Spitfire Mk.9e TE566 (frighteningly old thread!)

Yes it was – to be resurrected as a two seater I gather.

Hi. Was this the spitfire that was at Ludham Airfield Norfolk UK in the 80’s?

Not sure if it,s the same Spit but remains of her are in storage at Aviation Australia in Brisbane in,some say pending rebuild the rumour was a few years ago.

Same Spitfire.

Mark

“It’ll all be in the book” 🙂

Not sure if it,s the same Spit but remains of her are in storage at Aviation Australia in Brisbane in,some say pending rebuild the rumour was a few years ago.

agreed Der…knocked me back a bit….bless you Steve

Can this be flagged up as an old thread? Its a very old one and includes input from a forumite who is sadly no longer with us.

Spitfire TE566

Hi all.
Any news about a restoration of this warbird?

Avi

RE: TE566 and images in poor taste

Steve, Glad we speak the same language (so to speak).
In that case you owe the landlord of The Walnut Tree in Rowhedge £1.90 for a pint of Mighty Oak “Maldon Gold”.:9 I’ll have it at luchtime on Sunday and send you the bill 😀
Cheers and good health…!
Phil.A.

RE: TE566 and images in poor taste

Phil, thankyou. You’ve put my feelings on the subject into far more eloquent words than I could have written. If I was there, I’d be buying you the seventh beer mate.

RE: TE566 and images in poor taste

It would be easy to make the following statement.
“Photographs of crash sites can only serve two purposes, 1) in the assistance of investigation into the crash by those officially involved in doing so, 2) to satisfy the ghoulish nature of some strange individuals.”

However we should consider the fact that in following our interest we have all read books/magazines and seen documentary films where scenes of serious injury or fatal incidents particularly in times of conflict have taken place.
To give a few examples I would lay good money that among those that gather on these pages there are few who have never seen the newsreel of the Hindenburg falling in flames with people jumping from the gondolas or pictures of the crumpled remains of Bader’s Bulldog when he lost his legs.
I this electronic age there are some superb websites for those involved in historical research for instance the one that logs hundreds of aircraft wrecks in the Pacific region. Behind every image there is a story involving real people that in many cases ended in sorrow. There are Websites devoted to D-Day that have pictures of the sea running red with blood, others for the Battle of Stalingrad with depictions of the bodies of retreating German soldiers that had frozen to death at their posts.
Compare these with the well publicised photograph of the charred remains of an Iraqi soldier taken at the end of the gulf war, the bones of his fingers still clutching the wheel of his lorry. They all bring home the fact that war is a ghastly business but is it that the previous events tragic as they were took place many years ago, and therefore somehow we find images of them less distressing ?

When the two seat Spitfire fatally crashed at Goodwood the BBC news website contained text and two pictures. A photograph of the machine in flight taken in happier times and single image taken from a medium distance of the crash scene. This reported the event both factually and with respect.
The website that we are discussing here however has scenes taken at many crashes some with several images of a particular incident. The shots of the South African Spitfire crash are taken from only a few feet away, the photographer was standing in amongst the wreckage and in one there is even the charred remains of a shoe in the burnt grass. This is when a website has been set up not to serve the purpose of being factual or informative but to try and shock or be just plain vulgar, and this is what we find distasteful.

I think the issue here is the number and content of pictures of a particular incident, where and how they are collated and the time frame invloved that brings into the debate the question of decency and taste.
The picture of that Iraqi soldier appeared around the world in many mediums and on many news websites within hours of him meeting his maker. At the time it was factual, informative and horrific.
Years later it can still be found on sites where there in nothing but similar images.
Here the fact that, despite whatever view you hold on what he was engaged in doing at the time of his death, he was still someone’s son or father and brother is not an issue. Here the owners of these sites have no regard for the human tragedy involved. It is these sites where the boundaries are crossed from information to obscure titillation and lack of human decency.

The web can be a wonderful and educative thing. One of it’s great attributes is the freedom of speech that it facilitates and encourages however,it is a sad fact of life that there are some pretty sick people out there that have and will continue to host websites where all you can see is pictures of human suffering. Why ? because there are other like minded individuals who gain some perverse pleasure from doing so.
But that’s the risk you take with the the world wide web. You get the whole wide world in your living room, warts and all.

On a lighter note it is a glorious day and a Tiger Moth has just phuttered over the village, I’m on a day off work and thinking about going to my local for a beer or six. All is well in my little corner of the globe.
Cheers !
Phil.A.

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

Just type in TE566 in any major search engine and you should come across it.

Cheers

Paul

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

I trying to find this site, at least let me know what its called.

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

Philip, to my shame I did the google search, and immediately wished I hadn’t. Two comments: firstly, TE566 is an absolute mess. I doubt whether much of the aircraft will ever go again anyway, as the impact and fire seem to have rendered pretty much everything un-usable. In that respect, very little of the actual original aircraft will fly, and somehow I fel a little easier about that. Can’t really explain why.

Second point, having seen that particular website; there are some very sick bunnies out there. What possesses someone to collect air accident photos and display them on a goddam website? (Although those of us who have seen the site have paradoxically contributed to this sicko’s website hit tally). It makes me shudder to think there are wierdos out there like that. 🙁

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

Hi Guy’s

Looking at the pictures I tend to disagree, yes it is possible that this aircraft can be rebuilt, but using how many original parts?

Very few judging by the extent of the wreckage.

In which case the history of the aircraft has gone with it’s originality.

Kind regards

Ian Le Sueur

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

I did find some pictures of the wreckage of TE566.

I am not going to post a link because of the sensitive nature of this, but if you use Google and search for TE566 there is a website showing aircraft wrecks.

I do not agree with the rebuild of aircraft that have taken a life, but some people still believe that the aircraft should fly again. Fair enough, everyone has their own views on this matter, but after looking at these photos, yes, it could be rebuilt, but I do not believe it is the correct thing to do.

As I said, this is my opinion on the matter

Philip.

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

A posting yesterday on www.warbirdindex.com states that it will be rebuilt to fly:

“However as to TE566, this aircraft still has a lot to offer and much is still recoverable. The tender closed for the sale of this aircraft on the 30th August and I can assure you the aircraft will be placed back into the air as it has history and a proven one.”

The words ‘cans’, ‘worms’ and ‘opening’ spring to mind…

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

It crashed and killed its owner/pilot earlier this year in South Africa.

“Mike Snoyman, the owner of Spitfire MkIX TE566 recently purchased from Andrew Torr, was tragically killed when the aircraft crashed at Wonderboom airport, north of Pretoria in Gauteng, on 25 April 2002. Initial reports suggest engine failure may have been the cause, this site will be updated as more information becomes available. News visuals suggest the aircraft is a complete write-off. Our sympathies go out to his wife and daughter.”

http://www.saafspitfires.co.za/updates.htm

Philip

RE: Spitfire Mk.9e TE566

TE566 tragically crashed earlier this year in South Africa killing the pilot. The airframe was completely destroyed but by what I have heard on the grape vine it could be the subject of a rebuild using the manufacturer plates.

Kind regards from a wet Jersey.

Ian Le Sueur