I have a note that the BL628 was ferried by the ATA from 6 Ferry Pool, Ratcliffe – Castle Bromwich to Lichfield. The pilot possibly ‘Jackie’ Moggridge.
I’m glad you mentioned that Mark12. A few years back, the CBC aired a series of Canadian heritage vignettes on television. One of the vignettes showed a Spitfire coming in for a landing and when some of the pilots gathered around to see who had flown in, they were astonished when a female hopped out of the cockpit. When my grandfather saw this on television he got really excited, exclaiming that’s exactly what happened to him. He remembers receiving his spitfire and being astonished when a female hopped out. We were never sure who that pilot was or whether it was BL628 or another Spit. I would think it’s a fairly safe bet now that it was BL628 and that Moggridge was that pilot! 🙂 That’s a great piece of history we never knew.
Could it have something to do with the fact that at the time no. 401 converted to Mk IXs, and quite a few (if not all) of its Mk Vs left the unit about that time, going different ways?
I’ve gone back through my grandfathers logbook for the period from late July to early August 1942 which reads :
July 27 – Spitfire YOD Gravesend to Martlesham Heath :35 – To Martlesham for weeks rest. This is the last time he flew BL628
There are 7 entries on August 1, 1942 where he flew Spitfire Mk. IX’s YOF, YOA, YOD and YOB. All Spit IX’s show Duty entries of Air Firing. On one entry he wrote “Darn good aircraft. SQD got Spit IX”
My understanding is that there was a fairly quick transition to the IX’s from the V’s, hence the entries of multiple V’s leaving on the same day. There are no further entries in his logbook where he flew a Mk. V.
I have a quick question for everyone – My grandfather was the recipient of the ruby-eyed silkworm from the Irving Air Chute Company for bailing out while under fire. We’ve got fairly good documentation on this pin. He was also awarded a pin of a pilot’s boot with a wing coming from it which we’ve learned is the “Late Arrival Club” pin (?). We are assuming he received this after being an evadee behind enemy lines in France after bailing out. Does anyone know where I can find more information about this pin? I can’t seem to find information about it anywhere. Thanks!
Here’s a great picture of my grandfather and Billy Bishop. He came to tour 401 SQD and wanted to meet my grandfather.
UPDATE – On the website, I’ve also included all of the pilots that flew BL628 in the 401 Squadron. Click here for details.
Cheers!
Robert Flindall
Director
National Heritage Warbird Foundation
http://www.warbirdfoundation.org
[email]rob@warbirdfoundation.org[/email]
Hello Brett and QldSpitty – thanks for your posts.
Brett – I’ve just read that recently too. Hopefully a certain Foundation will be the owners by then… 😉
QldSpitty – I’ve seen the cockpit section that fellow is making and it’s fantastic! I’m sure he’s had a few requests from numerous people regarding their Spit rebuilds. They way I look at it, he shouldn’t stop at the cockpit section – he should just keep building till he has a complete Spitfire. Now that would be an accomplishment.
What we’re after is a little bit different. It’s a full motion, mobile flight simulator similar to the one below :
Now imagine the simulator above completely painted in RCAF colours with BL628 splashed across the side, like the typhoon, coupled with a mobile museum dedicated to the men and women of the RCAF AND a static and aerial display of BL628 flown by the grandson of the fighter pilot from WWII. Now that’s an attraction!
It’s a matter now of putting this in front of the right sponsors who can see the vision we have for this project and making it a reality. Everything right now hinges on raising the capital to purchase BL628 and bring her home.
Thanks again for the posts and keep them coming!
Robert Flindall
Director
National Heritage Warbird Foundation
http://www.warbirdfoundation.org
[email]rob@warbirdfoundation.org[/email]
Hello David and EN830,
David – I’ve been in contact with Vintage Wings (http://www.vintagewings.ca) over in Gatineau, Quebec and have had a great chat with Tim Leslie at their organization. They’ve provided me with some valuable insight into our project. I will be calling CWH to have a chat with their organization and will likely take a drive down to visit with them. We’ll also be contacting the major aviation museums to see if they are willing to assist with the mobile museum. Initial inquiries have already shown some interest.
One of the most promising things we have on the go now is an ongoing discussion with the CBC regarding documentary potential. My ultimate goal is to fly Marion – it would be a great tribute to my grandfather. I’m not sure if there is any family member in the airshow circuit flying their father/grandfather’s aircraft from WWII.
Our greatest challenge, like everyone else that is working on vintage aircraft, is money. The current asking price for Marion is $3 Million USD. What makes her fairly unique is that she’s an earlier model Spitfire – a converted Mk. III who has actually seen combat – quite a bit of combat in fact. I’ve noticed over the years that most flying Spits are Mk. IX’s or higher which is fantastic, but Marion is closer to the original vision created by Mitchell. We have quite a bit of information and artifiacts on Marion and my grandfather, including his logbook.
As an aside, for anyone living near Trenton, Ontario, you can see a display of my grandfather at the RCAF Memorial Museum http://www.rcafmuseum.on.ca .
EN830 – Marion does have quite the history. There are actually two versions of the picture you’ve included of which we have both originals. The picture was taken in 1942 when the 401 Squadron was in Gravesend. You can clearly see Marion on the fuselage. One of the shadowy figures you see at the bottom is my grandfather. There are two colourized copies of the picture. My great grandfather was a photographer and enjoyed colouring black and white photographs which is what he did here. One one of the pictures he’s drawn in a swastika on the fuselage – a very proud father! The swastika never existed on the actual aircraft.
Here’s a great pic of Scotty and Marion together :
Keep the great posts coming! I’ve got a lot more great pics on our site with many more to be posted so check in and have a look.
Robert Flindall
Director
National Heritage Warbird Foundation
http://www.warbirdfoundation.org
[email]rob@warbirdfoundation.org[/email]
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