609 Sqd. Spitfire Gate Guard

Is it possible TE477 is the ID of that mystery Spit XVI Mark12 posted a while back?

Dan

Hi Mark12 – sorry to disappoint. I have had a look at a bunch of negatives, but don’t seem to have one. The only ones I’ve actually sorted and properly looked at so far are wartime you see (my interest is the first incarnation of 609). Now, PR-D was the wartime code, postwar they had different serials. If anything turns up, i’ll let you know.

BW,

Mark

Snapper,

Here is the total AB thread, cut and pasted in chronological order.

I am not a member of AB but I think I get access for services rendered.

Scrapped Spitfire Gate Guards are of special interest to me.

Mark
……………………………………………………………………………………

> Message date : Mar 08 2004, 11:28 AM
> From : “John Havers”
> To : “ab-ix”
> Copy to :
> Subject : [AB-IX] RAF Tichfield Spitfire
> A member not on ab-ix has posed the following question:
>
>
“While looking through my early 1950 notebooks I came across mention of a
Spitfire that I saw guarding the gate at RAF Station Titchfield, nr Southampton,
Hampshire on 9.7.51. The erstwhile non-aerodrome establishment was a Barrage
Balloon site, which had probably been very active during the war looking after
the Southampton area, but was still complete with the tall balloon hangars at
the time and obviously still just about active. I have never managed to find out
much about this site, which from memory we couldn’t get close to for some long
forgotten reason, and it probably closed soon after we passed it by. The
Spitfire was, from memory, painted silver and apart from wondering what mark &
c/n it was, does anyone please know what happened to it.”
>
> Grateful, as always, for any help.
> Regards
> John Havers
>

John
I have the serial number for this aircraft at home (currently at work reading
this!), but from memory it was a TD-serial (don’t take that as gospel at the
moment though!).
My father worked for a few years at Plesseys which now occupies the site of
RAF Tichfield (in actual fact in one of the original balloon sheds which still
stand) and managed to find a history that had been written about the station by
a work experience guy. It was a series of compiled notes, but had drawings etc.
We ran an article in the Gosport Aviation Society’s Journal when I was chairman
and Journal editor back in the mid 1990s – I’ll see if I can unearth it.
Certainly there was a photograph in the Portsmouth Evening News showing the last
official flight from the station when the commander was flown out in a Whirlwind
from Lee-on-Solent.
I’ll see if I can unearth my notes and let you know accordingly.
Regards
Lee Howard

John

Further to my earlier note, I have found the relating info (though yet to find
the article – do that later on tonight).

The aircraft was Spitfire LF.XVI TE477/6820M in 609 Sqn markings as (‘PR-D’) and
was on display at Tichfield certainly between 29.12.50 and c.9.7.51. It was
last noted dumped at RAF Colerne by 1956.

Hope that’s of help.

Cheers

Lee

You need to be a member of Air Britain and registered on the site…

Flood.

Possibly. Except I can’t open the link. Bloody Yahoo. Can you copy and email me please? [email]609photos@tiscali.co.uk[/email] is the best bet.

Cheers,

Mark