Mr Shipley and Miss Velma

Ed Shipley with his recent 'charge' spending some time with the UK/Europe members of the AirShowBuzz.com website before flying commenced at Flying Legends 07 at IWM Duxford.

Miss Velma - looking a little travel-weary

After all the miles and hours Miss Velma is towed out for a quick photo sortie. The exhaust stains spoiling her otherwise nice appearance.

Miss Velma - nearly there

After travelling from the USA across the Atlantic via Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, TF-51 Miss Velma with Ed Shipley at the controls covers the last few miles to Duxford. Ed was kind enough to overfly my house on the last leg...

This was the culmination of the Operation Bolero II - the attempt to bring the P-38 Glacier Girl to the UK finally after her years under the ice and snow in Greenland. Miss Velma managed to finish the trip alone after GG suffered radiator problems as she set off on the first over water leg to Greenland.
So she remains behind, to hopefully make the historic journey next year - Op Bolero III?

About Warbirdskies

"Warbirdskies" came about as a place to record my interest in warbird aviation. I live to the north of Duxford airfield and often the aircraft from there use the airspace above and around my home to carry out air tests and practice aerobatics. The sound of V-12s and radial engines can be heard for some distance and warbirds pass nearby en route to/from airshows/events to the north on many occasions. 

The choice of a North American P-51B, or as it was in RAF service a "Mustang III",  for my page banner is due to me having a soft spot for the 'razorback' Mustangs with the Malcolm hood in RAF service. 

The birth (and development) of the P-51 Mustang is intertwined with British involvement - without the British need for more fighters during the early stages of WW2, NAA might not have had the chance to build the P-51. 

The first operational Mustangs were in RAF service with 26 Squadron. 

With the British suggestion to replace the Allison with a Merlin, due to the poor high altitude performance of the Allison, the Mustang was transformed into the fighter it became.

So, from the "Mustang I" through to the "Mustang IVa", it carried out an important and often neglected role. 

Recently, the UK has had a "Mustang IV" grace our skies in the form of KH774/GA⦿S 112 Sqn (formerly P-51D 44-73877 "Old Crow") - so the RAF roundel (with fearsome sharks mouth) can be seen on the "Cadillac Of The Skies"...

(...and if you have the desire, you can fly in it with "Aerial Collective" at Duxford.)