A-26B/C Invader "MillionAiress"

Managed to catch the A-26B/C* Invader this afternoon...
Departs in the next few days back to the US after visiting Fairford and Mildenhall.
Catalina was doing some training, PV202 returned from a SSAC flight and the Electra Junior was catching some rays......

*Apparently it is an A-26B but fitted with a A-26C glass nose...

Some kites aloft...

Kite action at Duxford on Thursday. Marinell doing some display practice while one of the 'resident' Red Kites was patrolling the runway and hangars...
Aero Legends' "Parky" landed after a shakedown flight of MJ444/Lady Luck - I was engaged in a phone call as he landed and taxied back to ARCo so missed the chance to take some photos! MJ444 was towed back into the Stephenson Hangar shortly after landing.
It departed in the afternoon for Headcorn...

Quick visit and bagged MJ444 & "Jersey Jerk"

Took the chance that MJ444 might be out of the hangar after last weeks flights. Jersey Jerk was also parked up over the weekend so managed to snap that even though it was wearing a 'sun hat'...
P-51D Marinell, Corsair and Bearcat also took to the air...

 

MJ444 overflight...

The latest Spitfire T9 to take to the skies, MJ444 was en route back to Duxford from a trip up to Wells-Next-The-Sea area when it passed to the west of my house...
Like Jersey Jerk, will have to be satisfied with this close pass for now!

MJ444/G-LEGD

Brief glimpse of the new addition to the Aero Legends fleet, Spitfire T9 "Lady Luck" MJ444/G-LEGD in the ARCo hangar at Duxford.  Until I can snap her outside this will have to suffice! Just have to add it to CA-18 Mustang Mk21 "Jersey Jerk" on my watch list...
Spitfire Vb EP120, and T9s PT462 and PV202 also available as well as P-51D "Marinell"...

ML407 - 'Hangar' addition

Thought I would treat myself to the Limited Edition Corgi Aviation Archive 1/72 scale diecast model of ML407...

6 June 1944 :: D-Day 80th Anniversary

Image courtesy Niven Family

80 years ago S/L John Niven DFC*, OC 485 (NZ) Squadron, spent the day flying Spitfire MkIXB MK862 on "Beachhead Patrol" - his logbook entries for the day...

05.35 First day fighters on patrol. Cloud over coast 7/10 1500' & hazy. Our troops approaching shore for first landing. Warships bombarding shore & Le Havre. Patrolled out to sea. No flak, no Huns.

10.35 Weather improved slightly. Landings made in St.Aubin area. Transports & tanks ashore. Heavy shelling from ships. Patrolled 1-6000'. No air activity.

18.50 Weather over beaches very clear with high cloud. Masses of bombers heading inland. Many gliders on ground near Bavent. Terrific bombing SE Caen. (Badly knocked about) On way home passed glider train stretching from Le Havre - 10 m. S Worthing.

And remembering Tony Cooper who I met and who recently passed away. 
On D-Day, 6th June 1944,Tony Cooper’s logbook shows that he flew twice. No 64 Squadron was tasked with providing ‘Low Beach Cover’ over the American assault. The Squadron ORB records that Cooper was allocated his personal Spitfire BM327, ‘SH-F’, for both sorties. He took off at 0430 hours for his first sortie of the day, as part of a 13 aircraft formation, providing “Fighter Cover for Utah Beach” and landed back after a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes airborne (the first hour recorded as night flying). The naval barrage was so intense that it was not safe to be over the coast and the Wing Leader withdrew the formation to a safer distance. Cooper’s remarks in his logbook give an interesting picture of the confusion that reigned and suggest that the invasion stripes, so painstakingly painted on by the ground crew, were not entirely effective: “Navy shelling coast defences – first landing made by the troops at 0620 hours. Nearly shot down by a Thunderbolt – Spitfire in front actually was – Another Spit hit by naval shell and blew up – General Brock’s benefit!”

On the evening of 6th June Tony flew his aircraft on another sortie over the invasion beaches, taking off at 2200 hours, this time tasked with, “Fighter Cover for Omaha Beach”. His comments in his logbook against this sortie read, “Hun bombers attacked invasion fleet – tremendous return fire from ships – one bomber destroyed.” He landed back at ten minutes past midnight – almost 18 hours after his first take-off that day – logging two hours and five minutes of night flying. When asked about night landings in the Spitfire on the short, temporary runways at Deanland, which were lit only by ‘goose-neck’ flares, Tony says, “I remember them well, with reasonably controlled terror, especially when it was raining!”

(Source: SimplySpitfire)

On this day...

...80 years ago today, my uncle Rhys, a driver/mechanic in Sherman tanks with 24th Lancers (as part of 8th Armoured Brigade) landed on Gold Beach on D-Day. His memoirs of his time liberating Europe were translated from Welsh to English by my uncle Arthur, who also served in tanks as a driver with No.3 Squadron, 2nd (Armoured Reconnaissance) Battalion, Welsh Guards who landed a couple of days after D-Day and was wounded in the battle to take Caen. 

"One day the heavy guns of the Navy were enough to deafen anyone and the air was filled with aircraft in their thousands going back and forth. By two o'clock the ship had gone as near the shore as she could and we waited while a large raft came alongside and started loading. The lorries first of all, then the tanks. We drove slowly on to the barge in case it capsized. The raft was so long the helmsman had great difficulty in keeping it heading for the shore, but land was slowly getting nearer. The co-driver and I were sealed in and eventually the order came "Start up, Taff" and into the water we went and slowly drove on to dry land. I believe our tank was the first of our regiment to land. We landed at 6.30 on June 6th. Our D-Day had arrived!

What was the reaction? Fear certainly with the heart pounding away. The bodies floating in the sea were proof that this was no child's play, but you had to hide your fears and listen carefully to the tank commander's directions as we were still under seal and could see very little ourselves. The vision through the periscope was minimal and we had to rely on someone who could see what was going on. I saw a row of men coming to meet us with their hands on their heads - these were the first POWs for me to see. We went out of the village into a large field to wait for the regiment to assemble. In the next field a cow lay feet up to show that everything was endangered here."

Rhys made it through to the end of the war returning to civilian life. Many of his comrades were not so fortunate...

 

 

CAC CA-18 Mk 21 Mustang "Jersey Jerk"

Managed to snap CAC CA-18 Mustang 21 "Jersey Jerk"/G-JERK today as UWF seemed to be using 'my airspace' for a couple of sorties - until I manage to either catch it at DX or if I ever venture to Sywell, it will have to do!!!