Black6 at Wattisham

Yellow 14

Mark

Sorry not white 14 but yellow 14, picture I believe was taken at RAF Shawbury, note canopy has not been swapped with the one on the 109e yet.

Fluffy,

Thanks for the correction. I will edit the caption.

Mark

Behind the Asda in Speke/Hunts Cross, LiverpoolThe Asda was on the site of the old Triumph factory where I believe something aviation related might have been made during the war.
Rob/Kansan

Wasn’t the Speke factory run by Rootes (building Blenheims and Halifaxes?) during the war?
Triumph were part of Standard Motors (building Oxfords and Mosquitos) who were absorbed into BLMC/MG Rover whereas Rootes (Hillman/Humber/Singer) sold out to Chrysler and are now part of Peugot.

Roger Smith.

Kansan

Nope, sorry, but – wrong! – that’s definitely not a Hillman Husky. Without a doubt, it’s a Standard Vanguard staff car, that stalwart of the British military in various marks throughout the Fifties and well into the Sixties. And in Pic 1, it even carries a CO’s pennant, and in the line-up a few messages down, there, third from the left is Wattisham’s Station Commander, so the Vanguard probably brought him to the photo shoot.

CoF. You are a true spotter, sir, and I bow to your superior knowledge. It’s been a long time (as Led Zeppelin once said) been a long time, been a long lonely etc etc…

R/K

Kansan

Nope, sorry, but – wrong! – that’s definitely not a Hillman Husky. Without a doubt, it’s a Standard Vanguard staff car, that stalwart of the British military in various marks throughout the Fifties and well into the Sixties. And in Pic 1, it even carries a CO’s pennant, and in the line-up a few messages down, there, third from the left is Wattisham’s Station Commander, so the Vanguard probably brought him to the photo shoot.

Incidentally, can anyone confirm that the guy 2nd from the left is Jeff Hawke?

Just to tie this in with another thread at :

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45669&highlight=Lightning

The Lightning T.4 ‘X’ of 56 Sqdn (XM989?), together with 111 Sqdn’s T.4 (XM992?), was taken from the unit at fairly short notice. They re-appeared later as T.54s, stopping briefly at Wattisham on delivery to Saudi Arabia. As I remember, the red and white checks and the black and yellow lightning flash were still just discernable. So, it’s a 1-in-2 chance that the Lightning in Pic 1 and in the thread above are one and the same.

Well, somebody might be interested …….

Allan

Mark

Sorry not white 14 but yellow 14, picture I believe was taken at RAF Shawbury, note canopy has not been swapped with the one on the 109e yet.

Great photos!

In the Henlow shot, there seems to be a big dent in the spinner that wasn’t there when it was at Wattisham. The u/c legs seem much more compressed as well. Plus some idiot had painted RAF style yellow tips on the propellor blades!

Rotating canopy

This is good stuff and thanks for continuing to post the pix.

I have a question about parts being swapped between the 109s. If you look at the 109E pic it seems to have the late style “Erla” (aka Galland) canopy. While “Black 6” is in the Airfix kit camo scheme (1968) it has a regular canopy. Then in the picture of “Black 6” masquerading as “White 14” (1971) it has an Erla canopy. Are these canopies in some way related? I assume there was a limited supply of 109 canopies in the UK at that time. The train spotter-librarian in me would like to know the 109 from which they originated but that’s excessive detail. 🙂

Just curious, like.

Rob / Kansan

If you looked at one of my threads from a few months ago I published a picture of Black 6 taken at Finningley in the early 60’s.
With regard to the Hillman Husky’s, in a nearby village that I won’t name, a former eccentric employee of Hillman has gathered a collection of Husky’s so vast that they fill what must be a 2 acre orchard, most of the worlds population must be in there. Sorry, been distracted by a heron fishing in my pond.
Apparently when the company folded he decided that the Husky had great
potential and collected every one he could find, if you don’t know about this place it’s impossible to see and find especially in summer when the foliage is high, but the sight of these cars packed together in such a rural environment is amazing. Apparently a few other gems lurk there as well.
Sorry to go off aviation, thought you might be interested.

Pete – Wow! The motor industry employed some odd people in its time 🙂 Behind the Asda in Speke/Hunts Cross, Liverpool there used to be a TR7 carcass (static restoration) on a plinth behind a metal cage, because they were afraid it was going to be nicked. The Asda was on the site of the old Triumph factory where I believe something aviation related might have been made during the war.

I wonder if we can find a field full of Hillman Huskies using Google Earth. If someone can find an aeroplane the size of a Solent.

I will look for your black 6 picture.

Rob/Kansan

Amazing pictures many thanks for sharing. Anna

Thanks, that’s interesting to see. I never knew where Black 6 had been in the intervening years. Did any particular unit/group/station claim ownership like 1 Squadron and “their” Spitfire 21?

[OT I do remember seeing the 109E that is now at Hendon on display at Biggin Hill in 1965 inside a (big) tent. It was painted an unappetising shade of green I think but I was a mere nipper at the time.]

Also check out what appears to be the Hillman Husky in RAF Blue next to the Landy (and the Lightnings) in Pic 1 on the left. Now there’s a forgotten classic. Have you seen what people are selling them for on ebay, especially the American spec LHD versions? (oh yes).

Rob / Kansan

If you looked at one of my threads from a few months ago I published a picture of Black 6 taken at Finningley in the early 60’s.
With regard to the Hillman Husky’s, in a nearby village that I won’t name, a former eccentric employee of Hillman has gathered a collection of Husky’s so vast that they fill what must be a 2 acre orchard, most of the worlds population must be in there. Sorry, been distracted by a heron fishing in my pond.
Apparently when the company folded he decided that the Husky had great
potential and collected every one he could find, if you don’t know about this place it’s impossible to see and find especially in summer when the foliage is high, but the sight of these cars packed together in such a rural environment is amazing. Apparently a few other gems lurk there as well.
Sorry to go off aviation, thought you might be interested.

I have a recollection of seeing a 109 and a ME 163 on display at a Battle of Britain at home day in the very early seventies. My mind tells me it was Coltishall but it might have been Wattisham.
I’m also sure the 109 had a kind of dummy propellor on it–a sort of mocked up steel cross–anyone got any memory of these two together?

There might have been other WW2 types on ststic there too–I remember being fascinated by the 163 and the tiny propellor on the nose–(I now know that this didn’t provide the forward momentum)–I was only five or six at the time.
Cheers
Andy

Fluffy, the unit at Bicester was actually 71 MU

Great shots

Wattisham

Here is YELLOW 14 (Black 6) at Wattisham on 18 August 1971, photographed by the late Ron Cranham.

Mark

So Septic REU Henlow 68 Who Superglued the Hangar Doors then? Got me A lie in. Regret only that one day! (ex Vandal 3GRSS).

One for you Fluffy,

Henlow 3/June 68, the post Jeff Hawke era.

Septic.

Oops try this one plus one more also 109E at Raf Bicester 72MU

Fluffy,

I see the third one has the optional starboard intake fitted. 😉

Mark

Thought you guys might be interested in these picces of Black6

Thanks, that’s interesting to see. I never knew where Black 6 had been in the intervening years. Did any particular unit/group/station claim ownership like 1 Squadron and “their” Spitfire 21?

[OT I do remember seeing the 109E that is now at Hendon on display at Biggin Hill in 1965 inside a (big) tent. It was painted an unappetising shade of green I think but I was a mere nipper at the time.]

Also check out what appears to be the Hillman Husky in RAF Blue next to the Landy (and the Lightnings) in Pic 1 on the left. Now there’s a forgotten classic. Have you seen what people are selling them for on ebay, especially the American spec LHD versions? (oh yes).

Rob / Kansan