The Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Or as the RAF preferred the Dakota
Was a military transport aircraft
A successful development
From the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner
A valuable asset to the Allies
During World War II
And like the Hercules
The Dakota’s uses
Were too numerous to mention
And it would be easier to list
What the Dakota can’t do
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa
Was a British World
War II
Troop-carrying glider
Used for air assault
by British
And allied armed
forces
Like other British
gliders
Of the Second World
War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with
H,
So it was named after
Horsa,
The legendary 5th
century
Jutish Conqueror of
southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Horsa showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of
Europe
The General Aircraft
GAL.48 Hotspur
Was a military glider
Commissioned at the
behest
Of the then Prime
Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault
troops into battle
The Hotspur was the
result
But its tactical
limitations
Meant it was only used
for training
The General Aircraft
GAL. 49 Hamilcar
Was a large British
military glider
Produced during World
War II
Commissioned at the
behest
Of the then Prime
Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault
troops
And heavy cargo into
battle,
When completed
The Hamilcar was
capable
Of transporting heavy
equipment
In support of airborne
troops.
The glider could
transport
A single light tank
Or two Universal
Carriers.
Hamilcars were only
used
On three occasions,
But only in support
Of British airborne
forces.
They first saw action
in June 1944
Transporting anti-tank
guns
Assorted armoured
Vehicles
And Tetrarch light
tanks
Into Normandy during
Operation Tonga
They were used in a
similar way
During Operation
Market-Garden
And finally in March
1945
During Operation
Varsity
When they landed in
Germany
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Is a four-engine
turboprop
Military transport
aircraft
An uncomplicated work
horse
Take-offs and landings
Can be made on any
unprepared ground
And its uses are too
numerous to mention
In fact, it would be
easier to list
What the Hercules can’t do
The Waco CG-4A
Was the most widely
used
Troop/cargo military
glider
Of World War II
Named the Hadrian
The English Electric Lightning
Was a supersonic jet
fighter
From the days of the
Cold War
Noted for its great
speed
The only all-British
Mach 2 fighter
And the first in the
world
Capable of Supercruise
Renowned for its
interceptor capabilities
The Lightning was the
best of the best
The Avro Vulcan
Was an RAF
Delta Wing strategic
bomber
And was the backbone
of the Uks
Airborne nuclear
deterrent
During a long period
Of the Cold War
It carried no
defensive weaponry
So had to rely on its
high-speed
And high-altitude
flight
To evade interception
Until the advent
Of Electronic
countermeasures
And although it spent
Much of its career
Armed with nuclear
weapons
The Vulcan was still
capable
Of performing
conventional
Bombing missions
A fact underlined
Very effectively in
1982
When it was used in
Operation Black Buck
During the Falklands
War
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Was a World War II
American fighter
aircraft
With distinctive twin
booms
And one central nacelle,
Housing the cockpit
The P38 was nicknamed
The "fork-tailed
devil"
By Luftwaffe Pilots
It was the very
definition
Of versatility in fact
it had it all
And was in the thick
of it
From Pearl Harbour
To Victory over Japan
Day
The Short S.25 Sandringham
Was a medium range
British civilian flying
boat
Converted from Shorts
Sunderland
And replaced the Short
Empire
Carrying passengers
and mail
Between Britain and
the British colonies
The Short Empire
Was a medium range
Four engine monoplane
flying boat
Carrying passengers
and mail
Between Britain and
the British colonies
The Avro York
Was a British
transport plane
And was yet another
Avro aircraft
Derived from the legendary
Lancaster heavy
bomber,
Which was used in
military
And civilian roles
Between 1943 and 1964
The Bristol Beaufort
Was a British
twin-engine
Torpedo bomber
Which saw service
With RAF Coastal Command
And then the Fleet Air
Arm
Of Royal Navy
They were versatile
and not
Used exclusively as
torpedo bombers,
They were also
utilized with great effect
As conventional
bombers and mine-layers
However despite
distinguishing themselves
In the Mediterranean
And in the defence of
Malta
Their day in the sun
Was over all too soon
They were relegated to
a trainer
Until the war ended
The Avro 679 Manchester
Was a British heavy
bomber
Of the Second World
War
But it was an
operational failure
Due to its
underpowered
And unreliable
twin-engines
However it lead
directly
To the successful
four-engined
Avro Lancaster, which
became
The most successful
British bomber of the
war
The Avro 691 Lancastrian
Was a mail transport
And passenger aircraft
Used by Canada and
Britain
In the 1940s and 1950s
The Lancastrian was
basically
A modified Lancaster
bomber
And delivered people
and mail
As efficiently as
death
The Avro Shackleton
Was a long-range
British
Maritime patrol
aircraft
Which came into
service
With the RAF in 1951
It was a distant
cousin
Of the legendary
Lancaster
Which evolved first
Into the Lincoln
And then into the
Shackleton
Its speciality was
Anti-submarine warfare
Then airborne early
warning
And search and rescue
It was finally retired
in 1990
The Avro Anson
Was a British
twin-engine
Multi-role aircraft
Used by the RAF
Before, during, and
after
The Second World War
It was originally the
Avro 652
And was designed as an
airliner
But was quickly
redeveloped.
For a marine
reconnaissance role
Though was soon rendered
obsolete
As an operational
entity
It was saved from the
scrap heap
And became a
multi-engine
Air crew trainer
And remained in
production
Until 1952
The Vickers Wellesley
Was a British light
bomber
That was all but
obsolete
By the time the war
came
It was totally
unsuited
To the European air
war
Of the Second World
War
But the Wellesley
found a purpose
In the desert theatres
Of East Africa, Egypt
And the Middle East
St Crispin’s day has been
A bloody day in
history
Famous for being a
day
When battles were
fought
High in the cost of
life
Among these, in 1861
The first Battle of
Springfield
Was an early battle
Of the American Civil
War
Between Union and
Confederate forces
In Springfield,
Missouri
The channel glistened
With silver strands
Beneath the early
summer sun
Its waves broke gently
white
Below the green topped
cliffs of chalk
The sky of azure blue
Was clear and appeared
limitless
But on the distant
horizon
Storm clouds gathered
Though these clouds
bore no rain
And would not bring a
summer squall
Storm and tempest were
imminent
The sky became filled
with sinister formations
Like foreboding flocks
Of migrating duck or
geese
But these were not of
natures sending
This malevolent swarm
Scarring the clear
June sky
These were of mans
conception
Heading for England’s
shores
To cross its wondrous
tapestry
Spread casually across
the land
Like a vast quilted
patchwork
And when upon this
landscape
Easy on the eye
Did the bombs of evil
fall
Shattering the peace
Of our rugged isle
Splitting the earth
And breaking bodies
Its spirit did not
break
Its people stood firm
Defiant in Satan's
face
Withstanding hells
fire
And brimstone smoke
And spat in Hitler’s
eye
