Pterodactyl and Friends

No bombs? It’s ‘elf ‘n’ safety gawn mad.

Whatever the Virginias dropped seems to have led to some disappointment

” among the numerous youthful enthusiasts who had been led to expect, from the terrific explosions of former years, that the mock fort would be blown to atoms with those earth-shaking explosions which are designed to represent “bombs” But no such thing occurred and the fort and hostile aerodrome were left there with the flags still flying after the bombardment and the only apparent result a fire in the hangars”

Sounds like flares were a possibility?

From newspaper reports I have seen in NZ newspapers, they did the bloke jumps from burning balloon display several years in a row. You’d never get away with that at a NZ airshow, not just because of the obvious danger, but most of our airfields in summer have tinder dry grass and you would suddenly have a massive grass fire too.

I wonder what it is that the Virginias dropped, they look like smoke fares bit did such flares exist back then? Could it just be big flour bombs?

Lovely video! Well found, Dave! Looks like a fantastic, fun, display.

Is that the equivalent of Duxford’s “naughty field” 50 seconds in? 🙂

That  is a brilliant watch and to think over 90 years ago .

Whale oil beef hooked, great find, Dave! 

Also interesting, in light of various things upthread  to see Virginias actually dropping stuff, and a hydrogen balloon burning. 

Oh look, the Pterodactyl and one of the balloons are seen here in this newsreel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXB3R6jCPX4&t=3s

That Cierva looks fantastic!

I’m finding that each report I read on these displays differs in what exactly was attacked by the Pterodactyl and, in the case of the 1932 display, the other aircraft dubbed “Terrors” – the Cierva that year also appearing in a similar “disguise”. In the latest variation on the story this was seemingly a cunning plan to camouflage them so they could better approach the “invaders”. The headline reads –

“Terrors” Hunting Man-Eating Martian Monsters! 

That sounds entirely ground based to me. Pterodactyl gets near, let  off a banger, and pull rip cord from ground. 

Also avoids embarrassing misses.

Found an article on the 1933 RAF Display written by Major Oliver Stewart in which he writes –

“In the balloon bursting Flight Lieutenant G.H. Stainforth, in the Pterodactyl or tail-less monoplane, successfully chased and shot down a number of balloons shaped and painted to represent flying pigs and similar mythological creatures. He was extraordinarily quick in closing with his prey and then, one bang of the gun, clearly heard from the ground, and the flying creature would grotesquely deflate and fall.”,

Can you imagine if the RAF had adopted these machines as fighters? The Luftwaffe would have died laughing when these showed up to defend Britain.

I’d love to see one in the air though to gauge how fast and ferocious they were.

At the 1932 RAF Display the Pterodactyl IV was dubbed the “Terror Mk.I” and flew in company with an equally ferociously painted Hawker Hart “Terror Mk.II”. The pair on that occasion attacked hippopotamus-shaped balloons.

1933 obviously saw different balloons and, if I am remembering correctly, a slightly changed scheme on the Pterodactyl?

Laurence – I honestly thought Pterodactyls were extinct. It’s nice to discover that is not the case!

Now you have me,  Dave. That’s the version of the Pterodactyl that was equipped with, or at least designed to be equipped with, guns. You can see the trough under the exhausts.  So the 1932 version above would not have provided sound effects when balloon busting, much like the Virginias invisible bombs.

A Tailless “Fighter” The strange new Westland-Hill Pterodactyl, which is being tested by the Royal Air Force it is a sesquiplane with large swept-back wings, and the pilot and observer have an all-round unrestricted view. It marks a new development in fighter design.

The Dominion, 12 October 1934

Warhawk: I recall seeing Pterodactyl J8067 at the Kensington Science Museum way back in 1977.

Laurence

Not sure how useful it is but here’s the reference to the skittle “bombing”:

Thanks for clarifying that point, warhawk69. Hopefully there will be some aviation content in the new museum building at Wroughton! I guess we will just have to wait and see. 

The photo of the suspended Gugnunc is from one of the London museums. I can’t remember if it was the science museum or on loan to another one but I do remember going to see it. 

So, it sounds as if the huge hangar is still unsafe for the public to enter.

I appreciate it would cost shedloads of £££, but given the rarity of some of the “exhibits”, I would have thought that fixing it ought to be a priority.

Having fixed it, they could then charge for entry, as other Science Museum outstations do, to start recouping the costs.

Obviously far too obvious for the halfwits that seem to be be in charge of national aviation museums these days.