This Fortress II (serial FA704) was flown by Wing Commander Ron Thomson DSO and his crew of No 206 Squadron based at Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides. This aircraft ditched in the Atlantic on 11 June 1943, its crew drifting in a dinghy for four days before being rescued by a Catalina flown by S/L Jack Holmes DFC.
No 100 Group RAF was a special duties group that was created to counter the Luftwaffe nightfighter force, which was wreaking havoc on the RAF Bomber Command’s night-time bombing campaign. The first squadrons of No 100 Group were mostly fighter squadrons which protected the bomber stream and attacked German nightfighters. No 100 Group also became a pioneering electronic counter-measures unit, jamming the German radar system and radio communications, thus further reducing the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe nightfighter force. This Boeing Fortress III was flown by No 223 Squadron in May 1945 and was based in RAF Oulton. It is equipped with an H2S radar in the nose, and multiple jamming equipment.