574 “fuelling our curiosity”

You have just posted your age MK12.Not wishing to be ungrateful but could you do the “pilots notes” thing “before” you go to bed tonight.
And whilst i am on i think you should be up for a “Spitfire day” (with images) somewhere central, so we can find out about the lessor known antics of your chosen subject.
I will get the C/man of the S/Soc to write to you.

574 “The Conspiricy theory”

Now; come on chaps no one is going to buy the “doctored dent theory” as there would have been no point to it at the time (or since)
I suspect that given the location the RAF were relieved that the episode passed off with little outcry and the “SOP” of not allowing more flights over London was a good enough cover to veil the reason for the power failure.
Whether the fact that it was an “American Merlin” up front also helped to confuse the issue is also a convenient veil.
I do remember at the time that the reason given for the flights ban was due to the “unknown cause” of the incident.
I bet it was not unknown to the engineering dept who recovered the machine plus a host of other Mk16 drivers.
Perhaps MK12 will post a diagram of the MK16e fuel system (which i believe had an extra “fitted” tank) therefore making it different to the numerous and much operational MKV and MK9.
This will also save the destruction of a fine ash Cornish shovel handle that would have been sacrificed on the alter of “Stumps Test”.

574 “Forensic”

Sorry Merlin (that bump on the head must have hurt) this thread has “believers” or Non believers and no “sitting on the bails brigade”
When we have the image of the damaged stumps the full might of our local “WasTech now thinks its a university” stress dept is going to consider the evidence and give an independent opinion.
I hope this will put the “dent” in independent.
If this fails we may have to ask the Government for a full enquiry as there may have been a “covers” up.

574 Bail out

AgCat We need your help;any chance of posting an image of the stumps as they are in the case at Halton.
I would not bother you normally but the non believers are getting restless and have to be quelled.
We may need a “symposiom” on this at the Bromley Court Hotel to sort it out.
The plus side is we are getting some great images from MK12 and others whilst this is going on so we will have to quell them slowly until we have seen them all.

574 Nose to the ground

Rg If you look at the spinner damage the nose was “WELL DOWN” whilst it was slowing down and would have dropped back when it stopped: (probably when he hurt his back)
574 would needed to have been “forced” onto the ground to have stopped in the space available.When you look at the lack of flap damage they prob only touched at the end of the run when the tail dropped.
This means you have landed on a snakes head and must come back with a better alternative.
As for the indent spacing; the problem there is all the images have been taken with a different camera/lens combinations and at different angles so are difficult to compare, also as the impact was prob not absolutely “square on” but more of a glancing blow; this would alter the spacing.
I will be surprised if hitting them at 50-60 will not indent the material.
This is a fab thread i have waited 50 years to see images like this.

574 Deadstick go around !! not easy

That puts us back to my post of the 2nd Dec 22.12 I stake my claim and also the prize for the “spot the ghost of 574 competition”
Thank god we have not got to dig it up.
Can we get on to Lord Lucan now.

Jayce your FIL name of Ravensbourne Park may be a bit confusing does he mean the area now called Shortlands Golf Course.
Many thanks for the help with this. PC

574 Come back all is forgiven

Extend your blue line DOWN to the bottom of that field then very slightly to the right (as you are looking at it)
Best guess as the evidence allows !!

574 Tea Break

If you look at the image of 574 with the cricketers in the background; behind them is a straight hedge/fence line with housing in the background and higher ground behind that. There is also evidence of a structure amongst trees closer to 574 than the cricketers.
The field outlined in red does not match that in any way.
The comment from JAYCE FIL of “the canal” gives us an extra clue in so much that the river in the southern most field (with the golf course taking the bottom right corner) has concrete banks and is straight (bottom l/h corner)
When MK12 gets back to us with some extra images from another angle this should confirm it all.
My slight concern is that there is no evidence at all of ground disturbance re the Ack Ack guns installation however they may have been in the smaller overgrown area between the sportsfields.