Darren Hendley, Author at Aviation Classics

Darren is the Digital Manager at Mortons Media Group. Likes Victorian follies, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, photography and owls. [email protected] | 01507 529529

For Valour

6th February 2018 Darren Hendley Articles, Knights of the sky

The heart-rending story behind the award of the Victoria Cross to 18-year-old Canadian pilot Lt Alan Arnett McLeod. As a result of courage shown in the face of combat while at the same time being

The letter that changed the course of history

6th February 2018 Darren Hendley Articles, Battle of Britain

On 16 May 1940 Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Fighter Command, wrote this famous letter to the Under Secretary of State at the Air Ministry requesting that a sufficient Home Defence

Birth of a legend

6th February 2018 Darren Hendley Articles, Spitfire

The development of the first Spitfire, K5054 On 5 March 1936, a beautiful-looking sleek new monoplane made its first flight from the Supermarine works airfield at Eastleigh in Hampshire – attractive as it may have

‘Lancs’ on film

24th January 2018 Darren Hendley Articles, Lancaster

With Peter Jackson’s new ‘take’ on the ‘dam busters’ legend currently in production, Jonathan Falconer looks back to the original – and some might say never-to-be-bettered The Dam Busters – when real RAF bomber pilots

Enemy coast ahead

22nd January 2018 Darren Hendley Articles, Lancaster

In 1944 Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC DSO* DFC* wrote a fascinating account of his wartime experiences, which was first published in book form in 1946. What follows here are edited extracts taken from his original manuscript that form an article focusing on the