OPERATIONAL BIPLANES, 1939-45

If you stated that you flew a biplane on operations during World War II, you would probably be accused of shooting a classic line, but the truth of the matter is that the RAF did operate biplanes on operations.

There were three biplane flying boats on the RAF Order of Battle, the twin engined Saunders-Roe "London", the twin engined Supermarine "Stranraer" and the single engined Supermarine "Walrus" or, as it was universally known in the RAF, the "Shagbat".

As well as these three flying boats, the RAF also operated two types of biplane fighters - the Gloster "Gauntlet" and "Gladiator" and as well, two aircraft usually associated with the Royal Navy - the Fairey "Swordfish" and the "Albacore".
The "London" was used by 202 and 240 Squadrons until early 1941 and the "Stranraer" by 240 Squadron until 1940 on anti-submarine patrols.

The "Walrus" was adopted from the Royal Australian Navy's "Seagull V" which came into RAN service in 1933, and after evaluation by the Royal Navy was adopted into that service in 1935 as the standard ABR (Amphibian Boat Reconnaissance) for employment on all RN ships equipped with catapults. In both RN and RAF service the name "Walrus" was adopted in preference to "Seagull V".
Its initial role was as a catapult launched spotter aircraft and it was used by the Fleet Air Arm serving on battleships and cruisers. A "Walrus" from HMS "Warspite" sunk U-64 in Narvik Fiord in April 1940, and the "Walrus" from HMS "Dorsetshire" was used as a bomber over Italian Somaliland on 18 November, 1940. One of the more unusual stories about this undoubtedly sedate aircraft was that it was actually looped !

The "Walrus" came into RAF service in 1941 and was extensively employed on Air-Sea_Rescue duties. After the first 287 "Walrus Is" had been completed by the Supermarine Company, production was transferred to the Saunders-Roe organisation who completed a further 453 aircraft before production ceased in January, 1944.

The chosen successor to the "Walrus" was another biplane flying boat, the Supermarine "Sea Otter", which closely resembled its illustrious predecessor, except that the "Sea Otter" had a tractor engine in place of the "Walrus's" pusher engine. When the "Sea Otter" production ceased some 290 aircraft had been built.

The Gloster "Gauntlet" and "Gladiator" served in Norway in 1940 and the "Gladiator" in the Middle East and Malta. After being withdrawn from operational service in these areas they were used in the UK for radar calibration flights.

The two former RN aircraft, the Fairey "Swordfish" and the "Albacore" were used by the RAF on anti-shipping operations. The "Swordfish" served with 119 Squadron in Belgium in 1944, its main targets being enemy E-Boats and miniature submarines. The "Albacore" had an unusual job - it was part of 415 Squadron, RCAF, which used "Wellington" XIIIs with ASV to detect enemy shipping and then directed the "Albacores" in to finish the job. It continued to be used by 415 Squadron when that unit moved to Bomber Command in 1944 as part of 6 Group.

It must be admitted that encountering a biplane in the air, other than the ubiquitous "Tiger Moth", usually caused some comments, but it is true to say that these aircraft from another era did the jobs for which they were designed and showed that they were capable of performing tasks the like of which their original designers never dreamed.

We have included a small picture gallery of these warriors of the past to let members see how they looked.