BBMF PM631

PM631 arrived back at RAF Coningsby today. A lovely series of passes over BBMF before landing. Lovely sight and sound on a cold winters day. Well done all!

TJ

The pilots that flew the PR missions was this there only job or did they also fly the fighters in combat?

Aircrew belonging to RAF photo recce units were engaged solely in photo recce operations. Some may have had previous experience as fighter pilots but this was uncommon. In the early days of the PRU fighter pilots were frowned upon as they weren’t considered to have the requisite blind flying and navigation skills, or the correct temprement. Most pilots came from the RAF’s Lysander, Blenheim and Battle squadrons. It wasn’t until 1941 that pilots straight out of training could be posted direct to 1 PRU where they received in house operational training. Many aircrew spent all their operational flying careers serving with photo recce units, others went on to serve in other roles (Met Recce, GR, fighter, transport etc).

I wonder if the BBMF would consider painting some of their aircraft in their civilian schemes?

Defeats the purpose, surely.

I wonder if the BBMF would consider painting some of their aircraft in their civilian schemes? Blue Hurricane, Grey Spitfire, not sure about the lanc.

Ray Holmes book should be essential reading for anyone interested in a WWII expert.
He shot down the He111 which crashed on Victoria station in 1940, and as the thread shows , was still an expert PR pilot late in the war.

The reason it looks blue is because that is how it should be. Here’s some background on it from the guy that researched it, namely myself. The scheme represents the aircraft flown by Flt Lt Ray Holmes of 541 Sqn RAF Benson, on 7th March 1945 when undertaking a PR mission to photograph the port of Harburg, to the south of Hamburg. He was intercepted by two separated Me262 jets but managed to evade them and still got his pictures. Anyone wanting a really good read should invest in a second hand copy (it’s out of print) of “Sky Spy” by Ray Holmes. There is no fancy artwork or mission symbols because the aircraft simply didn’t have them. There may have been a small code letter beneath the serial number but the Sqn Operations Record Book for the 7th March is not seeming to be in existance at the National Archive. Further research on the identity of the Spitfire concerned is ongoing at the present time and any code letter that turns up will be appended to the scheme at a later date. 😎

Roobarb

The pilots that flew the PR missions was this there only job or did they also fly the fighters in combat?

…The scheme represents the aircraft flown by Flt Lt Ray Holmes of 541 Sqn RAF Benson, on 7th March 1945 when undertaking a PR mission to photograph the port of Harburg, to the south of Hamburg. He was intercepted by two separated Me262 jets but managed to evade them and still got his pictures…. There may have been a small code letter beneath the serial number but the Sqn Operations Record Book for the 7th March is not seeming to be in existance at the National Archive. Further research on the identity of the Spitfire concerned is ongoing at the present time and any code letter that turns up will be appended to the scheme at a later date. 😎

Roobarb

Hi Roobarb,

According to the 541 Sqn ORB (Form 541) Holmes was flying PM145 on his 07 Mar 45 sortie. The pilot reported seeing eight rocket trails twenty miles distant which stopped at ~18-20K (some 5K below his own height). The entry makes no mention of any interception and states that no photos were taken due to all targets being obscured by cloud.

The ORB doesn’t record individual aircraft codes.

Best Regards

Andy Fletcher

Noted and actioned.

Spitfire Survivors www.spitfiresurvivors.co.uk New edition to be published February 2011 – click and register for advanced notification.

When will Vol 1 be available – any news yet?

Great news, is that ‘Smithy’ at the helm?

Some pictures of her airborne can be found on the Duxford Update news page on the link below. Congratulations to all at BBMF and HFL, she looks the bees knees once again.

http://www.duxford-update.info/

Ps. The pics on the link are a good example of how different colours can look in different light conditions, or with different cameras. The PR Blue looks different in each of the four pictures!

Absolutely superb.

Gosh, to think of some of the ‘horror’ schemes in the early days of the Memorial Flight, we have come a long way.

They’ll all be in Vol. II.

Mark

The reason it looks blue is because that is how it should be. Here’s some background on it from the guy that researched it, namely myself. The scheme represents the aircraft flown by Flt Lt Ray Holmes of 541 Sqn RAF Benson, on 7th March 1945 when undertaking a PR mission to photograph the port of Harburg, to the south of Hamburg. He was intercepted by two separated Me262 jets but managed to evade them and still got his pictures. Anyone wanting a really good read should invest in a second hand copy (it’s out of print) of “Sky Spy” by Ray Holmes. There is no fancy artwork or mission symbols because the aircraft simply didn’t have them. There may have been a small code letter beneath the serial number but the Sqn Operations Record Book for the 7th March is not seeming to be in existance at the National Archive. Further research on the identity of the Spitfire concerned is ongoing at the present time and any code letter that turns up will be appended to the scheme at a later date. 😎

Roobarb

Quick snap from today.

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It looks ………….blue!

Very nice.

On a similar note, I can’t wait to see PL965 in her authentic 16 Squadron scheme, too.

Neither can I :p – needs about another week.

PM631 – very nice job 🙂

Very nice.

On a similar note, I can’t wait to see PL965 in her authentic 16 Squadron scheme, too.

Quick snap from today.

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That’s great! Very much looking forward to seeing pics of her 🙂

A little birdie tells me it flew this morning.