Photographic Reconnaissance Unit: National Memorial

Leo Docherty Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Defence People and Veterans (Leo Docherty)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I am delighted to be here, answering for Her Majesty’s Government. It has been a positive and interesting debate. First, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) on securing the debate and speaking so movingly about the remarkable and innovative role of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois), my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Andrew Lewer) and the hon. Members for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for Glasgow South (Stewart Malcolm McDonald), for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) and for Barnsley East (Stephanie Peacock) for their collegiate and constructive contributions. I am pleased that our former colleague Luke Graham, the former Member for Ochil and South Perthshire, was also referenced.

I was particularly moved by the way that my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine referenced first George Pritchard. I am grateful that my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South was able to chip in and report back that George Pritchard, a veteran of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, is now 97 years old and in good order, living in Northamptonshire. I note that he is one of four veterans alive today who flew Mosquitoes in the PRU.

My hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine also referred to the remarkable and moving story of Sandy Gunn, who, while reconnoitring the area for the German battleship the Tirpitz, was shot down in 1942. His story of being shot down, rescued by Norwegians and then imprisoned in Stalag Luft III, thereafter to escape and be brutally murdered by the Gestapo, encapsulates and reminds us of the remarkable scale of bravery of the members of the PRU. It is also a fitting time, as we move this week into remembrance. So I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the remarkable story of Sandy Gunn.

My hon. Friend knows—he referred to the fact—that the Ministry of Defence cannot finance or commission new memorials. However, in answer to his question, it is, of course, a wholehearted yes. I would be delighted to meet him and others as soon as is practical—very soon, I hope—to discuss that further. I note the remarkable tenacity and energy behind the campaign, and I think I am safe to judge that it will undoubtedly meet with a positive response, especially among the wider public.

As we move into the formal week of remembrance, today is a good opportunity to dwell on the remarkable story, broadly, of the PRU. From humble beginnings as a single semi-civilian flight in 1939, it grew to encompass 10 squadrons, and as the second world war progressed, elements of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit were based in the UK and overseas and became a remarkably valuable strategic asset. Throughout the war the intelligence that they gathered was crucial; it spanned the continent, stretching from the tip of Norway to the south of Italy. As with modern-day aerial reconnaissance, the main role of the PRU was to identify enemy formations and facilities, and to conduct battle damage assessment. The PRU’s ability to assess critical sites, before and after artillery or aerial strikes, allowed commanders to adapt their strategies accordingly. It was unique and innovative; it was also a force multiplier.

Beyond providing a unique picture of what was happening on land across Europe, the intelligence that the PRU gathered was also crucial to maintaining the safety of Britain’s convoys at sea. They had a key role in locating German capital ships; we have mentioned the Tirpitz—sunk in 1944—but they also had a key role in locating the Bismarck, which was sunk in 1941. These were prize targets, the destruction of which had a huge and strategic impact on the ability of the German military machine to dominate the high seas; it was a singular advance in the ability of our forces to fight back.

Perhaps even more significantly, but not immediately obvious, was the PRU’s hugely important contribution to the combined Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign. Among many other achievements, they identified the many German oil refineries and synthetic fuel facilities right across Europe; the destruction of those effectively grounded the Luftwaffe and rendered German Panzer divisions immobile during the latter stages of the war—having a hugely important strategic impact on its course. The PRU’s reputation for identifying vital targets was built on successes such as the location of the German research facility in the Baltic. That allowed the Bomber Command attack that significantly delayed the development of the V1 flying rocket and the development and dispatch of the deadly V2 rocket. Similar to the strategic bombing campaigns, that saved countless lives.

While a huge amount of technological advancement has taken place since the second world war, what is key to the legacy of the PRU is the human capability at the heart of all of this. Since the second world war, intelligence gathering from the air has remained a critical asset of the Royal Air Force, and our armed forces as a whole. In 2002, the intelligence elements from a number of RAF Squadrons were combined to form the Tactical Imagery-Intelligence Wing; you could say that where the PRU had pioneered that capability, the TIW formalised it. In 2016, the Wing became the 1st Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing—the 1st ISR Wing. Its role today demonstrates the ever-increasing close collaboration we have with our allies; the output of this Wing is used right across a number of platforms for both the UK and our NATO allies.

As the 1st ISR Wing has continued to grow, we are reminded that it is a vital element of the Royal Air Force’s ISTAR capability; Members will know that means intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. My hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine will know about the build-up of our P-8A maritime patrol aircraft capability at the Royal Air Force station in Lossiemouth. That demonstrates our ongoing commitment militarily to Scotland, as well as our plans to boost our ISTAR capability, particularly with the introduction of the E-7 Wedgetail to that station. If my intelligence is correct, I think he may be visiting that station later this month. The P-8A is strategically hugely important; it is a powerful tool in our anti-submarine operations and a valuable enhancement to the UK’s search and rescue capability. The E-7 Wedgetail is a significant advance on its predecessor, the E-3D Sentry, and is capable of simultaneously tracking multiple airborne and maritime targets, heightening the already considerable abilities of our combat air platform and warships.

As we track the amazing technological advances that have taken place since the second world war, there is no doubt that a pivotal and pioneering role was played by the PRU. While technology has evolved, it is pertinent that many of the analysis methods refined during the war are still used today. Hugh Hamshaw Thomas, a leading paleobotanist at the time, employed his talents to examine the black-and-white photographs that the pilots sent back. I thought that was most interesting. Those methods are still used extensively on modern black-and-white electro-optical images, which remain widely used. We have come a very long way in technological terms. The Royal Air Force not only has colour imagery and moving imagery on the Typhoon and Reaper platforms, but those skills developed during the second world war are still entirely pertinent.

We have reflected on the remarkable human skill and courage of the PRU pilots. It was fitting that a number of colleagues mentioned the fact that these individuals were entirely unarmed when they were flying into enemy lines. They used a remarkable combination of speed and altitude, and they depended on their guile, agility and raw wits to stay alive. That was extremely high-risk, and they were extremely courageous. Today, despite technology having advanced, that same human spirit is alive in the Royal Air Force in 1 ISR Wing. They are highly trained, dedicated people, who are trained to analyse imagery in real time. We need look no further for the modern inheritors of the tradition of courage from the early days of the PRU than the young men and women in the Royal Air Force of today in 1 ISR Wing.

I thank all Members for having contributed so positively and interestingly. I reindorse my response to my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, and I look forward to meeting him very soon. I am also grateful to him for calling the debate at a very fitting time. As we move this week into the formal element of remembrance, we remember the remarkable sacrifice of those who have gone before us. The debate has been a very fitting tribute to the sacrifice that we have discussed today in the form of the activities of the PRU.