Wanted Pictures + Video of Jerry Billing and MK923

I have had that book on order from Amazon.ca for about 3 weeks, looking forward to getting it.

Any other books you would recommend about the Malta blitz?

Have to stock up before the snow sets in.

Thanks again

Dave

There a couple of other books not mentioned. Two I picked up in Malta last week.

Malta George Cross – Victory in the Air, It lists all types of aircraft, used on all three sides, and goes into great detail of their uses during the conflict. 255 pages and a great read.

Lest We Forget, lists all known names of Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Air Forces Servicemen lost in the defence of Malta.

Also avaliable were 2 version of 249 Squadron whilst in Malta.

Septic will be hard to beat his book, a very good read and i would recommened it to anyone interested ( if you can find a copy 😡 i think the publisher is out of busness) Jerry has loaned me quite a few photo’s which are on the site, and i just aquired about 10 hours of film of Jerry practicing in Spitfire MK923 at his own strip, lots of very low passes 🙂 , also their is some very old footage of Jerry in formation with Bill Ross in his P38 and a Vampire Jet.

Lots of little projects planned for the site just not a lot of time at the moment to put them all together.

Daz yes the top colour photo Jerry is fling NH188, not sure on the others

Dave

If anyone has Pictures or Video of Jerry BIlling flying MK923 or any of the other Spitfires he flew( nh188 te308 sl721 ) in his 52.5 years of fling them, Plz ( if you wish them to be part of his biography) let me know and i will post them on my site.

Thanks

Dave C
www.ontario-warbirds.ca

Dave – there is a photo of NH188 that pops up quite often during a swift Google – it comes up on the site below:

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/equip/historical/spitfirelst_e.asp

I’ve just noticed there are two or three others of the aircraft on there, too. Not sure if Jerry is flying her in those shots, but someone will be able to tell you.

[QUOTE=Ontario-WarbirdFar as i know im the only one to do a bio. on Jerry so far.
Heading down to see him on the 25th for a visit.

Dave C[/QUOTE]

Dave,

Will your biog be more comprehensive than Jerrry’s own book a ‘Knave among Knights in their Spitfires’.

Septic

I have had that book on order from Amazon.ca for about 3 weeks, looking forward to getting it.

Any other books you would recommend about the Malta blitz?

Have to stock up before the snow sets in.

Thanks again

Dave

Dave,

I have just started ‘Fortress Malta – an Island under siege 1940-1943’. by James Holland.

James was with the MoM team and out in Malta for the commemoration a couple of weeks back.

By all accounts the book has received excellent reviews.

Mark

I have had that book on order from Amazon.ca for about 3 weeks, looking forward to getting it.

Any other books you would recommend about the Malta blitz?

Have to stock up before the snow sets in.

Thanks again

Dave

Mark12

Again thank you for your help, I will be visiting with Jerry on Saturday 22 and will bring a copy of this picture for Jerry.

Thanks again

Dave

Dave,

Give my best regards to Jerry.

Incidentally I see a new book advertised in the current crop of ‘November’ UK aviation mags – 185 Squadron in Malta

You and perhaps Jerry should see this. I will be ordering a copy.

Interestingly I see that the cover carries a shot that appeared in that album I referred to.

Mark

Mark12

Again thank you for your help, I will be visiting with Jerry on Saturday 22 and will bring a copy of this picture for Jerry.

Thanks again

Dave

Malta photo album

In 1993 a fellow researcher was able to access a photo album belonging to, I believe, the widow of a Malta veteran pilot.

It was borrowed for copying but such was the equipment of said researcher all he could do was take a hand held colour slide of each page, perhaps on site. No copy stand, no lighting and no lens rings.

I duly received 30 plus slides with four images per album page per slide. The individual images covered barely 5% of the surface area of a 35mm slide. I looked at them through a glass in passing and stored them away as basically useless until…..today.

Fresh from my visit to MoM and seeing old friend Frederick Galea at the Museum, I wondered if these old slides might just respond to a bit of modern scanning and PSP.

Having spent most of this afternoon fiddling with them, I spotted one that caught my eye, below. It is a shot of a 185 Squadron Spitfire and from the caption ‘T’ or GL-T. This, referring to the new Book – Spitfires over Malta by Cull and Galea, could be either BR315 or EP200.

Although the quality of these shots is poor, the content is amazing. I would be pretty sure that the standing gentlemen to the fore on the left is Jerry Billings.

Mark

😀 Thanks for the link i will enjoy reading that 😀

http://www.ontario-warbirds.ca/jerry_billing_index.htm

Far as i know im the only one to do a bio. on Jerry so far.
Heading down to see him on the 25th for a visit.

Dave C

Thanks for the information and photo’s , Keepem coming if you have them.

Dave C

Any chance of a potted history for those of us who havent heard of him,i know bits about our resident UK pilots but not alot of those from distant shores 😀
Yes i could google but it would be nice to hear direct from someone working on the biography,Thanks 🙂

Thanks for the information and photo’s , Keepem coming if you have them.

Dave C

Here is a shot I took of Jerry Billing, Bill Ross & Don Plumb out on the ramp at ‘Transpo’ in Washington, 3rd June 1972. The Spitfire is SL721.

Mark

Saw this aircraft in 88 or 89 at the Kalamazoo Air Show in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Not that I can say I personally saw Jerry Billings but I knew he was the pilot. Saw this one again at one of the Freedom Festivals on the Detroit River about the same time. Jerry Billings ( I think it was him ) made multiple passes from one side of the river to the other and when he flew over the Detroit side of the river, I swear he was so low I could see all the panel lines on the bottom of the aircraft as clear as a bell. Something that has been permantly etched in my mind

A little clip here that shows MK923 sitting on the ramp during the air show.

http://www.renovids4u.com/airzoo88_static.mpg

Clip 3 on this second link ,,, 5 seconds into it is Jerry Billings taxiing past in MK923

http://www.renovids4u.com/renovids4u_kal88_index.html

Duane ( bearfan1 )

Billings

For photos and information on MK923 check in with Bob Swaddling. You can find him on the forum page of the modeling website- Hyperscale.com
Neil