This mischievous-looking Hawker Hart Trainer, the “Terror Mark II”, was one of two “Terrors” used for the balloon-bursting event at the 1932 RAF Display. The programme stated: “Certain hitherto unknown monsters of man-eating propensities, believed to have come from Mars, have descended upon this country. The only effective means of destroying them has been found to be shooting them down, whilst in the air, from aircraft camouflaged themselves as monstrosities.” The pilot of the Hart was Fg Off M. Watson. The group here are the 23 Sqn reserves for the event; left to right: Plt Off C. M. H. Outram, LAC Keith and Fg Off G. B. S. Nixon.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Hawker Hart - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1928

An eye-catching item in the 1921 RAF Display at Hendon was the “B.E.2xyz” or “Jazz Bus”, a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c or 2d given a flashy scheme and bedecked with sundry adornments including a chimney, pawnbroker’s balls, a fake extra undercarriage (plus cockerel) on the upper centre section and a fake silhouette pilot beneath the cockpit. Its odd appearance was enhanced by it being rigged with marked backstagger by its operators, the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: RAF B.E.2c/B.E.2d - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1914

Finely fledged Bristol M.1C Scout C5025 was one of several given garish colour schemes by the Royal Flying Corps’ Schools of Aerial Fighting in the UK, where the type was evidently popular with instructors despite its rejection for use by fighter squadrons on the Western Front. This particular machine, the last M.1C to be built, was with No 3 Fighting School at Bircham Newton. The unit’s Chief Fighting Instructor, Maj H. H. Balfour (the late Lord Balfour of Inchrye), who flew the aircraft, recalled that the scheme was applied by Mr Shepperson, an artist with the satirical magazine Punch, whose son was a flight commander with No 3 FS.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Bristol M.1A / M.1B / M.1C - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1916

Reportedly seen at Andover in June 1932, this anonymous Cierva C.19 Autogiro (possibly K1948) has been turned into a fearsome beast by the uninhibited use of a generous range of colours. The C.19 made regular appearances at the interwar RAF Displays, where it usually appeared in a novelty act in company with the Westland Pterodactyl IV and the Handley Page H.P.39 Gugnunc, all three being finished in weird schemes.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Cierva/Avro C.19 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1929

This fearsome beast is the Pobjoy-engined General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 which took part in Event 5, “Big Game Shooting”, at the RAF Display at Hendon on June 26, 1937. In the event, a “noted big game shot”, alias Wg Cdr D.V. Carnegie flying an ancient Renault-powered “Horace” Farman F.40 (now part of the RAF Museum’s collection), accompanied by his “tame ‘dragon’” (the Monospar flown by Flt Lt H. G. Lee), demonstrated a typical day’s shooting of game “selected from a number of monsters said to be found in the stratosphere”.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: General Aircraft Monospar ST-25 Universal - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1935

First flown in the USSR in October 1936, the Kalinin K-12 flying-wing bomber had a long take-off run and poor stability and control, but it made a splendid monster for the Tushino air display on August 18, 1937, being painted bright red with yellow feathers and named Zhar Ptitsa (Firebird, or Phoenix). Production of a small quantity of K-12s was stopped at the tenth machine in April 1938, and few actually flew.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Калинин К-12 / ВС-2 - РоссияRussia - 1936