Tribute to the Crews of the Stirling by Graeme Lothian  Outward bound, Stirling III of 199 Squadron based at Lakenheath, Suffolk, heads out on another night of operations in August 1943.  EE953, Sqd letters EX - E of 100 group is piloted by F/L Tom Austin DFC who finished his tour by the end of October 1944, winning the DFC with his bomb aimer F/O Jack Lawrence.  Nicknamed the "Queen of the Skies", the Stirling was the 1st four engined bomber to enter service with the RAF in 1941.  The cockpit stood a massive 22.5 feet from the ground and had an operational ceiling of only 12,000 feet, well within the range of the enemy AA guns.  By September 1944 other bombers were taking the brunt of the attack to the Germans and the Stirlings were used mainly for glider towing especially for D-day and Arnhem. Stirling Service by Philip West  The Short Stirling won the distinction as the RAFs first purpose built four engine monoplane bomber.  A strong, highly complex design it gained a reputation as a pilots aircraft to fly being agile for a big bomber and demonstrating great character.  Well over 2000 Stirlings provided stout service for the RAF in a variety of extremely important roles throughout WW2. Teamwork by Philip West  As night falls, Short Stirlings of XV Squadron based at Mildenhall, Cambridgeshire, await their crews for yet another nocturnal mission. One of the almost forgotten Bomber Command aircraft that made a very significant contribution to the war effort. Close Encounter by Iain Wyllie  On the 10th of June 1941 en route to Emden Short Stirling D-MG of 7 squadron was intercepted by 2 Me-109's. the aircraft piloted by Flying Officer G B Blacklock DFM returned safely to base after shooting down on of the fighters. Aircraft side view by M A Kinnear  Short Stirling MkI R9257 MG - C.    Aircraft History:  R9257 was one of a batch of 150 Mk I Stirlings delivered to the RAF by Short Brothers between January 1942 and January 1943.  Initially with Telecommunications Flying Unit, R9257 went to No.7 Squadron, where it eventually became the personal aircraft of Hamish Mahaddie and his crew from 8th February 1943 until he completed his operational tour with the PFF (Path Finder Force) at the end of March 1943. The aircraft then went on to No.1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at Stradishall, before being sent to No.214 Squadron. On 12th August 1943, whilst leaving RAF Chedburgh for a raid against Turin, R9257 swung on take off and the undercarriage collapsed. The aircraft was categorised as damaged beyond repair (DBR). R9257 replaced Hamish and his crew's earlier Stirling MK I, R9273 also MG- C which had been attacked six days earlier by a Ju88 nightfighter. After evading the attack, they managed to bring the aircraft home. Next morning, Hamish counted 174 cannon shell holes in the aircraft - which he named 'C for Colander'. Group Captain Thomas G "Hamish" Mahaddie DSO, DFC, AFC, CzMC: Born in Keith, Edinburgh on 19th March 1911, he joined the RAF as part of the 17th Entry at Halton in January 1928 and trained as a metal rigger, after which he was posted to Cranwell on ground servicing duties. In 1933 he boarded a troopship bound for the Middle East where he joined No.4 FTS at Abu Suier for pilot training. Gaining his wings in 1935, his first air crew posting was to No.55 Squadron at Hinaidi flying Westland Wapitis and on his return to England in 1937, he joined No.77 Squadron flying Whitleys from Driffield. During World War II he completed a tour of operations with No.77 Squadron before moving to Kinloss to instruct with No.14 OTU. On completing another tour, this time with No.7 Squadron (which he joined on 2nd August 1942) at Oakington on Stirlings, he joined HQ Staff of No.8 (Pathfinder) Group and Group Captain Mahaddie finished the war as Station Commander at RAF Warboys, home of PFF Navigation Training Unit. In June 1945 he was appointed to command No.111 Wing in Germany followed by a spell at the Staff College, Haifa in 1947. His postwar duties also included two tours of duty at the Air Ministry, as OC Flying Wing at Binbrook, and also as Station Commander at Sylt and Butzweilerhof in Germany. He finally retired from the RAF in March 1958 and became involved with the film industry as an aviation consultant working on many films including the "Battle of Britain" - for which he amassed an incredible number of Spitfires, Hurricanes, Messerschmitts and Heinkels. Thomas "Hamish" Mahaddie passed away on 16th January 1997.