Short Stirling ‘Gremlin Teaser’
<p>With its nose rising imperiously into the air, the impressive stature of the Stirling was a result of the massive, lengthened undercarriage the aircraft employed, a design modification needed to give the Stirling a greater angle of attack during take-off. The Stirling’s huge bomb bay allowed the aircraft to carry three times as many bombs as the Vickers Wellington and almost nine times the weight carried by a Bristol Blenheim, presenting the RAF with a potent new weapon with which to take the war to the enemy and pointing the way towards the future of night bombing operations.</p><p>Stirling Mk.III LJ542 was unusual in that it sported rather elaborate nose artwork, a feature which was nothing like as prevalent on British aircraft during WWII but was in this case particularly impressive. Named ‘The Gremlin Teaser’, the artwork featured a pin-up girl wearing what appear to be strap-on angel wings, the inference thought to be that this angelic figure was flying in defiance of evil, in this age-old wartime struggle of good against evil, something its crew must have felt they were doing on a nightly basis. ‘The Gremlin Teaser’ would end up being a veteran of 60 operational sorties and during her time with No.199 Squadron, was involved in undertaking vital electronic countermeasures missions, particularly around the time of D-Day, confusing enemy defences in advance of the Allied invasion.</p>
