East for operations over Libya, Iraq and Syria.
Nimrod MR2
The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 was modified from the de Havilland Comet 4 airliner. The long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine Nimrod entered RAF service in 1969. Powered by four Rolls-Royce Spey engines, it had a cavernous bomb bay that could hold a variety of weapons and sensors. With its long range, it could operate well north of Iceland and to mid-Atlantic, and at an even longer range with air-to-air refuelling. The MR2 was withdrawn from service in 2010.
The stamps and souvenir products can be pre-ordered now from www.royalmail.com/rafcentenary and are available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide.
The Royal Mint is also celebrating the RAF’s centenary with the issue of five special coins. The first two coins of the series – RAF Centenary Spitfire 2018 UK £2 Silver Proof Coin and RAF Centenary Badge 2018 UK £2 Silver Proof Coin – are available now. Others will be released during the year.
More here: https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/events/raf-centenary/
