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Piece
Royal Air Force resources made available to Secret Intelligence Service. 20 photographs...
Catalogue reference: CN 5/33
What’s it about?
This record is about the Royal Air Force resources made available to Secret Intelligence Service. 20 photographs... dating from 1940-1944 in the series Photographs Extracted from AIR series. It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- CN 5/33
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1940-1944
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Description (What the record is about)
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Royal Air Force resources made available to Secret Intelligence Service.
20 photographs used to illustrate official report by Major Bertram on PU (pick-up) Operations undertaken clandestinely in France during the German occupation from 1940 to 1944 extracted from AIR 40/2659.
1) [Operational long-range] 'Lysander' [aircraft]. 16 cm x 21 cm.
2) 'Hudson' [aircraft]. 17 cm x 21 cm.
3) [Avro] Anson [IV advance training monoplane aircraft]. 9 cm x 18 cm.
4a) 'Pilots of A Flight', [161 Squadron pictured lined up in front of Lysander aircraft]. 'Reading from left to right:' [Flight Lieutenant RWJ] 'Hooper', [Pilot Officer JA] 'McCairns', [Pilot Officer Vaughan-Fowler] 'Fowler', [Squadron Leader HB] 'Verity', [Flying Officer FE] 'Rymills', [Flight Lieutenant SA] 'Hankey'. 17 cm x 22 cm.
4b) 'Pilots of A Flight, with OC 161 Squadron, Pickard'. [Pictured lined up beside Lysander aircraft; Pilot Officer JA McCairns, Squadron Leader HB Verity, Wing Commander PC Pickard, [Pilot Officer Vaughan-Fowler] Fowler, Flying Officer FE Rymills]. 17 cm x 22 cm.
5) [Squadron Leader J Nesbit-Dufort] 'Dufort's Lysander' [aircraft crash landed] 'in France after'. 12 cm x 16 cm.
6) [Aerial photograph of] 'Somersham Training Field'. 32 cm x 32 cm.
7) [Exterior view of] 'The cottage at Tangmere'. 10 cm x 15 cm.
8) [The interior of] 'The anteroom at the cottage' [at Tangmere]. 'The remains of presents' [champagne bottles] 'brought by agents to the pilots may be seen on the mantlepiece'. 10 cm x 15 cm.
9) 'The exterior of Bignor' [House]. 10 cm x 15 cm.
10a) 'The secret cupboard at Bignor where agents' issue was stored. The German officer's dirk' [attached to the wall] 'was presented by an agent who 'obtained' it personally'. 10 cm x 15 cm.
10b) 'The secret cupboard at Bignor where agents' issue was stored'. [Concealed]. 10 cm x 15 cm.
11a) [Interior of the house at Bignor] 'The dining-room...'. 10 cm x 15 cm.
11b) [Interior of the house at Bignor] '...a corner of the sitting-room'. 10 cm x 15 cm.
12-15) [Photographs of] 'Caricatures by' [Redacted] '(190)'. [Of life in the field]. 'These were drawn from bitter experience as an assistant'. [Redacted] 'training was too late for him to become an Operator'. 19 cm x 14 cm, 15 cm x 20 cm, 20 cm x 16 cm, 18 cm x 16 cm.
16a) [Volume of courier brought back from PU Operation on night of 2-3 June 1944 when unloaded from the plane. The foot rule indicates size]. 16 cm x 20 cm.
16b) [Volume of courier brought back from PU Operation on night of 2-3 June 1944 after it had been unpacked at Head Quarters. The foot rule indicates size]. 22 cm x 15 cm.
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- 20 photograph(s)
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Restrictions on use (Information on restrictions to the use or reproduction of the material)
- Some photographs may remain in copyright
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open on Transfer
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
- Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C11482346/
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Series information
CN 5
Photographs Extracted from AIR series
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
1,270 records
Within the department: CN
Photographic prints and negatives extracted from various record series
471 records
Within the series: CN 5
Photographs Extracted from AIR series
You are currently looking at the piece: CN 5/33
Royal Air Force resources made available to Secret Intelligence Service. 20 photographs...
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