The Rarest World War Two Planes You've Never Heard Of
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Published 2022-11-25
In this History Hit exclusive video, Luke Tomes and Louee Dessent travel to the Battle of Britain Airshow at Imperial War Museums Duxford to find the rarest, whackiest and most unique aircraft that saw active service in the Second World War.
Starting their day at the Aircraft Restoration Company hangar, Luke and Louee are shown two incredibly rare British World War Two planes by director and pilot John Romain MBE. First, Luke sees a restored Bristol Blenheim fighter-bomber, used in the early years of the war and during the Battle of Britain, which remains the only aircraft of its kind in the world. John then takes Louee around a Westland Lysander, used to rescue pilots and transport spies in occupied Europe. The Lysander is one of only three planes of its kind that remain airworthy in the world.
Louee then makes his way to the Fighter Collection hangar where dozens of unique aircraft spanning both world wars are in the process of reconstruction. There he stumbles upon and half-built Fiat CR.42 Falco, an Italian fighter used across several fronts (with limited effectiveness) during the Second World War.
In the meantime, Luke visits the AirSpace Museum and spots a De Havilland Mosquito Bomber suspended from the roof. Made entirely out of wood, the Mosquito was initially dismissed by the British government, yet due to its remarkable speed and exceptional manoeuvrability, the bomber soon became a crucial part of the Royal Air Force. Also resting within the AirSpace Museum is a Fairey Swordfish which catches Louee's eye. The weighty and slow biplane may look like a relic of the First World War, but it played a crucial role as a torpedo bomber during the conflict, sinking much of the Italian naval fleet at Battle of Taranto and sinking the infamous German battleship, Bismarck.
For his last pick, Luke makes his way into the Battle of Britain hangar where he spots one of the weirdest-looking aircraft of the Second World War - the Cierva C30A Autogyro. Capable of flying at very slow speeds, this unique aircraft was responsible for calibrating RADAR and hence played a crucial role in defending Britain's shores. Less than 200 Autogyro's of this kind were ever constructed.
To wrap things up, Louee heads to American Air Museum where he is stunned to find a B-29 Superfortress. This gigantic bomber was responsible for ending the Second World War, dropping atomic bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945. Aside from its size and incredibly sophisticated weapon systems, the nose of the B-29 Superfortress inspired the design of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
Stay until the end of the video to see some of these extremely rare and iconic planes in action!
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All Comments (21)
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Settle the competition for us guys. Which was your favourite rare WW2 plane that we featured? 🤔
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The Swordfish didn't actually sink the Bismark - one torpedo damaged the rudder of the battleship so that it could not escape the Royal Navy, it could only go in a circle.
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For me; It's got to be the Mosquito. The most flexible, and capable multi-role plane of the war.
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My grandpa's brother flew many Blenheims during WW2 in Finland, he survived a shot down and was back behind the controls of a new one after some days, and that bomber is now displayed at Tikkakoski which is the only original surviving Blenheim in the world with his signature written in the cockpit. He is one of the heroes who defended Finland from the sky during Tali Ihantala in 1944
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It's got to be the Blenheim mk. 1. This restoration is an incredible achievement. Hats off to the people who keep these great historic machines flying.
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One rareity that was overlooked was the P-40F shown in the background. This Merlin powered variant is now extremely rare.
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One of the most amazing thing about the Lysander is its combat history. The first Bf-109 shot down in the Battle of Brittain was shot down by a Westland Lysander.
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Where I live outside of Vancouver, we have the Handley-Page Hampden. She sits alone in a small museum barely anybody goes to and she's not blocked off at all. She is TINY for a bomber and it's amazing what the British did with bombers as small as the Hampden and Blenheim.
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The Gloster Gladiator you glossed over was the RAFs last biplane fighter. It served heavily in the early years of WWII and its defence of Malta is legendary. It’s also rarer than the Lysander which flew with it while you were there.
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It's not very truthful to say a Fairey Swordfish sunk the Bismarck. A torpedo managed to knock the Bismarck's rudder into a permanent turn that allowed the Royal Navy to catch up and sink her.
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Great video. For me it has to be “Freeman’s Folly” the de Haviland Mosquito. Twin merlins, such a diverse platform, so fast the Luftwaffe were powerless to intercept. Operations like Jericho and Carthage sit in the psyche and you can’t look at a Mosquito without hearing the theme music to 633 Squadron. What a plane.
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I'm a retired American Army Reservist. I did three military tours in UK from 2008-2011 and got a chance to see the WWII airshow in Duxford! Nothing could be more stirring than seeing all the WWII aircraft fly at one time in a Balbo formation at the end of the show! In one of the Imperial War museums, I remember seeing a Falco on static display. As to the aircraft you highlighted, I'd vote for the Blenheim since it's the only one left of its kind.
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I also like the Mosquito, for its bomber, night fighter, recon and ground support roles were second to none. Love the show at Duxford. My Uncle Frank worked there as an aircraft (mostly P-47) mechanic and came home with many fine stories of his stay in England. My Dad and all of his brothers served in that war, with Uncle Henry dying in the Pacific on New Guinea. Keep up the great videos. They help to keep alive the memories of all the fine men that served and eventually won the war. The thought of those brave Swordfish pilots tracking and striking at the Bismarck in cold North Atlantic is the stuff of legends.
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I visited RAF Duxford in the 80's when I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath. It was known as the Battle of Britain Museum then and it consisted of a few hangars with the aircraft on display. You could really get a close up look at them and the staff were wonderful sources of information. I'm so glad they put the new museum there. It's on my bucket list to get back to RAF Duxford!
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Gotta go with the Swordfish. It made a big impact in every role it performed. And their crews were men with balls of steel.
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The Blenheim was one of my fave Airfix models to make as a kid back in the 70's.
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My father and his brother sourced plans from the Bristol company for the Bristol Blenheim after the start of WWII. Surprisingly Bristol not only supplied the plans but a number of brochures as well. Their intent was to build a radio controlled model with a 14 foot wingspan but only ever got as far as making the frame (still in the loft of his former parents home). Both joined the RAF and Dad ultimately flew as a navigator in Beaufighters and Mosquitos. Whilst he had the opportunity to fly in a number of different aircraft, these were the two that he remembered most fondly.
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Ok, I'll bite ... Lysander for me. My Dad did national service in the RAF just after WW2 after having been an air cadet while at school during the war, and always talked fondly of the 'Lizzie' as he called it. In his later years he built (very well) an Airfix model of one which he displayed proudly in his lounge. How could I not vote for that?
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@History Hit If you make it over to the United States, in Virginia Beach exists a small but amazing museum that punches way above its weight. The Military Aviation Museum has an amazing and growing collection of flying aircraft from World War 1 and World War 2 primarily. Corsair and A-1 Skyraider flew long afterwards. They have an A6M Zero on the way, and have the only airworthy La-9. An airworthy Mosquitoe as well.
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For "hitting above its weight," you've got to go with the remarkable "Stringbag"--the Swordfish (and the crews who flew them!). For out of the box thinking that resulted in superior performance throughout the war, hands-down it was the DeHaviland Mosquito. You boys do justice to these "walking tour" videos to which I have become addicted. Nice camaraderie between you two, with just a hint of boyish competitiveness. Excellent performance by all involved. Thank you!
