No. 56 Squadron RAF
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Number 56 Squadron, also known as No. 56 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars.
Albert Ball in a No. 56 Squadron S.E.5 in April 1917.
James McCudden's Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, sporting the propeller spinner from one of his victims, 1918.
No. 56 Squadron Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Mk.IIIa, at RAF North Weald.
Pilots and Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIbs of No. 56 'Punjab' Squadron at RAF Duxford, 2 January 1942.
James McCudden
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James Thomas Byford McCudden, was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions, McCudden joined the Royal Engineers in 1910. Having an interest in mechanics he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1913 at which time he first came into regular contact with aircraft. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he flew as an observer before training as a fighter pilot in 1916.
James McCudden c.1918
McCudden indulging in his other engineering interest: motorcycles. Pictured here on a Moto Reve model, 1913 at the RFC manoeuvres.
Manfred von Richthofen. Possibly McCudden's opponent on 27 December 1916.
52 of McCudden's 57 victims fell while he was flying the S.E.5.