No. 1426 Flight RAF
British air force unit dealing with captured enemy aircraft / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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No. 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight RAF, nicknamed "the Rafwaffe", was a Royal Air Force flight formed during the Second World War to evaluate captured enemy aircraft and demonstrate their characteristics to other Allied units. Several aircraft on charge with the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough were also used by this unit. The RAE facilities at Farnborough were used for the flight testing of German and Italian aircraft during the war.
No. 1426 Flight RAF No. 1426 (Photographic Reconnaissance) Flight | |
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Active | 21 November 1941 – 17 January 1945 1 January 1956 – 31 December 1956[1] |
Role | Enemy aircraft evaluation and demonstration |
Based | RAF Duxford RAF Collyweston RAF Khormaksar |
Equipment | Messerschmitt Bf 109 Messerschmitt Bf 110 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Heinkel He 111 Junkers Ju 88 Henschel Hs 129 Avro Anson Airspeed Oxford General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 Avro Lincoln[1] |
Many crash-landed airframes were brought to Farnborough for examination, testing and cannibalisation of spare parts to keep other aircraft in serviceable condition. The main flight testing work was carried out by the Aerodynamics Flight of the Experimental Flying Department and the Wireless & Electrical Flight (W&EF), the latter responsible for evaluation and examination of radar-equipped aircraft later in the war.