Document Description
Following the success of the inaugural edition of Spirit of the Air (Sep 05), the RAF decided to press ahead with a regular publication moving on from the original ethos and heritage focus to include contemporary items as well as those with a historical slant. Spirit was used to bring to readers ’ attention features about air power and about the RAF's involvement in operations. There were articles about equipment, but most importantly the focus was on people and what they were doing.
Spirit was intended to be published on a bi-monthly basis and was made available in magazine form as well as electronically. For 18 issues and 3 years the magazine reflected the spirit and style of the Service as well as informing readers about topics which touched the lives of those associated with it. However, time moves on and the onset of “Streamlining” and staff reductions in Main Building meant that every output from
DAS had to be examined to assess whether it met the criteria for Head Office activity and whether it could still be achieved from the depleted numbers. The limited resources available were too few to continue producing Spirit and it was therefore decided that other ways would need to be sought to deliver the ethos and heritage message.
Issue 1 - Inaugural Edition (Oct 05)
1 Foreword
– Cornerstones of our strength
( Air Cdre R F Garwood, DAS )
4 The Martial Spirit [ ACS Halton ] ( Sqn Ldr Jayne Dryburgh )
8 RAF Heritage ( Flt Lt Mary Hudson (Air Historical Branch, RAF) )
16 Ready to Carry or to Fight [ RAF Northolt: A Brief History ] ( Sgt Mark Bristow )
20 Force Development in the RAF ( Wg Cdr Robert Hopkin )
25 Leadership [ The Lord Tedder ] ( Wg Cdr Richard Gammage )
26 Heritage and the Agile Air Force ( Air Cdre Robert Cunningham )
29 A Short History of the Wing Organisation ( Air Cdre Robert Cunningham )
32 Interlude: An Extract From Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson
37 Core Values and Ethos in a Changing World ( Rev Gp Capt E Core )
40 Tally-Ho
– Staff Ride
( Wg Cdr Phil Buttery )
44 Profile of Henry Allingham [ Last surviving founder member of the RAF ] ( AVM Peter Dye )
47 Birth of the Service
50 Grahame-White Factory: history remade [ Relocation of historic Grade II listed hangar to the RAF Museum site, Hendon ] ( Ajay Srivastava )
53 Sergeants Three: No 199 Squadron 1952-53 ( Jeff Jefford )
56 Cranwell Heraldry ( Gp Capt Phil Rodgers (Retd) )
60 Nostalgic Air Test
62 Service Slang
– A Language of Their Own
64 Did You Know?
[ RAF badge, motto & roundel ] ( Wg Cdr Richard Gammage )
[ Inside back cover: Into the Future – Heritage & Spirit of the RAF ] ( Rev Gp Capt E
Core )
Volume 1 Number 1 (Feb 06)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Jock Stirrup, CAS )
2 Introduction ( Air Cdre R F Garwood, DAS )
4 News
6 RAF Odiham Earthquake Relief Team [ Op MATURIN ] ( Flt Lt Sohail Khan )
13 RAF Executes First Wargame in Decades – Genesis of the Future Air &
Space Operational Concept (FASOC) Wargame (Col Rand Miller USAF)
17 RAF Cranwell history ( Sqn Ldr Paul Scott )
1

21 Why should we care about history? Why should you read this article?
( Gp Capt Neville Parton )
25 I learnt about flying from that [ Reprinted from ‘Air Clues’, April 1975 ]
26 W. B. Rhodes-Moorhouse, VC 1
28 They will always be remembered [ Unveiling the Battle of Britain London
Monument ] ( Plt Off Kirsty Bottomley, RAF Ceremonial Office )
32 Battle of Britain London Monument ( Paul Day ( the Monument sculptor))
36 Prince of Wales opens new RAF Memorial [ The 1923 Memorial ]
( Seb Cox, Head of the Air Historical Branch RAF )
39 What it’s like to be . . .
The RAF Commander at RAF Mildenhall ( Sqn Ldr James E Savage )
44 Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir John Salmond 2
46 Book reviews
48 20 Questions
[ Inside back cover: Ten of my Rules of Air Fighting (‘Sailor’ Malan) ]
Volume 1 Number 2 (Mar 06)
1 Foreword ( AVM Chris Moran, ACAS )
4 News from the News
6 The view from here: The first TOPSAT images ( Mark Presley )
11 NATO Reaction Force and the Joint Force Air Component HQ ( Mike Drewett )
16 It’s a Dog’s Life – what it’s like to be a police dog at RAF Fylingdales
( Wg Cdr Phil Cox )
18 Swift Fortunes: The whole truth about the Supermarine Swift 3
22 St. Omer Revisited [ No 1 SofTT (Cosford) Aircraft Maintenance Mechanics course staff ride to France ] ( Gp Capt Gary Fletcher )
28 The origins of Boys’ Service in the RFC and RAF
( Air Chf Mshl Sir Michael
Armitage )
36 R A Warneford VC 4
38 Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Slessor 5
40 I learnt about flying from that [
Reprinted from ‘Air Clues’, February 1970
]
42 In plane view: Test your recognition skill
44 Book reviews
46 Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) ( Gp Capt David Ogg )
[ Inside back cover: Chronology of the Chinook – 25 Years ]
Volume 1 Number 3 – Part 1 (pp 1-24) (May 06)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Glenn Torpy, CAS )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace – a national and limited resource!
( Wg Cdr Tony Rapson )
10 The Chess Set Analogy for Air Power ( Gp Capt Neville Parton )
14 A Ticket to Ride – What it’s like to be a volunteer at RIAT
( Pete Dorward )
18 What have the Medics ever done for us?
( Capt Stevan Jackson RN ( Managed
Military Health System Project ))
20 The future of British air power 1968 . . .
( Sqn Ldr D Stinton )
[
Reprinted from ‘Air Clues’, April 1968
]
24 The future of British air power technology
— reprise!
( Gp Capt Dave Best ( Chief Test Pilot, MoD Boscombe Down ))
1 This article is based on The Air VCs by Peter G Cooksley, Sutton Publishing Limited, 1996.
2 This article is based on High Commanders of the Royal Air Force by Air Cdre Henry Probert, HMSO ©
Crown Copyright, 1991.
3 Extracts from Swift Justice by Nigel Walpole, published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
4 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
5 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
2

Volume 1 Number 3 – Part 2 (pp 25-48) (May 06)
24 The future of British air power technology — reprise! … (cont)
30 BBMF Spitfire Mk Vb AB910 ( Sqn Ldr Clive Rowley ( BBMF Fighter Leader ))
36 Everything an airman needed to know in 1937 [ AP 1081 – The RAF Pocket
Book 1937 ] ( Hazel Rice )
38 Leadership [ Using an extract from
“Leadership: An Anthology”’
]
( Gp Capt John Jupp )
40 Marshal of the Royal Air Force, The Lord Cameron ( Paul Dale ) 6
42 Lanoe George Hawker, VC: France 25 July 1915 ( Paul Dale )
44 RAF recognition quiz: win a set of books!
46 Book reviews
48 Air Talk: letters and prize crossword puzzle
[ Inside back cover: Chiefs of the Air Staff – 1918-2006 ]
Volume 1 Number 4 (Jul 06)
3 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Joe French, CINCSTC )
6 News from the News
8 Airspace matters [ Table of major airspace change work & summary case report from the North East Airspace Team ] ( Tony Rapson )
10 Harriers in Afghanistan ( Wg Cdr Bruce Hedley )
14 RAF Wittering Expeditionary logistics hub ( Steve Hemmings )
18 A step in time: Air Ministry Walk ( David Forsyth )
24 ‘Nothing is impossible’ – Horsa restoration
( Steve Willmot )
26 What it’s like to be a member of a University Air Squadron
( Heather Richardson-Hay )
30 NRF: Expeditionary capability [ NATO Reaction Force ] ( Capt Paul Beaves )
32 MacRobert’s Reply – ‘A Royal Air Force Opera’ [ A Tribute to Lady MacRobert ]
( Ian McFarlane )
34 Sons of the brave 65 years on [Murmansk reunion – RAF and Soviet airmen meet again (151 Wg RAF deployed to North Russia in 1941)]
( Air Cdre Philip Wilkinson (Retd) )
36 Somme Trench Restoration Project [ 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the
Somme
– Regimental Training Squadron (Basics) recruits, RAF Honington
]
( Fg Off Gary McIntosh )
38 Leonard Cheshire
– Today’s opportunities
[ Supporting the Cheshire Homes for the Disabled ] ( Sqn Ldr Graham House )
40 RAF Leadership [ Using extract s from “Leadership: An Anthology”’ ]
( Gp Capt John Jupp )
42 Marshal of the Royal Air Force – The Lord Douglas
( Paul Dale ) 7
44 J A Liddell VC, MC: Towering courage ( Paul Dale ) 8
46 Aircraft Recognition Quiz
48 Book review
49/50 Quiz solutions and prize crossword puzzle
[ Inside back cover:
The King’s Message to the RAF, 11 November 1918
]
Volume 1 Number 5 (Sep 06)
1 Foreword ( Air Mshl B M Thornton, AMP and CINCPTC )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace matters: The low flying system and the public ( Simon Lane )
6 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
7 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
8 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
3

8 Equal to the challenge: Merlins over Iraq ( Flt Lt Sam Fletcher )
12 Redefining the Strategic Landscape – in the USAF
( Gp Capt Bill Gibson )
17 Deployment to Kandahar: An excursion to the Sangin Valley [ Chinooks ]
( Wg Cdr Carl Scott )
20 Life with the AMI
– What it’s like to be an Exchange Officer with the Italian Air
Force ( Sqn Ldr Dan Beard )
22 The History of G –Protection
( Wg Cdr Nicholas Green )
26 1941: The Royal Air Force in North Russia ( Air Cdre Phil Wilkinson )
32 Leadership [ Using extract s from “Leadership: An Anthology”’ ]
( Gp Capt John Jupp )
34 Marshal of the Royal Air Force
— The Lord Elworthy
( Paul Dale ) 9
36 G S M Insall VC: Achiet, France 7 November 1915 ( Paul Dale ) 10
38
‘We trained to serve’: The end of an era
[ RAF Boy Entrants ] ( Tom Brown )
44 RAF prize quiz
45 Book reviews
48 Prize crossword puzzle
Volume 1 Number 6 (Nov 06)
1 Foreword ( AVM D R G Rennison, DG Logs ( STC ))
4 News from the News
6 Unrestricted access to FL245 in Class G Airspace? Not for much longer . . .
( Wg Cdr Tony Rapson ( with special thanks to Wg Cdr D Lindsey & Sqn Ldr D Raine ))
9 RAF Regiment: Training today’s Gunner for Operations
( FS Mark Taylor ( Trg
Wg, RAF Honington ))
12 What it’s like to be on Ops in Kandahar [ Air Portable Avionics Workshop – RAF
Wittering ] ( Cpl Mark Lightfoot )
14 The end of an era — Operation BANNER [Northern Ireland] ( Guy Warner )
16 Leadership [ Using an extract from “Leadership: Beyond Command”’ ]
( Gp Capt John Jupp )
20 The Caribbean Connection [ West Indians in the RAF in WWII ] ( Val Simpson )
24 The Life of Guy Menzies – The Forgotten Flyer [ First solo flight from Australia to New Zealand ] ( Max Wearne )
28 Bomber Command Memorial
– Lincoln Cathedral 27 August 2006
( Sqn Ldr Alastair Scott )
30 The Few remembered on Kentish Cliffs ( Geoff Simpson ( Trustee Battle of Britain
Memorial ))
34 Richard Bell
–Davies, VC: Ferejik Junction, Bulgaria, November 1915
( Paul Dale ) 11
36 Yorkshire Village Honours Wartime Hero [ Air Chf Mshl Sir Augustus Walker ]
( Steve Willmot )
38 Parables of a Pilot 12
42 Flying Scholarships for the Disabled – Helping Disabled Men And Women
‘To reach for the Sky’
( Susie Dunbar ( Trustee, Flying Scholarships for the Disabled ))
45 CAS Prize Quiz
46 Book review
47 Air Talk: Quiz solutions, prize crossword puzzle . . .
9 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
10 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
11 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
12 A shortened version of this article first appeared in Tee Emm (Training Memorandum for aircrew first published in 1941), it is believed that the original was an inter-war invention (original author unknown).
Illustrated by Mary Hudson of the Air Historical Branch from photographs held in the AHB archive.
4

Spirit of the Air Operational Special (Dec 06)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Glenn Torpy, CAS )
2 Tornados on TELIC ( Wg Cdr Adrian Frost, OC 14 Sqn )
4 Tactical ATC Ops in Iraq ( Flt Lt Stephen Leech, RAF Valley )
6 Active force protection at Basra Air Station: 48 hours to dawn raid
( Flt Lt Nick Beazley )
8 An enduring foil to kinetic operations: Civil Military Cooperation
( Wg Cdr T C Heyworth, OC No 1 RAF FP Wg HQ )
10 Delivering the Airbridge: The TriStars of 216 Sqn ( Wg Cdr Rob Daft, OC 216 Sqn )
12 ‘Two weeks in February’ – C-130J on operations
( Sqn Ldr Richard Waller,
24 Sqn, RAF Lyneham )
14 Harriers on HERRICK ( Flt Lt Em Rickards, IV(AC) Sqn )
16 Puma training: Ex JEBEL SAHARA 06 ( Flt Lt Emma Matthews & Capt Richard Shaw,
RAF Benson )
18 Exercise DESERT SHADOW ( Lt Neil Laing RN )
20 Operation HIGHBROW: Tactical Provost Wing (TPW) ( Flt Lt Julian Park )
22 Mobile Air Operations Team: ‘You want me to go where?’
( Flt Lt Russ Gleeson,
MAOT, RAF Benson )
Volume 2 Number 1 (Jan 07)
1 Foreword ( AVM Steve Dalton, DG Typhoon )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace matters: Are you in tune and on frequency? ( Wg Cdr Dawn Lindsey,
DAS-Ops )
7 What it’s like to be on ops in the Falklands
( Cpl Duncan Hutchings, CIS Flt,
RAF Innsworth )
10 Deployment to Op HERRICK: 2 RAF Force Protection Wing
( Flt Lt G J Richardson )
13 Command during change
— journey into the unknown
( Wg Cdr Andy Hine,
OC II(AC) Sqn, RAF Marham )
17
5001 Squadron: ‘A way made by force’
( Sqn Ldr Mike McEwing, OC 5001 Sqn )
20
Saluting ‘The Few’: The triumph of British air power in 1940
( Dr Christina J M
Goulter ( Introduction Gary Sheffield ) )
23 Spirit of the Air Readership Survey 2007
27
Saluting ‘The Few’: The triumph of British air power in 1940 …
(continued from p.22)
29 A personal odyssey: Escape from Stalag Luft 1 ( Wg Cdr Ian Shore )
32 Ops in the UK: Search and Rescue ( Flt Lt Jonathan Singh, RMB Chivenor )
36 Deployed ops training: A caterer’s account
( Sqn Ldr Y O Ditch, OC DCS )
38 Marshal of the Royal Air Force: The Viscount Portal ( Paul Dale ) 13
40 L W B Rees VC, France, 1 July 1916 ( Paul Dale ) 14
42 Blue Plaque H onour for Dambusters’ Leader [ Aberdeen Place, London ]
( Robert Owen, official historian, 617 Squadron Aircrew Association )
46 New Year prize quiz
47 Book review
48 Air Talk
13 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
14 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
5

Volume 2 Number 2 (Mar 07)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Glenn Torpy, CAS )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace matters: How to have an Airprox!
( Wg Cdr Tony Rapson, DAS Ops AS1 &
Wg Cdr Dawn Lindsey, DAS Ops AS2 )
8 Enabling air assault: 16 Air Assault Brigade ( Sqn Ldr Dan Endruweit, 16 Air Assault
Bde )
10
What it’s like to be deployed in the Congo
( Sqn Ldr Chris Brown, SO LOG 1, EA )
15 Quick Reaction Alert ( Sqn Ldr C B Thirtle, 111(F) Sqn )
18 Merlin HC3 and 28 (AC) Squadron: Winning friends and influencing people
( Guy Warner )
23 90 Signals Unit: The challenge of supporting operations ( Sqn Ldr Raph Brown
OC 2(FC)Sqn, TCW, 90 SU )
26 RAFA
— Internet cafés and more
( Tony Hirons )
30 Leadership: ‘Mentally Agile — Physically Robust’
( Gp Capt John Jupp )
34 Higher Commanders: Air Chief Marshal Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon
(Hazel Rice) 15
36 W L Robinson, VC: Air operations in defence of the UK, 2-3 September 1916
( Paul Dale ) 16
38 In pride of place, part 1: Origins and traditions of the Colours and Standards
( Flt Lt Mary Hudson ( Air Historical Branch RAF ))
42 Colours and Standards in the making: From design to completion
( Amanda Freeman )
45 Military wit and wisdom ( Compiled by Flt Lt Alexander Harman, DAS Ops Engagement )
46 Book reviews
48 Air Talk
Volume 2 Number 3 (May 07)
1 Foreword ( AVM David Walker, AOC 1Gp )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace Matters: Unmanned Systems – Airspace Integration Today and in the Future ( Wg Cdr Andy Jeffrey DAS-Ops UAV )
8 RAF Movers ‘get on with it well’
( Geoff Ingram, RAF Halton )
11 Exercise FALCON STRIKE: RAF St Mawgan FD Trg Day
14 Ambiguity and a road trip ( Wg Cdr Andy Battye, SO1 Review of Officer & Airmen
Development )
17 RAF leadership: Able to handle ambiguity ( Gp Capt John Jupp )
22 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore [ The College Hall keystones, RAFC
Cranwell ] ( Gp Capt P J Rodgers (Retd) )
26 T. Mottershead VC, Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium, 7 January 1917 ( Paul Dale ) 17
28 In Pride of Place Part 2: RAF Battle Honours ( Flt Lt Mary Hudson ( Air Historical
Branch RAF ))
34 The return of Wg Cdr Spry [ RAF Aviation Safety Group ]
36 London Zeppelin Walk ( David Forsyth )
43 Heraldry and RAF Badges ( J W Davies, RAF Ceremonial Office, with technical assistance from Ms Vikki Oakden )
46 CAS fellowships
47
CAS’ Reading List
48 Prize Crossword
15 This article is based on material taken from: www.thepeerage.com, www.rafweb.org, www.rafjever.org.
16 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
17 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
6

Volume 2 Number 4 – Falklands Commemorative (Jul 07)
1 Foreword: A notable victory for Air Power ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Peter Squire ( Retd ))
6 News from the News
8 The Vulcan bomber in action
– Operation BLACK BUCK
( Martin Withers )
12 Victors at Ascension ( Air Cdre Tony Gunby )
14 Chinook ‘Bravo November’
( Wg Cdr Andy Lawless )
16 A South Atlantic sojourn [ Harrier Ops ] ( Sqn Ldr Tony Harper )
18 The first operational C-130 air-to-air refuel in the South Atlantic ( Sqn Ldr (then
Flt Lt) Harry Burgoyne ( Retd ))
24 Nimrods, Ascension Island and the Falklands conflict ( David Emerson )
27 Leadership: Conundrums of leadership in the RAF from the Falkland Islands campaign ( Gp Capt John Jupp )
30 Bomb disposal in the Falklands ( Sqn Ldr Alan Swan )
34 The RAF Regiment on Operation CORPORATE (Wg Cdr Martin Hooker (Retd)
(RAF Regiment Secretary))
37 RAF Familiarisation Training Programme [ For Civil Servants ] ( Nicky Jones,
DAS )
38 Airspace matters: No 1 Air Control Centre (1ACC) Ops in Afghanistan
( Fg Off Sean Langrish )
40 Flight safety with Wg Cdr Spry [ RAF Aviation Safety Group ]
42 Book reviews
44 Falklands prize Quiz
46 Reader survey: The results
48 Air Talk
Volume 2 Number 5 (Sep 07)
1 Foreword ( AVM Peter Dye )
6 Airspace matters
– Civil Military Co-operation in the UK: Leading the Way
( Flt Lt Ruth Davies )
9 What is NATO doing in Iraq?
( Sqn Ldr Clive ‘Dizzy’ Disdel ( 23 Sqn ) XO Trg Ops, NATO
Trg Mission – Iraq )
14 Expeditionary EOD ( Sgt Brendan McGarrity, 5131 ( Bomb Disposal ) Sqn )
18 Space . . . 50 years since Sputnik ( FS C E Read, RAF Fylingdales )
22 Remotely Piloted Vehicles 18
24 Just hold on a minute . . .
(UAVs in the modern world) ( Wg Cdr Steve Pitcher,
Deputy Director Defence Studies ( RAF ))
28 The Path to Victory [ The Pathfinder Force in WWII ] ( Gp Capt G J Bruce, Stn Cdr,
RAF Brampton/Wyton/Henlow )
31 To Guide, Support and Facilitate [ The RAF Force Development Support Gp
(FDSG) ] ( Sqn Ldr Ruth Harris )
32 Leadership: Politically and Globally Astute ( Gp Capt John Jupp )
34 Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB DSO and Air Chief Marshal
Sir Keith Park GCB KBE MC DFC ( Gp Capt PJ Rodgers ( Ret’d ))
38 F H McNamara VC, Palestine, 20 March 1917 ( Paul Dale ) 19
40
The Tigers’ Piper and his pipes
[ 230 Sqn ] ( Guy Warner )
44 The Joint Personnel Administration Era ( Gp Capt Paul Nash )
45 Book review
46 Flight safety with Wg Cdr Spry [ RAF Aviation Safety Group ]
48 Air Talk
18 This article was first published in the 1972 RAF Souvenir Year Book , ‘Competition entry by Flt Lt R W
Heath –Whyte’.
19 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
7

Volume 2 Number 6 (Nov 07)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Clive Loader, CINCAIR )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace Matters: Delivering military terminal air traffic control in the 21 st
Century ( Mike Burton, EC CCII CBM Air 2 )
9 Activation of Camp Bastion TLZ [ Tactical Landing Zone ] ( Flt Lt Gez Currie,
RAF Shawbury )
12 Heritage to Horizons: 60th USAF Anniversary ( Gen T. Michael Moseley, COS,
USAF )
17 Rotary Wing Excellence: Sixty (R) Squadron RAF ( Guy Warner )
21 ‘War Amongst the People’ [ RAF Regiment essay competition winner ]
( Flt Lt MJP Raimondo )
25 Leadership: Technologically Competent ( Gp Capt John Jupp )
28 Preserving Halton’s Heritage – the Trenchard Museum
( Francis Hanford )
32 A year at Cambridge University [ Higher Level Defence Studies (HLDS) scheme ]
( Wg Cdr Mark Presley )
34 W A Bishop VC, Near Cambrai, France, 2 June 1917 ( Paul Dale ) 20
36 Higher Commanders: Sir John Grandy, Marshal of the Royal Air Force
( Paul Dale ) 21
38 The Battle of Britain Heritage Walk [ London ]
40 Saving the Priory for the nation ( Erica Ferguson )
42 Prize quiz
44 Book review
45 ‘A New Beginning’ [ RAF Families Federation ] ( Dawn McCafferty, Chairman )
46 Flight safety with Wg Cdr Spry [ RAF Aviation Safety Group ]
48 Air Talk
Volume 3 Numbers 1 & 2 (Feb 08)
1 Foreword ( Hazel Rice, Managing Editor )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace matters: Military Area Radar Servi ces ‘En-route to Delivering
Future Capability’
( Sqn Ldr Al Corner )
8
Airbridge reaches the parts other airlines can’t
[ RAF Brize Norton ]
( Simon Mander, Air Cmd Media Ops )
10 Changing places, changing faces – RAF EOD overseas
( Sgt Dave Lowe, 5131
( Bomb Disposal ) Sqn )
14 One Hundred at Ninety [ 100 Sqn ] ( Dr Keith Ellis and Air Cdre Norman Bonnor ( Ret’d )
( 100 Sqn Association ))
18 Boy and Apprentice Training at Cranwell 1916-1952 ( Wg Cdr Andy Tait )
24 Sqn Ldr Ian Blair DFM
– a Boy Entrant Hero
( Tom Brown )
26 RAF Transformation – new dimensions to change
( Gp Capt Steve Moody )
29 Leadership: Able to lead tomorrow’s recruits
( Gp Capt John Jupp, OC RAF
Leadership Centre )
32 Musical volunteers – ‘Here to serve’
( Wg Cdr Trevor Kirkin, Chairman, RAF Voluntary
Band Association )
34 So you want to be a test pilot ( Flt Lt I R Phillis, Rotary Wing Test Sqn )
37 Lancaster – Model achievements
( Bob Hickox )
40 Fraud for thought ( Emma Gooch )
42 Aircraft quiz
20 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
21 This article is based on Air Cdre H Probert, op cit.
8

44 Flight safety with Wg Cdr Spry [ RAF Aviation Safety Group ]
46 Letters to the Editor, ‘Eye on Spry’
48 Air Talk
Volume 3 Number 3 – Part 1: ‘Inaugural Edition 1st April 1918’ (May 08)
22
1
‘Forward’ by ‘CAS, Sir Hugh Trenchard’
3
‘Authors’ Biographies’
4 ‘News from the News’
6 ‘Heritage and Ethos’ by ‘Major The Honourable Maurice Baring’
7
‘Independent Air Power’ by ‘Major The Viscount Tiverton’
10 ‘The Air-Land Battle’ by ‘Captain JC Slessor MC’
12 ‘A View from Beneath the Trenches, Flanders 1918’ by Company Sergeant
Major H Hawtin, 171 Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers 23
14 Recruits wanted for the
“Penguins”
[
Women’s Royal Air Force]
15 The F ormation of the Women’s Royal Air Force – Recollections from the Era
( Sophie Gardner )
19 Air Force Uniform Service Dress and Mess Kit
20 Major Spry
22 Quiz and Crossword
Volume 3 Number 3 – Part 2 (May 08)
1 Foreword ( Air Chf Mshl Sir Glenn Torpy, CAS )
3 Ethos
– a very small word for a very large subject
( Gp Capt Carol Smith )
4 News from the News
6 The Future Perfect [ Typhoon ] ( Wg Cdr Tim Bullement )
10 Unmanned air systems 2020?
( Wg Cdr Rich McMahon )
15 RAF 2008 quiz
16 Wing Commander Spry says . . .
18 RAF Athletics Per Ardua?
( Flt Lt Mark Rimmer & Flt Lt Ben Trapnell )
20 How to spot an Air Power ‘bluffer’ – 10 simple rules
( Air Cdre Neville Parton )
22 Air Talk
24 RAF 90 th Anniversary Timeline, 1918-2008
Volume 3 Number 4 (Jul 08)
1 Foreword ( Air Mshl Iain McNicoll, DCINC OPS )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace Matters: We’ve got our beady eye on you [ Collision Warning System
(CWS) / Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) ] ( Flt Lt Dick Parsons,
SFSO & Tucano QFI, RAF Linton-on-Ouse )
9 Ops in Afghanistan: The airmen and airwomen of Kandahar 24
12 Far Eastern Argosies ( Sqn Ldr Doug Fairbairn ( Ret ’d ) & his son, Sqn Ldr Tony Fairbairn
(Ret ’d))
16 No 230 Squadron: Operation Plainfare 1948 [ Berlin Airlift ] ( Guy Warner )
22 Please note that the following articles were not actually written by the individuals concerned in 1918.
However, they do not simply represent an imaginary view of what the individuals might have written had a magazine like Spirit of the Air existed at the time and asked them to contribute! Instead they represent a carefully edited collation of material either produced by the individuals concerned at the time, or when they wrote about the period later – and reflecting their known views. Some linking elements have been added, but around 80-90% of the material is original, albeit possibly originating from a number of disparate documents (more than five in some cases!).
23 The ghost writer for CSM Hawtin’s diary was his grandson, Sqn Ldr Pete Hawtin.
24 ‘Aeromed Evacuation Team’, ‘Air movements’ and ‘Harrier squadron’ first appeared as a three-part series published on the Defence Intranet called The Airmen and Airwomen of Kandahar, and was adapted for publication in this issue of Spirit of the Air . ‘Chinook Engineer’ was published for the first time.
9

20 Flying with 32 (The Royal) Squadron – A Day in the life of an Air Steward
( Sgt Dave Lincoln )
23 Flying with 32 (The Royal) Squadron – Two Months in the life of a pilot
( Flt Lt Luke Vardy )
26 Leadership: Mission Command ( Gp Capt John Jupp )
30
Flying Training ‘by Royal Appointment’: No 1 Elementary Flying Training
School ( Gp Capt Andy Naismith, Sqn Ldr Richard Hart & Sqn Ldr RAFR Ian Pallister )
33 Bentley Priory – A history of the Bentley Priory Estate
( Seb Cox, Head of the Air
Historical Branch RAF )
36 Bentley Priory – ‘The most important building in the world’
38 Albert Ball VC ( Paul Dale ) 25
40
Staff rides: Operationally relevant training or ‘jollies’ at public expense?
( Sqn Ldr P E Hawtin, Force Development Support Group, RAF Cranwell )
44 Music in the Air [ 90 years of music in the RAF ] ( Sgt Dave Bowmar )
47 Book Review
48 Air Talk
Volume 3 Numbers 5&6 (Dec 08)
1 Foreword ( Air Cdre Mark Roberts, DAS )
4 News from the News
6 Airspace matters: Wind farm developments . . . And the MoD
8 The RAF Air Defence Museum [ RAF Neatishead ]
11 Improving Support Arrangements for those in Non-RAF Organisations
( Air Cdre Sue Armitage-Maddox, ACOS Support, HQ AIR )
12
RAF Lakenheath: ‘Little America’
(Tech Sgt Jill LaVoie & the 48th Fighter Wg staff)
18 British Top Gun flies B-2 stealth bomber ( Steve Willmot )
20 Putting the ‘comm’ into combat: A tour in the Pentagon with the USAF
( Wg Cdr Andy ‘Gudge’ Gudgeon )
23 Air Power in depth [ RAF Centre for Air Power Studies (RAF CAPS) ]
( Gp Capt Al Byford, Director Defence Studies ( RAF ))
24 The Royal Air Force, Air Power and the United Kingdom ( Gp Capt Al Byford,
Director Defence Studies ( RAF ))
28 Leadership: Followership ( Wg Cdr Simeon Sharples, RAF Leadership Centre )
32 Reflections and Circles: 100 Squadron, Operation GRAPPLE and all that
[ British thermonuclear tests, Christmas Island, 1957 ] ( Dr Keith Ellis )
38 ‘Dearest Ma and Pa . . .’: the letters of a First World War aviator
( Clive Richards, Air Historical Branch RAF )
42 Alan McLeod VC, France, 27 March 1918 (Paul Dale)
44 Flying Spitfires ( Lettice Curtis ( Air Transport Auxiliary pilot, 1940-45 ))
47 Air Talk
48 1918: The History of Flight prize quiz answers
25 This article is based on Peter G Cooksley, op cit.
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