SPITFIRE RW393

So perhaps the Flypast article was complied from out of date information. i hope RW393 is going to stay as a display aircraft and not sold abroad.

I am confused. The June issue of Flypast shows on page 53 a photograph of “TB675” currently in storage and on page 55 lists RW393 on display at Cosford as XT-A. Has it been repainted and is it at Cosford or Stafford?

Still at Stafford in store and likely to remain there for the time being.

Mark

Oh to have a big enough garage to put Spitfire bits in! The most I have manged is a Chipmunk fuselage!

Milnathort wings

Thanks Robert,

In fact James Mackay never did part with them. He just liked the social contact of people dropping by to talk about them.

When he ‘reached the end of the runway’ Dennis Kay secured the whole yard and and its contents and shipped over 50 large trucks of material down to a derelict warehouse in the Wigan area.

The attached shots show the wings departing Wigan on yet another ‘GM Bedford extended road test’ for Southern pastures. 20 August 1977.

Some vibrant colour here still for students of post WWII Seafire livery.

Mark

Thanks Dan that looks great. Heres a picture for Mark of the Spitfire Wings at Milnathort, poor quality I am afraid. They are lying against a wall of tyres.

Forgot I’d done that Spit a while back.

Dan

Hello Mark. That could be right about Milnathort, my memory is quite poor, I remember seeing the wings stacked against a wall. On a visit to NAM Neville showed me a Seafire in the yard (from Carlisle?) I presume these eventually went to Peter Arnold.

Thanks Moondance RW393 is one of my favourite aircraft, I suppose it started me off being interested in aircraft. A pity its still not marked at XT-A. The Green and Brown scheme , although not authentic looked good. 😉

But looking marginally better by the early 1970’s.

Anybody commenting on the current paint scheme may care to reflect on the the late 1960’s attempt, whilst on the Turnhouse gate.

Neville didnt make many journies North. I remember that he visited scotland for the first time (Possibly for a BAPC meeting at East Fortune in the early 1970’s) he telephoned to say he had just passed Newcastle and would soon be in Edinburgh! Needlesss to say it was a few hours before he appeared. I saw him about 5 years ago at his house in Newark but his sight was very poor. Great Characters Neville, Charles Waterfall and Peter Green who did an enormous amount in the early days to get Aircraft Preservation going in Nottingham.

Robert,

This sound suspiciously like the time Neville and I drove up see James MacKay’s scrap yard at Milnathort to see if we could prize those Seafire XV/XVII outer wing panels away from the venerable gentleman. March 1972.

Mark

Thanks, Fluffy.

607 Sqn RAuxAF

Forgive me for asking, as I’m not too up on Auxiliary Air Force markings etc, but whose codes does the Spit wear in that shot?

Thanks Mark. Your comments agree with my thoughts about this airframe. I used to have a colour photo but the codes were a lot smaller than in the picture you provided. I see that it was taken by Neville Franklin. Neville didnt make many journies North. I remember that he visited scotland for the first time (Possibly for a BAPC meeting at East Fortune in the early 1970’s) he telephoned to say he had just passed Newcastle and would soon be in Edinburgh! Needlesss to say it was a few hours before he appeared. I saw him about 5 years ago at his house in Newark but his sight was very poor. Great Characters Neville, Charles Waterfall and Peter Green who did an enormous amount in the early days to get Aircraft Preservation going in Nottingham.

PS Any more photos of same airframe welcome

On a slightly different tack has anyone got hidden away in their files a picture of the Spitfire TE462 which has been at East Fortune since 1971. Taken before it arrived there?

Robert,

It doesn’t look like you have too many takers on your request so here is shot by Neville Franklin taken on 19 March 1961.

It was taken at RAF Ouston. The Spitfire was there from August 1955 to August 1970 and was painted half a dozen times in variations of RAN-B, camouflage colour and roundels.

Mark

I was told by the person who painted RW393 that it was to represent a specific aircraft. I dont have a problem with that but the serial should be retained. I was advised that it is to be the travelling Spitfire to be used when one is required for display. This may happen or not!!

On a slightly different tack has anyone got hidden away in their files a picture of the Spitfire TE462 which has been at East Fortune since 1971. Taken before it arrived there?

After its sojourn in St James’ Park in London it has reappeared at Cosford according to the following thread:

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49577&highlight=rW393

Many Thanks for the info G-ORDY. As someone says in that thread I cannot understand why they have changed the serial.

I think you will find it has arrived at Cosford

After its sojourn in St James’ Park in London it has reappeared at Cosford according to the following thread:

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49577&highlight=rW393

I would also like to know, as Turnhouse was always my overnight stop on the way from North Luffenham to Alness for servicing the radars on the Air Sea Rescue boats. Happy days in the early 60s!