| Original caption: “The Fairy Battle day bomber: the fastest single-engined bomber in the RAF and used for reconnaissance duties.” Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairey Battle Mark I K7650 of Number 63 Squadron in flight. The November 22, 1939, issue of Illustrated War News described this image: “The Fairey Battle two-seat day bomber (Rolls-Royce Merlin II engine) is the fastest of the three more modern types of single-engined bombers now in service with the Royal Air Force. It can carry a disposable load of 4,125 pounds[1,871 kilograms] at a maximum speed of 257 miles per hour [four hundred kilometers per hour] and has a service ceiling of twenty-five thousand feet [7,620 meters]. At sixteen thousand feet [4,876 meters], the machine has a range of a thousand miles [sixteen hundred kilometers]. The crew of two or three is housed in a long cockpit, the cover of which is hinged at the rear to allow the gunner free, sheltered use of the rear gun. It is probable that these machines have been used extensively for reconnaissance work over the Siegfried Line. The equipment includes wireless, night-flying instruments and oxygen for high-altitude flights. A fixed Browning gun is carried in the starboard wing for the pilot’s use, and the main bombload is stowed in four cells in the wings, but additional bombs can be carried in external racks.” Battle K7650 was built at Stockport by Fairey Aviation and was delivered to Number 63 Squadron in May 1937. It was 1 of 15 Fairey Battles delivered to the Squadron, the 1st to operate the type. Number 63 Squadron operated Battles out of RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire. Number 63 Squadron was a training unit. It was redesignated Number 12 Operational Training Unit on April 8, 1940, at RAF Benson to train Battle pilots, observers and gunners. This later turned into a unit equipped with the Vickers Wellington. Sent to France as tactical fighter-bombers, Fairey Battles were obsolete and suffered grievously at the hands of German fighters. They were pulled from front-line operations and used for training and operations. Photographer Charles E. Brown (January 20, 1896 – October 9, 1982), an Aeronautics Magazine correspondent before the war, lost many negatives to a Nazi German bomb during the Blitz. He flew 3,000 hours with aviators making photographs into the jet age. This photo, and 40 others, were part of an exhibition of Brown’s work that toured the United Kingdom and North America. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0379.jpg |
| Image Size | 786.68 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2265 x 1705 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 1, 1939 |
| Location | RAF Benson |
| City | Wallingford |
| State or Province | Oxfordshire |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | Royal Air Force |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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