Duxford Flying Legends 2010....getting hot,hot,hot The Westland Lysander Mk I entered service with the RAF as an army co-operation aircraft, replacing Hawker Audaxes and Hectors during 1939. However during the Battle of France in 1940, the Lysander proved too vulnerable to survive 'modern' warfare and suffered some terrible losses. After 1940 Lysanders were used by Coastal Command on search-and-rescue missions. Lysanders were also built under licence in Canada and these aircraft were often used as targets tugs at the overseas training bases. The role that the Lysander is best remembered for is as a 'spy taxi', picking up and dropping secret agents behind enemy lines. For these operations, the aircraft were painted black and fitted with a long-range fuel tank beneath the fuselage and a ladder fixed to the side of the aircraft to allow agents to enter and exit quickly. V9367 is the last airworthy example of this historic type. It was built in Canada, by the National Steel Car Corporation, and was used by the RCAF as a target tug during the war. The Strathallan Collection in Scotland eventually purchased it and it arrived in the UK in October 1971. Work commenced on restoring it but it was not until December 1979 that it flew again painted as V9441, a Lysander operated by No.309 (Polish) Squadron. It was grounded in 1986 and was purchased in 1998 by its present owners the Shuttleworth Collection. It has been fully restored, repainted and fitted with dummy long range fuel tank and ladder to represent V9367 / MA-B an aircraft of 161 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer Peter Vaughan-Fowler during operation Apollo in the winter of 1942. P/O Vaughn-Fowler joined No 161 Special Duties Squadron at RAF Tempsford in May 1942. He was flying Lysanders carrying out clandestine landings in German occupied France, ferrying agents and members of the French Resistance to and from the Continent. One of his early passengers was Jean Moulin, General de Gaulle's special representative responsible for co-ordinating resistance activities. Vaughan-Fowler proved himself exceptionally skilled at this job and carried out more successful 'pick-up' operations in France than any other pilot. For this work he was awarded the DFC and Bar in 1943.