DX in the 70's

Did the B-24 ever fly while at Duxford?

T J

Exciting times at Duxford

I believe this would have been early 1975

Here’s one of the low passes

At the extremeties of the crowd line the low passes were sometimes overhead. Getting a photo with a 135mm lens might mean waiting a while ungil the wings could be fitted in to the shot.

Looks like Neil Williams in MH434 ? If it is, it’s a tad sobbering looking at these wonderful pictures that Neil, Ormond Haydon-Ballie and Don Bullock are no longer with us, RIP.

Cracking photos Merlin 70, brought back loads of memories of the days when things were far more relaxed at Dx.

I remember the Sunderland sitting in one of the hangars awaiting the two halves of the fuselage to be rejoined – it had been split horizontally for transit and the upper half looked as if a whole fuselage had simply half-sunk into the floor – most odd.

IWMs BIg Beautiful Doll P51 was gleaming in the spring sunshine on one of my visits, whilst the “chinless” unpainted Sally B sat out on the flightline. Who’d have guesse dthen that we’d one day see three B17’s sitting on the flight line, and many P51’s too…The photo of the Dewoitine made me realise just how much i had “forgotten” of those days. Good to see it.

I also remember one of the East Anglian “wreck recovery” groups had a fairly extensive display of recovered artifacts there too.

Might be time to dig out, scan and post some of my old photos of the same period.

Paul F

I know that it’s not at Duxford and the photo quality and framing leaves much to be desired (a miserable day, weather wise, and I was still learning how to pan and shoot), but I thought that this image of Sally B, making a very low level pass along the runway at the Biggin Hill Air Show in May 1979, might interest some. You can get some idea of the height of the pass by reference to the figures in the foreground. They don’t do it like that now!

There is a photo in the 1979 Biggin Hill feature in Air Classics of John Hawke in B-25 N9115Z, really mowing the lawn. Actually he’s sweeping the runway clean during the pass, and the author says something like “there seems to be a contest of how low can you go between the bombers”.

T J

Anymore? The 70’s & 80’s is the era of DX that i wish i could’ve witnessed, by far the most exciting time to be there IMO!

I will need to catch up with some scanning in order to post more. I am probably about done for the 70’s but have many hundreds of prints from DX in the 80’s.

Are there any particular a/c that are due an appearance?

! Now I’m not one to believe in ghosts but…………..!

Behave now !!!!:D

Is that someone waving out of the Bomb Aimers position in that pic ?

I’ve looked at it under a magnifying glass and it appears to be a hooded figure waving from the forward glazed area! Now I’m not one to believe in ghosts but…………..!

…. and OHB taxiing his Fury right up to the hangers before sitting astride the cockpit and chatting to the on lookers. Quite impressionable to a young schoolboy back then.!

Anymore? The 70’s & 80’s is the era of DX that i wish i could’ve witnessed, by far the most exciting time to be there IMO!

I did and it was…

That was in the days when the aircraft were the purpose of the place (it being an airfield after all) rather than the priorities of car parking spaces (right outside the hangars) and ugly buildings that dominate the scene of today although to be fair there are a few aeroplanes in between the boats and corporate entertaiment facilities…:rolleyes:

Anymore? The 70’s & 80’s is the era of DX that i wish i could’ve witnessed, by far the most exciting time to be there IMO!

Lovely pictures:) some great memories there.

Looks like it.

I recall seeing a pic of Sally B in an old book (the name of which I forget) – head-on, low-down, at much the same altitude…

I know that it’s not at Duxford and the photo quality and framing leaves much to be desired (a miserable day, weather wise, and I was still learning how to pan and shoot), but I thought that this image of Sally B, making a very low level pass along the runway at the Biggin Hill Air Show in May 1979, might interest some. You can get some idea of the height of the pass by reference to the figures in the foreground. They don’t do it like that now!

Is that someone waving out of the Bomb Aimers position in that pic ?

The B17 (N17TE) now known as Sally B was displayed by Don Bullock who did his bit to keep the wheat that grew between the runway and display line free from pests by flying below 100ft for the full length of the airfield.

I know that it’s not at Duxford and the photo quality and framing leaves much to be desired (a miserable day, weather wise, and I was still learning how to pan and shoot), but I thought that this image of Sally B, making a very low level pass along the runway at the Biggin Hill Air Show in May 1979, might interest some. You can get some idea of the height of the pass by reference to the figures in the foreground. They don’t do it like that now!

I notice Ed Shipley sits up high when he is taxying a P-51 back in.

Nice nostalgic shots by the way.

Great photos that brought back a lot of memories.
My, then fiancee, moved down to Dunmow in the spring of 1975, I used to come down this way from Nottingham nearly every weekend when she got a flat in Braintree, until I moved myself in late 1976.
Not ever visiting this part of the country before, we used to go touring about all the time looking at the sights. I can’t quite recall how we came across DX, I was interested in aviation at the time, but I doubt whether I knew much about the place, no internet in those days.
One saturday afternoon in 1975, I think we were returning from Cambridge and we went over for a look, I probably remembered the airfield from it’s BoB filming days and was just curious as to what had happened to the place.
Approaching on the A505 from the east, I was astonished to see a big silver aircraft parked probably somewhere where the M11 is now, it was my first ever sighting of a B-17. No proper fence in those days, we parked at the side of the road and I just wandered round it, I too had my trusty Zenit E and took some pictures, colour slides, I can’t remember what else was about, I presume I took some more and they are stashed in a slide box somewhere.
Without having a proper slide scanner, is it possible to take succesful digital pictures directly off a projected image, assuming that my slide projector works of course, has anybody ever tried doing this. If so, I’ll give it a try, I’d like to get some of these pictures saved before the rot sets in, if it hasn’t already done so.

My first visit was as a teenager in 1975. I remember my dad having to apply in writing before you could visit. After travelling across to DX in his (t)rusty Viva, we were given a guided tour of the site.

I remember most of the aircraft in the photos being there as well as the Sunderland which had only recently been delivered and sat outside one of the hangars.

The place had a very different feel about it then and going into the hangars was a bit like going into Aladdins cave!

My Dad took lots of 35mm slides with his good old Zenit camera and one day I must get them scanned as no doubt time hasnt been kind to them.

Just one question though. Is the Sea Furys seat ajustable or something? Because in that photo of OHB’s example taxing it doesnt look like he could close the canopy. Or was OHB just very tall?

Yes.. i think its adjustable to help with taxiing as i remember seeing Mark Hanna in the OFMC’s Baghdad Fury with himself in a similar position ‘perched on high’.