Couple of old pics from Middle East

Codes 2 and 5 are on the #35 photo too.

One or two more with a naval flavour.

1 Fairey IIIFs IIIB refuelling on the Nile. One is S1834 coded 2. another is coded 5.
2 Osprey K4322 coded 079 being catapulted from warship. This must be post 24/05/39 as that is the date it was transfered to the Admiralty.
3 Caption on the back says Navy Pom Poms.

Glyn

This looks a lot like the first pic, wonder if it’s the same place.
phil.

Thanks, Alex.

I misunderstood the Admiralty date as the date the RN received the aircraft. Thanks for the info.

Glyn

Hi Glyn,

Osprey K4322

Delivered to FAA Pool Gosport 7/8/35. To Lee-on-Solent for conversion to floatplane 28/8/35. To 445 Flight 3rd Cruiser Squadron in HMS Galatea (coded 079) 6/9/35. Became 713 Flight in 15/7/36 (still with Galatea).

To workshops Kalafrana 15/4/37. 802 Suqadron for HMS Glorious (back on wheeled undercarriage) by 9/37 to 10/37. To Air Depot Aboukir 22/5/39. To Admiralty charge 24/5/39.

Info from Fleet Air Arm units and ships 1920 to 1939. by Ray Sturtivant, Air Britain publications.

I don’t yet have the book that deals with the FAA in WWII, so I don’t know the fate of this aircraft.

Alex

What the bl**dy hell is the first one?!

It looks like a Lysander’s shagged a dalek…

I had to LOL at that one!

One or two more with a naval flavour.

1 Fairey IIIFs IIIB refuelling on the Nile. One is S1834 coded 2. another is coded 5.
2 Osprey K4322 coded 079 being catapulted from warship. This must be post 24/05/39 as that is the date it was transfered to the Admiralty.
3 Caption on the back says Navy Pom Poms.

Glyn

Tch.

Tube for anchor chain is a “hawse pipe”

Memory’s goi.. what?

Sorry I cannot assist any further with the date of the photographs. A friend gave me about a dozen with almost no information. One pic has to be pre June 1933 and one post May 1939. But where the two of the carrier come I do not have a clue.

The Wellesleys must be between 1937 and 1939 and probably be at Heliopolis.

If I can deduce any thing else I will post it.

Glyn

Great pics, love this sort of stuff, and it’s very rare. Amazing how much is still turning up!

Cheers

hear, hear!

Roger Smith.

I think it’s the ‘anchor-chain fairlead’

Don’t be too hard on the Potez, it’s hardly odder than the Handley Page Heyford. Heller made a kit of the Potez incidentally, very nice. On the topic, the Farman F222 was a four engined similar configured beastie, with two pods with push-pull engines – and the first aircraft to bomb Berlin in W.W.II.

Great pics, love this sort of stuff, and it’s very rare. Amazing how much is still turning up!

Cheers

Like I said, I am not positive but it depends on a few things. One of which is the date of the picture: if it is post 1935 then it has to be HMS Courageous since Glorious had the rear of its flight deck extended during its refit. But I still have not found a convincing picture of Courageous in a dark colour scheme – they all appear as though they are just under exposed and need lightening, whereas the pix of Glorious in a dark colour scheme are (mainly) well exposed – and I still have not found any pictures of either Courageous or Glorious with a band around the funnel: that, coupled with the correct paint scheme, would be the real decider for me.
The ‘anchor porthole’ (no, I don’t know what its called either!) might be a clincher, except I cannot find a picture of the stern of Glorious from the starboard side before its refit (ie before it gained a second line of scuttles – portholes – when the stern was raised above the waterline); so I can’t write off Glorious just for that. Since Courageous, Glorious and, to some extent, Furious were of the same original class of light cruisers they all bore some design similarities and their original sterns were one of these. Yes there would be a few differences but I doubt that there was going to be much difference in the location of an anchor housing – the pictures I have of the port side and rear of pre-refit Glorious do not show any such hole in the hull, so I have to assume it was on the starboard side or not there at all – and large ships really do need these things!
Must investigate the aircraft sometime…!

Flood

I’ll stick with HMS Courageous.

If you look at the stern of Glorious there is no, what I would call an anchor ‘porthole’, there is on Courageous and on the photo Glyn posted.

If you look at the link below, near the bottom of the page you will see an almost identical photo of Courageous.

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_courageous.htm

Alex

I think, but not positively, that the carrier is HMS Glorious pre 1935 refit (when the end of the flight deck was lengthened).
Its definitely not Furious or Eagle – they had either no island or two funnels respectively at this point. It might be Courageous, but only if someone positively identifies that band around the funnel and that it wore the darker paint scheme; I have pictures of Glorious in that all over dark scheme (but not with the funnel band…).

Any more?:)

Flood

Hi Glyn,

Nice photos again.

The carrier is HMS Courageous and my reasons are;

Glorious had a ‘W’ structure holding up the rear of the flioght deck.
Furious has too small a super structure.
Eagle has two funnels and a full flight deck, I think.

The rear aircraft on deck appears to be a Fairey Seal. It’s the only radial engined twin bay fleet air arm aircraft I can think of that was used the same time as the Osprey and Nimrod.

The Ospreys have the exhaust that goes under the leading edge of the lower wing, the Nimrods had straight exhausts.

Currently researching the Hawker family at the moment so very interested in the aircraft and the ships they flew from.

Alex

A long time since anyone posted to this thread. Here are two more pictures from the same source during the mid to late 1930s, this time with a naval flavour.

The first shows a carrier with aircraft along the side. Which carrier and what are the aircraft. I believe the carrier must be one of:-

Courageous Eagle Furious or Glorious. Having seen photos of Courageous and Eagle I do not think it is either of those two but they may have been refitted.

The second picture I think is of the same carrier with aircraft on deck with engines running. The aircraft seem to be a mix of Ospreys and Nimrods but one is the rearmost one? A Fairey Seal?

Your expert opinions will be greatfully received.

Glyn

Another couple from the same period

Yes the first one was a Potez 540 of the Frenhc Air Force serial X98. The second was a vickers Wellseley of 45 Squadron probably during 1938 as this a/c was struck of charge in 1939, the aircraft in the background is a Valentia possibly of 70 Squadron or 216 Squadron. I do not know where the picture was taken.

Now a Victoria flying over Helipolis and could be of 216 Squadron.

Another Victoria. How would you have liked being a paratrooper in those days?

I can see both photos and have to agree that French planes from that era looks kinda “interesting” :rolleyes: But on the other side, neither the Breguet Sahara or Hurel-Dubois HD-34 can be descibed as sexy…! 😮 However, having seen the Dewoitine 501 in the Heller model kit catlogue, I have to admit it looks nice in a sort of way. I’m sorry I never built a kit of that plane! Are there any survivors around? Here are a couple of drawings of the Dewoitine 501.

T J

Is that a Vicker Valencia(?) or similar in the background of the first pic? Any idea where the pics were taken?

Is that a Vicker Valentia(?) or similar in the background of the first pic? Any idea where the pics were taken?

Even after clearing my IE cache I can see the photos

yep me too.. the front of that Potez would be a great place for growing tomatoes… 😀