Mystery Spitfire location

Would this be the Airfields and Their Architecture of Southern England book?!

I don’t think so. 🙁

‘Around the World in 80 da…ta plates’ courtesy of Paul McMillan.

Mark

“It’ll all be in the book” 🙂

Would this be the Airfields and Their Architecture of Southern England book?!

fantastic!

Even the damage to the cladding is correct.

I don’t doubt its Eastleigh, but I can’t see any matches for any of the damage to the cladding. I can see a possible match for the camouflage.

Do I win a lollipop then??

Regards;
Steve

Top marks Steve. I can caption with confidence.

Comparing the images side by side there are small structural variations that can be accounted for in the passage of time. I am guessing your shot is 60’s/70’s.

For me it is the fingerprint of the camouflage pattern residue that is the clincher.

So we have Mk XI PL983 purchased/acquired by Vickers in July 1947 for the US Air Attaché. Flown from 39 MU Colerne to Eastleigh. It is summer. The aircraft is stripped out for inspection and rectification on the apron at Eastleigh as the photograph. Flown to South Marston for painting in the N74138 attaché’s livery and dispatched to Chilbolton on 7 January 1948. Lympne races , Lettice Curtis 1948, Shuttleworth etc,etc.

Many thanks.

Mark

“It’ll all be in the book” 🙂

No …but well done !
Where did you find the photo ! Or is it your original ?
I only ask because the 125 parked there almost looks to be in BAe ‘colours’

rgds baz

Do I win a lollipop then??

Regards;
Steve

fantastic!

Even the damage to the cladding is correct.

Looks like Eastleigh to me…

Regards;
Steve

Well, that narrows it down a bit…!

I seem to recall that Castle Bromwich was subject of a big camo scheme to appear as housing which would therefore not math the circular camo on the pic?

Castle Bromwich?

Well my info turned out to be poor. Looking again it does seem to be an A or B type hangar from the roof and gable design, but annexes odd, maybe A/C companies had their own deviations.
These were pre-war designs, so thinking aloud would this rule out Chilbolton?
But it could be right for South Marston!

…..Where are these aviation architecture enthusiasts when you need ’em? Mark

All on AIX?:)

Roger Smith.

Chilbolton was also used by Supermarine for the Belgian Spitfire contract. Could it be there?

Chilbolton, I do not know, but certainly no Belgian connection in the image.

The adjacent Mk 21/22/24 is I believe significant.

Where are these aviation architecture enthusiasts when you need ’em?

Mark

Chilbolton was also used by Supermarine for the Belgian Spitfire contract. Could it be there?

As its a black project, perhaps it is the ARC/HFL hangar in Area 51!

This has developed in to a guess the Spitfire competition and that was not my intention but I am happy to let it run and to keep it bubbling in my endeavour to confirm the location.

Logically it is South Marston. The South Marston inspectors dispatch register, of which I have a copy, says this machine was there.

‘The book’ has developed and grown over recent months, but one of its core themes is to present new images of early ‘in service’ shots of the surviving Spitfires. This shot is one and I do not want to trip up on the location in the caption.

This image also needs at least a couple of hours of photo-shop to get it up to publishing quality.

Please bear with me on my reluctance to reveal the whole image but I will certainly expose the serial area for comment over Easter.

In sparkling quality …”It’ll all be in the book” 🙂

Mark

Oh! and PS. None of the above guesses are correct.

Gordon Brown’s new bunker!:confused: