the Dirty Dozen location

Its in the background you have to look very closely to see it!

Its only when you look at the aerial views you realize what a little site RAFM were allocated. No doubt they fought for a bigger allocation with no luck.

I’ve never seen the film, what was the helicopter type?

During a symposium, back in the 1970s, to introduce the reprints of the Spitfire and Hurricane manuals, John Tanner told me that the original plan was for the airfield to remain “live,” and become a second Duxford. Ken Livingstone, then leader of the GLC, had promised that there would be no building on the airfield’s land; obviously he shared the view of my (ex) girlfriend, “Promises are like piecrusts, made to be broken.”

I remember looking out at those large empty fields from the train..there was a nice cricket pavilion there as well, if I recall correctly. The Museum was very well situated when first built, now utterly buried by development. Pity.

(Looks like the pavilion and pitch are still there, just NW of the RAFM.)

re;

thanks Moggy. Quite fascinating!

The scene with Donald Sutherland as a bogus officer ‘inspecting’ Robert Ryan’s troops was apparently filmed at Hendon aerodrome, as was, in 1966/7

If you want to see the original layout of the airfield which is basically to the West of the Museum then Google Earth and its date slider are your friend.

Moggy