MOSQUITO MONDAY Today we feature PR.IV DZ466 of 540 Sqn which belly landed on the beach near St.Brieuc returning from Paris on the 20th February 1943. Both crew members were taken prisoner. The aircraft was repaired and was evaluated by the Germans believed to be coded T9+XB.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Spitfire PR.X SR396 at Eastleigh prior to delivery to 542 Squadron at RAF Benson. Only 16 PR.X were built, the aircraft being based on the fuselage of a Mk.VII combined with PR.XI wings (the PR.XI was already in service). SR396 would eventually be written off

A huge thank you to all those both on and off-site who have helped and assisted to make the finished work what it is. Thank you all!

unveiled describing Flight Sergeant Bill Johnson’s last flight from Benson in this aircraft. We are looking forward to attending alongside the children of RAF Benson Primary School who have been a huge part of this project.

strip to base gelcoat, a large number of surface repairs, replacement canopies, and a return to the wartime scheme being commemorated. A rededication will take place in early September at which time the correct plaque will be

RETURN OF THE GATE GUARDIAN As many who work in the Benson area will have seen, the replica PR.XI Spitfire was recently remounted in front of Station HQ at RAF Benson. It has been a real privilege to have been carrying out the extensive renovation on this local landmark, which included a complete

MOSQUITO MONDAY With the D-Day commemorations just about a couple of months ago, today’s image is of this lovely collection of striped PR Mossies taken at RAF Benson during a spell of wet weather!

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today we feature PR XI EN427 photographed at RAF Benson. After a failed attempt to deliver the aircraft to the Middle East, EN427 would eventually join 682 Sqn in Italy. The aircraft went missing while on a sortie over Genoa on 29 August 1943. The pilot W/Cdr P B

PRU IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN Today in 1940, the PRU entered the Battle of Britain - in a Hornet Moth! G-AELO was a hack with the PRU and today in 1940 F/o Dakeyne took off in it with his brother from Heston and intercepted a Dornier 17 that was bombing Weybridge, chasing the enemy away.

MOSQUITO MONDAY Today’s image is an original wartime colour shot of PR.XVI NS591, part of a batch of PR.XVI Mossies supplied to the USAAF in 1944. This aircraft stayed in a PR role, survived the war unscathed, and was eventually transferred to the French Air Force in July 1946.

LOSS OF AFP FANE Today the project remembers the loss of AA810 pilot AFP Fane, who died today in 1942 in Cambridgeshire in bad weather returning from his 25th reconnaissance mission. Forced lower and lower in the cloud and rain, his Spitfire struck trees just outside the

MOSQUITO MONDAY The first production Mosquito PR Mk.1 W4051 of 1PRU RAF Benson. Built in the summer of 1941, it was operational with 1PRU before serving with 540 Sqn and then 8(c) OTU training PRU crews. The aircraft had a long service life, ultimately suffering substantial damage

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today we feature PR.IV AB131 in the hands of the Germans in late 1942. This aircraft failed to return from a high altitude training exercise on the 1st Sept 1942, arriving at the Luftwaffe base of Sint -Truiden in Belgium that same day where pilot P/O Carlyle Heggveit was taken POW.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 86 YEARS ON Today is the date that many recognise as the start of the Battle of Britain, one of the most significant moments in UK history. Some 41 pilots who took part flew reconnaissance operations either before or after the battle and will be commemorated as

MOSQUITO MONDAY Today we see PR.34 PF650 at Benson immediately post war. This aircraft would be lost in May 1949 in the Suez Canal Zone. Both crew would survive but the aircraft was lost.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today we feature five PR.XIs of 541 Squadron taken at St. Eval - but there are several interesting features here. What can you see?

HAPPY 4th JULY TO OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS Whilst the Eagle Squadron seems to be the main focus of public memory with regards to US nationals in the RAF, what isn’t widely known is that 11 US Nationals flew in RAF PR before the US entered the war. Tragically 8 of those men would be

CANADA DAY Today is Canada Day and we recognise the 87 Canadian nationals identified so far as being eligible for inclusion on our National PR Monument. These include Johnny Kent from Winnipeg who served in the PDU before the Battle of Britain. Sadly we know that at least 41

MOSQUITO MONDAY Today we have PR.IX MM230 seen here in early 1944 undergoing experimental work for reducing exhaust flame which proved unsuccessful. It later flew with the Fighter Interception Unit before rejoining De Havilland as a trials & display aircraft. It was SOC in 1946.

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today we feature one from the late Bill Williams’ personal album. PR.XI MB776/Y ‘FDP’ taken in early 1945 was assigned to 681 Squadron’s CO, Wg Cdr F D Proctor DFC. Bill flew this aircraft on a couple of occasions. It was scrapped in October 1945.

ARMED FORCES DAY 2026 Today is Armed Forces Day, as a project we are very proud to support those who serve today, and those who have served in the past. Since the project began we have been proud to work supporting RAF Charities, Cadets, Veterans, and the work of the

building mini spitfires to being creative with their own spitfire designs

PRIMARY SCHOOL STEM The team were delighted to spend yesterday with the pupils of RAF Benson Primary School as part of their learning on the Spitfire in its 90th birthday year. Pupils from reception through to year six got hands on with history, from

FATHERS DAY Today is Father’s Day in the UK, thinking of all those young men who didn’t get the chance to become a dad, or who were lost with young children that they barely met.

ON THIS DAY IN 1963… The film story of the Great Escape premiered in the UK. An adaptation of Paul Brickhill’s book, the film brought awareness of the murder of 50 RAF officers to a global audience. Whilst the storyline has been altered from historical fact in many details, the

MOSQUITO MONDAY Another image from a recently inspected personal archive, this image captured of a PR.34 taking off at the end of the war. With several new unpublished albums located recently, watch this space for more interesting images to come!

SPITFIRE SUNDAY Today’s aircraft is a PR.XI coded ‘T’ of 681 Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron shown here taking off from RAF Chittagong, India on detachment from RAF Alipore. Just 111 aircrew carried out RAF unarmed reconnaissance operations from India during the war. Six

OPERATION CROSSBOW AND THE V1 OFFENSIVE Today marks the anniversary of the start of the V1 offensive on London. Operation Crossbow which had begun in August 1943, was monitoring and targeting the build up of the German V weapon programme. The targeting of launch sites began in

and continued his teaching career. He passed away in 2002 aged 81. Today’s images are William photographed in a Spitfire PR.XI at RAF Benson on the 11th June just two days before he was shot down. Our second image is the top of his flying boot through which a

WILLIAM JOHNSON - BENSON’S GATE GUARDIAN Born in Larkhall, Scotland, William Johnson was called up from teacher training in October 1940, before flying training in Georgia and Alabama graduating in March 1942. After further reconnaissance training at 8(c)OTU he was qualified on Spitfires by January