In "Mr. Cotton's Airforce," Ed Parsons turns his lens toward a remarkably rare and historically significant survivor of the pre-war skies: the 1936 Lockheed 12A Electra Junior, registered as G-AFTL. This gallery offers an intimate look at one of the world’s only remaining photo-reconnaissance aircraft from that era still in flying condition. Beyond its polished Art Deco lines and gleaming twin-engine profile, this specific aircraft hides a legendary, cloak-and-dagger past. In the tense years leading up to World War II, it was piloted by the daring Australian aviation pioneer Sidney Cotton. Under the guise of a wealthy private businessman, Cotton used this very Electra for covert aerial espionage, utilizing hidden cameras to secretly photograph German and Italian military installations before the outbreak of hostilities. Through this collection, Parsons captures both the timeless elegance and the clandestine history of this magnificent aircraft. The photographs celebrate the meticulous restoration that keeps G-AFTL in the air today, seamlessly juxtaposing the aircraft's civilian glamour with the heavy reality of its espionage legacy. It is a striking visual tribute to a true "spy in the sky" and a unique chapter in aviation history.
