Exhibition Spitfire

Classic Wings?

Sounds fascinating to me Roger. You could maybe pm DaveM2 and ask him if he’d be interested in the article for Classic Wings. There’s quite a Netherlands contingent in NZ. cheers D

I am afraid no English mag will be interested. But I can mail you the pics if you want, Horrible condition, but who had a camera in those days, and apart from that, no pics were allowed to be taken at part of the exhibition.

BW Roger

Hi Mark,
I just finished an article on the 1945 Amsterdam exhibition (only to be published in Holland I am afraid) and my notes say that the Spit was a mk.16E with nr TB617. Can’t check if this is ok, but thet came from a piece of paper dated Oct 1945. I understand it was scrapped afterwards. So far, I found out that among the machines on show were a Lancaster, a Lancaster nose, a B17 nose, a complete B17, B29, Halifax,Beaufighter,V-1, P51,P61,B26 (Flak Bait),Typhoon (PD604) and the Spitfire.

BW Roger

Roger,

At this resolution I was reading the ‘B’ as an ‘8’. So moving to the left one digit , TB617 looks good.

The article sounds fascinating.

Mark

Hi Mark,
I just finished an article on the 1945 Amsterdam exhibition (only to be published in Holland I am afraid) and my notes say that the Spit was a mk.16E with nr TB617. Can’t check if this is ok, but thet came from a piece of paper dated Oct 1945. I understand it was scrapped afterwards. So far, I found out that among the machines on show were a Lancaster, a Lancaster nose, a B17 nose, a complete B17, B29, Halifax,Beaufighter,V-1, P51,P61,B26 (Flak Bait),Typhoon (PD604) and the Spitfire.

The enclosed pic, an extremely blow up, shows the Spit, P51,Typhoon and Lancaster, aswell as the very hidden away Thunderbolt.

BW Roger

Here is the Amsterdam one, it looks to be not the same. BW Roger

Roger,

I cannot find a single element that says that this is not the same machine. Typical items of variation all match – E wing with outboard cannon, four aperture 10 1/4″ wheels, clipped wing, broad chord rudder, fish tail exhaust stacks, tonal colour of the spinner. Even the propeller is set at full coarse pitch, or even beyond, in both shots. Both are high back Mk XVI’s, I would suggest, with the Amsterdam shot serial as TB8** or even TB86*.

Both shots carry no code, indicative of preparation as an exhibit. The Antwerp Spitfire appears to have been waxed and polished for the event.

Thank you for posting.

Mark.

Here is the Amsterdam one, it looks to be not the same. BW Roger

Maybe it is the same Spit that was on show in Amsterdam, Danmark and Paris in a special exbibition in 1945, Must have a pic of it somewhere. Give me a few days. BW Roger