20/06/2026
A real bucket list aeroplane this one - not at all what it seems…
Ultimate Warbird Flights operate this stunning Lockheed 12A Electra Junior, which is a symbol of a bygone era in aviation. Built in 1936, G-AFTL may look like its role was purely luxurious transport, but in reality it hides a shady story of photo-reconnaissance and a contribution to the Allied war efforts of the 1940s.
The aircraft’s owner was owned by Frederick Sidney Cotton - a veteran of the First World War and developer of the ‘Sidcot’ suit…a flying outfit which went on to keep UK military pilots warm in the cockpit and which was used by the RAF until the 1950s.
Leading a very colourful life, post-war Cotton went on to purchase the rights to sell a French colour photographic film called Dufaycolor. A pioneer of airborne photography, his endeavours led him to travel all over Europe and the wider world. As World War II began to loom in the late-1930s, Cotton was approached by the Deuxième Bureau (French Intelligence) and later the British equivalent - MI6.
Sidney Cotton went on to modify G-AFTL for covert aerial photography and in civilian guise, overflew and surreptitiously photographed many German and Italian military installations during the months preceding World War II. His co-pilot on these spy flights was R.H. Niven, a Canadian serving in the Royal Air Force. Underneath the aeroplane were three F24 cameras, concealed behind sliding doors which opened to capture imagery when triggered by a button beneath the pilot’s seat. Another Leica camera was installed within the wing. Cotton often took additional risk by flying somewhat off-track from his flight plans, conveniently straying closer to German military installations! Years later the RAF utilised modified Pembroke C(PR).1 aircraft equipped in much the same fashion, to conduct clandestine, low-level photo-reconnaissance missions during the Cold War.
G-AFTL completed its first post restoration flight from Sywell Aerodrome on March 27, 2023 and what an honour it was to share the skies with it last week. Never judge a book by its cover… 🕵️
Image: © Copyright Andy Donovan 2026
