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JB II - Hawker Typhoon IB, John R Baldwin By the end of his first tour of duty in April 1944, pilot John Robert Baldwin had amassed at least 13 aerial victories, having flown an incredible number of missions supporting pre-D-Day operations in his trusty Hawker Typhoon. He would return to operational flying after taking a short break, having been promoted to the position of Wing Commander RAF No.146 Wing, again flying Typhoons and again embarking on a punishing schedule of flight operations, this time in support of the Allied ground advances through France and missions against V-1 Doodlebug sites. Leading the entire Wing on at least sixteen occasions, Baldwin’s logbook shows at least 110 sorties flown in support of these missions, with other official records suggesting that figure should be closer to 170, as this Wing Commander was determined to lead his men from the front during these dangerous missions. Baldwin’s reputation was such that he was assigned at least two Typhoons, each configured for different missions. One was equipped with bombs, whilst the one referred to as ‘JBII’ sported the rocket projectiles RAF Hawker Typhoons became so famous for using. One wartime picture shows two of Baldwin’s Typhoons parked next to each other, which is a fascinating record of this ace pilot’s wartime contribution. John Robert Baldwin would end the war as the highest-scoring Hawker Typhoon ‘Ace’, with 15 confirmed victories, 1 shared and 4 probables to his name.

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Supermarine Spitfire T.9 TE308 'Grey Nurse' - Biggin Hill Heritage HangarAs one of the most successful fighter aircraft of the Second World War and one which was produced in huge numbers, it can be a little surprising to learn that the Supermarine Spitfire was not produced in a two seat training variant during the war, meaning that pilots converting to this awesome machine would be making their first flight in the Spitfire as their first solo. The Vickers Supermarine company did propose the development of a two seat variant of the Spitfire to Air Ministry officials as far back as 1941, but as there was no official support for the project at the time, they simply returned to further development of single engined fighters.

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Rolls Royce Sedance de Ville in Yellow and Black - James Bond 007 - Goldfinger (1964) One of James Bond's most memorable foes was Auric Goldfinger, 'the man with the Midas touch', and the owner of this iconic Rolls Royce Sedance de Ville. Driven by Oddjob, his deadly Korean manservant, the car formed a crucial part of Goldfinger's plans as a smuggler, with parts of the vehicle recast from melted down gold bullion. This enabled Goldfinger to move the precious metal across borders undetected. The passenger compartment remained the height of luxury and concealed a pull-down table where Goldfinger begrudgingly signed a £5,000 cheque to Bond - his prize for winning their game of golf. The Rolls Royce Sedance de Ville was the first vehicle in the company portfolio to be powered by a twelve-cylinder engine that weighed in at over 7,000 pounds and was capable of cruising at over 100 miles an hour. This vehicle's numberplate AU 1 is reference to the chemical symbol for gold on the periodic table.

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Sdkfz 7 Artillery Tractor – Tunisia 1943This heavy half-track was one of the powerful vehicles which pulled Germany’s supplies and artillery around the battlefields of the Second World War and was used throughout the war, on all fronts where German troops were engaged. The vehicle is perhaps best known as the tractor unit for the fearsome 88mm anti-tank/anti-aircraft gun, although it also served in a number of other essential roles, such as tank recovery. Providing a mobile solution to anti-aircraft defence, the Krauss-Maffei could also be equipped with a quad 2cm Flakvierling 38L artillery piece, mounted on the modified load platform of the vehicle.On May 7th 1943, the British 7th Armored Division captured Tunis, the capital of Tunisia and the USII Army Corps captured Bizerte, the last remaining port in Axis hands. Six days later on May 13, 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered and 267,000 German and Italian soldiers became prisoners of war.

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 XV466 D, No.1435Flight RAF - Falkland Islands, 1991 Features Include:• Detailed crew figures• Drop Tank• Opening Canopy • Optional Armaments • Flight stand• Optional landing gear In the years following the end of the Falklands War, Britain attempted to calm ongoing tensions by reducing the number of Phantom interceptors based on the Islands to just four aircraft. This development reduced the squadron to ‘Flight’ status and would herald its adoption of the famous ‘1435 Flight’ name and its heritage from the Second World War. Now having just four Phantoms to defend the Islands against the potential might of a combined Argentinean air threat, pilots and crew of No.1435 Flight called upon the glorious WWII heritage of this famous unit and established a South Atlantic aviation story which continues to this day. The long association between the Falkland Islands and RAF No.1435 Flight began on 1st November 1988, when No.23(F) Squadron back in the UK started to re-equip with the new Tornado F.3 interceptor. With their Falklands based detachment now reduced to just four Phantoms, the flight drew on its association with the siege of Malta during the Second World War and the defiant defence mounted by a small number of obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters of the Hal Far Fighter Flight. During her time with No.1435 Flight on the Falkland Islands, Phantom FGR.2 XV466 earned a reputation as one of the most attractively presented RAF jets of the post war era, with her white tail and large Maltese Cross cutting quite the figure as she helped to deter further conflict in this volatile region.

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Messerschmitt Me262A-1a, 'Yellow 17', Lt Walter Hagenah III Jagdgeschwader 7 One of the most interesting engagements involving a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter during WWII occurred on 10th April 1945, when pilot Lt Walther Hagenah and his wingman were ordered to intercept a heavy raid of USAAF bombers attacking an area north of Berlin. Knowing they would be massively outnumbered by Allied aircraft, the pair intended to attack the formation at high speed, using cannon and their underwing mounted R4M unguided rocket projectiles to break up the formation and spread confusion. With the mighty bomber stream in sight, Hagenah noticed a flight of six American P-51D Mustangs above them, which immediately dropped their external fuel tanks as they dived in to attack. Hagenah's experience told him that if he turned to face them, or made any violent evasive manoeuvre, the speed of the Mustangs would soon bring him into their gunsights, so instead, he pushed the throttles to full power and began a gentle dive towards the ground, but crucially, not changing heading. His wingman decided to take a different course of action, turning to face the Mustangs and immediately being enveloped in a hail of .50 calibre bullets. With his own jet now at full speed, Hagenah expertly positioned his Messerschmitt for an attack on the American fighters, opening up on them with everything he had, including ripple-firing his R4M rockets at the enemy fighter formation.

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Supermarine Spitfire MkIXc - GC Colin Gray - Operation Husky - July 1943Desperate to ensure the Spitfire maintained its ongoing combat effectiveness, designers at the Vickers Supermarine Company were almost constantly engaged in modifying, upgrading and improving their famous fighter throughout the Second World War, however, during that time, there were occasions when unexpected Luftwaffe advancements called upon their flexibility and ingenuity. With a significant new variant of the Spitfire at the advanced stages of development, the introduction of a capable new German fighter aircraft in the skies over occupied Europe caused great concern amongst RAF officials, who were now losing Spitfires at an alarming rate and needed an immediate response. With the proposed squadron introduction of the new Spitfire Mk.VIII variant still some months away, Supermarine designers had the idea of mating the intended new powerplant for this aircraft, the Rolls Royce Merlin 60 series engine, with existing Spitfire Mk.V airframes already on the production line, a temporary solution which might just buy them the time they needed.The idea was given official approval and the RAF's Emergency Interim Fighter Programme got underway, with the new variant given the designation Spitfire IX, a stop-gap solution which would actually prove to be something of a fighting thoroughbred. In actual fact, this undertaking was not without several rather significant challenges for the team at Supermarine to overcome and but for the severity of the situation in the skies over Europe, may have actually been regarded as too problematic. Attaching the powerful new variant of the Merlin engine to existing Spitfire airframes was fraught with challenges, as the new unit was larger, wider and featured a redesigned rear section, all of which made this far from a simple exchange of engines. Supermarine technicians had to remove all existing systems and connections, design a new engine mount, then replace all fittings with newly upgraded components, all of which were essentially hand built. In fact, it could be argued that many of the first Spitfire Mk.IX fighters were hand built, with each one having an incredible number of man hours devoted to their p

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Tiger 131 - restored and operated by The Tank Museum, BovingtonAs you might expect with one of the world's most famous restored military artifacts of the Second World War, the story of 'Tiger 131' and how she came to reside in a museum in rural Dorset is a fascinating one and draws visitors from all over the world to come and see this once feared 80 year old German tank. Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I turret number 131 was built at the Henschel tank works in Kassel during February 1943 and was destined to be one of only a handful of these mighty tanks sent to bolster Afrika Korps forces who were battling to stem the Allied tide in Tunisia. Assigned to the 504th Heavy Tank Battalion, she was sent by rail to the port town of Trapani in Sicily, before being shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Tunis. Once in Tunisia, this now famous Tiger was prepared for combat and as the Commander's Tank of the 3rd platoon, was given the red turret number 131. Joining up with what few existing Tigers remained in the area, the tank went into action against the British in April 1943, where she would face the Churchill tanks of the 48th RTR and determined ground forces, which at that time were very much in the ascendancy.

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Police - Ford Ranger Raptor Pickup TruckThe Police Raptor demonstration vehicle modelled was converted by Ford’s Special Vehicle Preparation Team in Essex during 2019, shortly after the Raptor was launched. The base vehicle cab was stripped down to gain access to the roof and dash areas so it could be fitted with an all-LED blue light and search light facility, plus a sophisticated communications system and ANPR capability. It was then finished with the high performance Battenburg livery now used by all UK police vehicles. The Raptor’s 2-litre Bi-Turbo Ford EcoBlue diesel engine, which develops 500 Nm of torque, was left standard as was the four-wheel drive system which distributes all that torque to BF Goodrich K02 33-inch all-terrain tyres.This high-profile vehicle has been loaned to a number of police forces for evaluation prior to possible purchasing and has been used by many Police Rural Crime teams. It was found to be especially useful in tackling hare coursing and farm thefts where off road pursuits across farmland are required, an unusual task to which the high-performance Raptor is particularly well suited. The vehicle is designed to tackle fearsome terrain with ease while leaving the occupants comfortable and alert thanks to its race-bred off-road FOX Pro suspension. The Baja desert race mode setting improves the vehicle’s high-speed off-road performance, while the impressive 10-speed automatic transmission makes sure the Raptor is always in the right gear at the right time, whatever the conditions.

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Bristol Beaufighter TF10 No45 Squadron Operation Firedog RAF Kuala Lumpur Malaya 1949 Features Include:• Detailed crew figures• Drop Tank• Wood grain, rotating propellers • Rotating Turret • Optional Armaments • Flight stand• Wingspan 9.7" • Optional landing gear By the end of the Second World War, the Royal Air Force saw little need to retain the large number of Bristol Beaufighter squadrons it currently had in service, so most units were simply disbanded, a couple were retained for home duties, with the remainder prepared for deployment to the Far East. One notable exceptionto this rule were RAF No.45 Squadron,who replaced their wartime Mosquitoes with the Beaufighter TF.X fighter bomber, before moving out to operate from a new base in Ceylon. In August 1948, the squadron moved to Kuala Lumpur in response to the Malayan Emergency, where it would take part in the combined Commonwealth actions to quell the guerrilla activities of the Communist backed Malayan National Liberation Army. Using the legendary range and hard hitting attributes of this capable heavy fighter, the unit’sBeaufighters would loiter over the jungle, waiting to unleash a withering barrage of rocket and cannon fireon enemy positions, once given targeting instructions from Commonwealth troops patrolling in the vicinity. These ageing WWII warhorses were replaced by the new Bristol Brigand ground attack aircraft by the end of 1949, leaving the situationin Malaya to rumble on for a further ten years and with RAFsupport very much moving into the jet age during that time.

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Panther Tank – Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf D, Unknown Unit, Northern Bavaria, April 1945, Defense of the ReichWidely regarded as the finest German tank of the Second World War, the PzKpfw V Panther was a formidable combination of speed, manoeuvrability, armor protection and firepower, making this a feared battlefield adversary. Built in response to combat experiences on the Eastern Front and the impressive performance of the latest Soviet tanks, Russia would also see the combat introduction of the new Panther, during the battle of Kursk in the summer 1943. Although classed by the Germans as a medium tank, the Panther weighed in at an impressive 45 tons, but proved to be significantly more mobile than its size suggests and after overcoming initial service introduction issues, the Panther began to show its destructive potential. One criticism of the larger German tank designs was that they tended to be over-engineered and while they were undoubtedly impressive fighting machines, there simply were not enough of them with front line units. By the time of D-Day, the Panther was fighting a losing battle and if superior numbers of Allied tanks didn’t get them, rocket firing Hawker Typhoons undoubtedly would.

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