Chris Hall's Photo Gallery

with Hawker Hurricane IIC PZ865 in the back ground

noseart on PA474 "Thumper MkIII" represents Lancaster B1 DV385 sent as a replacement to 617 Sqn after the famous Dambuster raids.

undergoing maintenance

powered by the Rolls-Royce Griffon engine

Presented by Hawker Siddeley to the BBMF in March 1972, It also appeared in the film ‘Battle of Britain’

WG486 was also delivered to the RAF in January 1952 and served with No 5 Basic Flying Training School, No 9 Refresher Flying School and No 2 Flying Training School (FTS) before being used by the Army Air Corps with 651 and 657 Squadrons.

PA474 was used in two films, ‘Operation Crossbow’ and ‘The Guns of Navarone’. she joined the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in November 1973

PA474 rolled off the production line at the Vickers Armstrong Broughton factory at Hawarden Airfield, Chester on 31 May 1945, just after the war in Europe came to an end.

Originally allocated the UK military serial number KG661. Research showed that the serial ‘KG661’ had previously belonged to a Dakota that had been destroyed in an accident. So the serial number was changed to a new one - ZA947

powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin XII

Painted to represent ‘UF-Q’ (MJ250) of 601 (County of London) Sqn AuxAF. Unusually, this aircraft was finished in a silver natural metal finish. 601 Sqn conducted ground attack, dive-bombing and strafing operations in Italy

Spitfire TE311 is a low-back/bubble-canopy Mk XVI with ‘clipped’ wingtips and powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin 266

P7350 is currently presented as Spitfire Mk 1a N3162 of No 41 Squadron, coded ‘EB-G’, the aircraft flown by the top-scoring Battle of Britain fighter ace Eric Lock on 5 September 1940, when he destroyed 3 enemy aircraft in a single sortie.

Painted to represent Hurricane Mk IIC HW840, coded ‘EG-S’, of 34 Sqn, South East Asia Command during 1944, the personal aircraft of Canadian pilot, Flt Lt Jimmy Whalen DFC. Sadly Jimmy was killed on 18/4/1944, 5 days before his 24th birthday

inspection panel removed

LF363 was built at the Hawker factory at Langley near Slough. It first flew in January 1944 and is believed to be the last Hurricane to enter service with the RAF

P7350 is the oldest airworthy Spitfire in the world and the only Spitfire still flying to have actually fought in the Battle of Britain. Believed to be the 14th of 11,989 Spitfires built at Castle Bromwich.

The large cockpit canopy on the Avro Lancaster

FN-120 tail turret was equipped with four 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns

The mid-upper gunner's turret with two .303 in (7.7 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns

WK518 painted in the colours it wore when it served with Hull UAS in 1961.

The BBMF Chipmunks are used year-round primarily for the conversion and continuation training of BBMF fighter pilots on tail-wheel aircraft.

ZA947 painted to represent Dakota FZ692 of No 233 Squadron, around the D-Day period in 1944. The aircraft was named ‘Kwicherbichen’ by her crew

close up of the new noseart "Thumper MkIII"

The last Hurricane ever built (of 14,533), PZ865 rolled off the Hawker production line at Langley, Bucks, in July 1944 with the inscription ‘The Last of the Many’ on her port and starboard sides

PS915 currently wears the colour scheme and markings of PS888, a PRXIX of 81 Squadron based at Seletar in Singapore during the Malaya Campaign.

For 17 years, MK356 was a ‘gate guardian’ at Hawkinge, Bicester, Locking and Henlow. ‘MK’ featured as a static airframe in the epic film “Battle of Britain” in 1968 and then joined the RAF Museum Reserve Collection.

LF363 currently wears the colours of Hurricane Mk 1 P3878 ‘YB-W’, the aircraft of Flying Officer Harold ‘Birdy’ Bird-Wilson of No 17 Sqn during the Battle of Britain.

Delivered to the RAF on 6 /11/1945 and placed in storage until May 1949. On 11 July 1957 it flew in formation with two other Mk XIX Spitfires, PS853 and PS915 to form the Historic Aircraft Flight which later developed into the BBMF.

The latest Spitfire to be added to the BBMF fleet, former ‘gate guard’ at Tangmere for 12 years, re-built to flying condition by BBMF technicians between 2001 and 2013. painted to represent Spitfire XVI TB675 ‘4D-V’ of No 74 Sqn

The 22,000 lb Grand Slam bomb which were dropped by No. 617 Sqn Avro Lancasters with great effect against viaducts and U-boat shelters.

12,000lb Tallboy bomb that was used to sink the German battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944, displayed at the BBMF visitors centre

PZ865 Hawker Hurricane IIC and PM631 Supermarine 389 Spitfire PR.XIX in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar

Rolls Royce Griffon engine displayed in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar

Rolls Royce Merlin engine displayed in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar

Display of Armament fitted to the Spitfire, 0.303 in Browning machine gun, 50 in M2 Browning machine gun, 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon. on the left is a German 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun used in the He 111