ML295, PV202, PT462 & TD314 at Duxford...
My quest to catch ML295/DB•M was fulfilled today when I popped into Duxford for a couple of hours.
MkIX TD314 /FX•P/"St George" was sat out awaiting "Parky" to take her aloft for some tests.
PV202 and PT462 were also operating although a delay in PV202 departing probably disrupted any Spitfire Pair experience!...
Spitfire T9 PV202 new scheme...
I did venture down to Duxford on Easter Sunday in the hope of catching PV202 in her new livery as "JW" (and maybe even ML295/DB•M) but all the action had taken place on the day before!
So this morning I was happy to have PV202/"JW" doing some 'aeros' in the vicinity of my home!!!
I believe that the new scheme of PV202 depicts that of Spitfire ML365 "JW", the 'personal aircraft' of Gp Capt P R "Johnnie" Walker, when he commanded No 135 Wing, based at B65 Maldeghem, Belgium, November 1944 and also featured the famous striding red coated logo of the "Johnnie Walker" whisky brand (yet to be applied to PV202...)
New TF-51D "Contrary Mary" print
I received notification that a new "Gaetan Marie"/BravoBravoAviation print of G-TFSI/Contrary Mary, as currently operated by Ultimate Warbird Flights at Sywell, is now available.
I hit the 'buy' button on an A3 and A4 version and may even get the Lt Col Roy Caviness, Commanding Officer of the 78th Fighter Group version that is also now available.
The 78th FG was stationed at Duxford in 1945.
These are excellent quality prints at a very reasonable price so a nice addition to the two ML407 prints I also have by Gaetan Marie/Bertrand Brown.
Mosquito for Biggin Hill!!!
Three years to save up!
https://flyaspitfire.com/2023/02/06/mosquito-at-biggin-hill/
Hurricane :: Unsung Hero Exhibition :: IWM Duxford
As mentioned in my previous post I managed to see the "Hurricane - Unsung Hero" exhibition currently running in Airspace at IWM Duxford. I had obviously picked a quiet time to have a look as there were only a handful of visitors in the hall although it had been busier in the morning according to one volunteer on duty.
Nice to see the Sea Hurricane Ib Z7015 present and Hurricane IIb BE505 "Pegs", the world's only two seater, on display.
Absent from the exhibition was Hurricane I V7497/SD-X/G-HRLI which had been moved to ARCo for some essential servicing.
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| Hurricane Ib R4118/G-HUPW |
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| Sea Hurricane Ib Z7105/G-BKTH |
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| Hurricane XIIa R4175/G-HURI |
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| Hurricane I P2902/G-ROBT |
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| Hurricane I P3717/G-HITT |
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| World's only Two Seat Hurricane IIb BE505/G-HHII |
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| Hurricane IIb BE505/G-HHII |
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| Sea Hurricane Ib Z7105 |
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| BE505 & Z7105 |
First visit of 2023...
Combined a required volunteer training session today with a visit to the Hurricane exhibition. My first time on site since the first week of December...
Spitfire LF MkXVIE RW382 "Porky II" was rolled out for a flight as I left the Concorde Room at the end of the session.
Then made it to the Hurricane exhibition in Airspace - unfortunately only six on display as Mk1 V7497 SD•X was panels off in ARCo...
Hopefully I will be able to return to some state of normality before too long.
Watertoren in Roosendaal - 29/10/44 - Strafing by 329 Sqn :: Updated
My interest is often piqued watching footage of RAF aircraft in action during WW2. One example was the discovery of the film of the strafing of the B-24 Jolly Duck which I mentioned here and the interesting story that resulted from my curiosity.
It is not often that a tiny piece of France, Belgium or Netherlands can be identified from the black and white, often fuzzy, footage that I watch without referring to squadron Operational Record Books. Sometimes though, a distinct landmark can help narrow down the area that was being flown over...
Today, I happened to be watching film from October 1944 and a distinctive target was being strafed by Spitfires of No. 329 Sqn RAF (GC I/2 'Cigognes'), a Free French squadron operating from B.55 Wevelghem. A water tower, possibly being used as an observation post by enemy troops, was certainly subject to a few attacking runs to try and put it out of action on the morning of 29/10/1944. The design of the tower was different to many that I had seen in previous attacks as the Allies moved into Europe after D-Day.
A search of "water towers in Europe" soon produced what looked like the one in the grainy 16mm gun camera film. Located in the town of Roosendaal in the Netherlands, just to the north of Antwerp, which would have been about the right area of operations for RAF aircraft involved in ground attack missions to disrupt German activity.
The water tower was built in 1916 after a design by the Dutch architect Hidde Petrus Nicolaas Halbertsma and is of historical-architectural importance due to its design and use of materials.
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| Image ©IWM |
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| Google Streetview |
https://rijksmonumenten.nl/monument/517281/watertoren/roosendaal/
https://culinicious.nl/lekkernijen/
January 10 2023: Maarten Havinga of the B-24 Jolly Duck research group has sent me this eyewitness account written in 2011 by 84-year-old Marinus Deijkers, who witnessed the shelling of the tower during the war.
"On Sunday afternoon, the day before the liberation, I was on my way to Sint Jan with my eldest brother," Deijkers said. "We were walking through the Domineestraat when we saw the planes diving to shoot at the tower. Because I had already rescued people from under the rubble with other volunteers, I walked as quickly as possible to the tower instead of to the church. In the Nearby, a house and the café Van Montfort were in ruins. There were also deaths. However, I could not help because we were chased away by armed German soldiers."
I'd identified the direction of the strafing runs as most likely being from the east, as in a couple of clips the buildings behind the tower could be matched to buildings on Nispensestraat that are still standing today (e.g. "Osaka Japan Restaurant").
Maarten also sent me the following - "In the Nispensestraat a whole family died during the attacks (they talk about 8 British aircraft) father, mother and their 5 children didn't survive the attack."
Hurricane : The Unsung Hero
Last post of 2022 and, until I can get to Duxford to see the new Hurricane exhibition*, I thought I'd have a roundup of some of the UK based Hurricanes I've managed to catch over the years. Photos in no particular order but starting with one of my personal favourites, six in formation at a Duxford air show in 2017...
* Featuring V7497 SD-X G-HRLI, P2902 DX-R G-ROBT, P3717 SW-P G-HITT, P3700/"R4175" RF-E/R G-HURI, BE505 XP-L G-HHII, R4118 UP-W G-HUPW, Sea Hurricane Z7015 7-L G-BKTH
