The Panavia Tornado was not the first jet aircraft to bear that name in the Royal Air force. Little known still, the B-45, the first American four-engine jet bomber to fly and the first American production jet bomber capable of carrying an atomic bomb and the first multi-jet reconnaissance aircraft to refuel in mid-air also served with the RAF.
Design of the ‘Tornado’ began during World War II and the B-45 made its first flight in March 1947. North American built 142 B-45s, including 10 long-range B-45Cs with wingtip fuel tanks and 33 RB-45Cs configured for high-altitude photo reconnaissance and aerial refuelling. Based at RAF Sculthorpe, England, from 1952-1958, B-45s of the 47th Bomb Wing (Light) were a key nuclear deterrent against a Soviet ground attack in Europe. Also flying from RAF Sculthorpe were USAF RB-45Cs from the USAF 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Britain’s RB-45C’s were flown by crews largely drawn from Nos. 35 and 115 squadrons. Whilst the USAF were prohibited by the President of the United States from overflying the Soviet Union unless under a state of war, allies closer to the European theatre of war might.
Whilst successive Labour governments had refused, the return of Winston Churchill and a Conservative administration to Downing Street brought a change of options. As a result under Operation Ju-jitsu, in July 1951, four aircraft were bailed to Britain from the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing to form a Royal Air Force (RAF) Special Duty Flight commanded by Squadron Leader John Crampton. Stripped of all USAF markings and applied with RAF markings, the four aircraft were attached to a USAF squadron based in RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk in eastern England. The aircraft were tasked with flying deep level reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union to gather electronic and photographic intelligence. The special duties flight conducted missions during the period 1952–54.
On April 17, 1952, three aircraft were tasked to head for Kiev from Germany, scheduled to return to Sculthorpe ten hours later. Flying at 36,000 feet (11,000 m), Crampton's aircraft was tracked by ground radar and came under anti-aircraft fire. Applying full power, he immediately turned and headed for Germany, none too soon as Soviet night fighters had been dispatched to hunt down his aircraft.
Subsequent flights over the Soviet Union were carried out using English Electric Canberras under the codename Operation Robin, operating at higher altitudes of around 54,000 ft (16,000 m). It was not until 1994 (under the fifty year rule of the Public Records Act 1958) that the existence of the spy missions became public knowledge.
Modelwise of course there have been a few kits of odd scale 45's including 1/159th Frog. 1/60 Aurora and some 1/72 from people like IPM and Mach 2. Sadly, no enterprising company has sought to remember a special few that flew with the RAF.
These following photographs show the aircraft on delivery to the RAF (Note the oversized tail markings?) and in service.
