Tirpitz and Admiral Scheer. Three days
later he brought back photographs of
marshalling yards, aerodromes and
canals in the Rheine, Münster and
Amsterdam areas.
The situation in France was rapidly
deteriorating and the British gave
the order to evacuate the remaining
troops of the BEF. On the 12th,
Ring took Lockheed 12 G-AEOI to
Orléans-Bricy, ferrying 212 Squadron
personnel back to Britain the same
day. He flew the same aircraft to Bricy
the next day, returning to Britain via
Saint-Malo on the 14th with more
evacuees.
[Just before World War TwoAustralian-born Sidney Cotton, flew
Lockheed 12A G-AFTL, secretly
fitted with cameras, across Europe on
‘business trips’. He inspired the setting
up of PDU and made the twin-
engined Lockheed a ‘must have’ for
the unit. From March 1937, G-AEOI
had been the runabout of shipping
magnate Marmaduke Furness, the 1st
Viscount Furness. It was placed into
service with PDU, becoming X9316,
in December 1939 – ED.]PDU BECOMES PRU
With France all but lost, attention
turned to German preparations to
invade Britain. On June 18, 1940
Ring was back at the controls of a
Spitfire, this time photographing
French ports, railways and airfields in
the Pas-de-Calais area from 30,500ft.In March 1944, Ring said farewell to Benson when he was posted
to Bulstrode Park, Buckinghamshire, for a staff course. In June,
he was sent to Haifa in Palestine and later to Heliopolis in Egypt.
Returning to Britain in 1947, he attended the RAF Staff College
at Bracknell, after which he was posted to the Air Ministry
in London. In October 1951, he moved to Aden to oversee
operational fl ying; this he greatly enjoyed, as he was able to fl y
regularly again. He was back in the UK in August 1953, assuming
command of experimental fl ying at the Aeroplane and Armament
Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. At
this time the British aeroplane industry was at its zenith and Ring
was able to fl y many varied types including the Avro Vulcan.
Early in 1957, Ring was posted to command RAF Waddington,
Lincolnshire, soon to be home of 83 Squadron, the fi rst frontline
Vulcan unit. He returned to the Air Ministry for staff duties in- Awarded a CBE, he retired from the RAF in 1960, settling in
Suffolk. Spencer Ring died suddenly in 1970, aged only 59.
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, during a visit to
RAF Waddington. She is fl anked by Gp Capt Ring
(left) and Air Chief Marshal Harry Broadhurst, the
AOC-in-C Bomber Command. M RINGINTRODUCING THE VULCAN
Above right
Wg Cdr S L Ring, offi cer
commanding 1 PRU,
summer 1942. M RINGRight
On July 20, 1940, Ring
was tasked with covering
objectives in northern
Holland and Germany:
this is The Hague from
32,000ft. M CLARK72 FLYPAST May 2018
WORLD WAR TWO PHOTO RECONNAISSANCE