WHEN KITCHENER CALLED

When they hear the recruiter’s call

And they take the King’s shilling

They’re trained and uniformed

And marched towards the killing 

THE DOUGLAS DAKOTA

 

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 HORSA

 

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 HOTSPUR

 

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 HAMILCAR

 

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 HERCULES

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 HADRIAN

 

The Waco CG-4A

Was the most widely used

Troop/cargo military glider

Of World War II

Named the Hadrian

THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING

 

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

 

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 LIGHTNING

 

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 SANDRINGHAM

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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 MANCHESTER

 

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 LANCASTRIAN

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

THE RUGGED ISLE

 

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