I’d also be very interest to see more! I suspect the Beaufighter in question is in fact LZ269, which was a Weston-super-Mare built TF Mk.X.

Andrew

For many years the real XG544 was part of the private collection of Roy Flood, owner of Castle Motors, and parked at his private residence in Tremar, Cornwall. It was sold on in 2000, and hasn’t been reported since. Wrecks & Relics mentioned that it went to an owner in Wales. I’d love to know where it went.

Andrew

Alex,
ukserials.com has the following for XG475:
“w/o 05/12/1963 when the aircraft was damaged by a fire in a starting explosion at Seletar, Singapore, returned to Westlands for repair, but not carried out and broken up for spares and produce, the remains to No.71MU Bicester dump during 05/1967 and scrapped.”
For XG468 it has:
“w/o 25/01/1968 in an unknown flying incident in the Middle East”, but then struck off charge 21/03/1969 at No.389 MU Seletar.

regards,
Andrew

I was out there on Wednesday this week for this first time, sampling the ales in the aviation-themed pub, the Goddard Arms Freehouse in Clyffe Pypard, of which the museum will be a part. They plan to open the museum later this year, which will be a sort of conference room at the back. As the HP-42 project progresses, sections will be displayed in the museum apparently. I was also pleased to hear that the project is still very much alive, as I hadn’t heard much recently. The pub is a bit out of the way, but is only 15 minutes drive from Swindon and the M4. Well worth a visit, even for the pub-side of things (lots of pictures, props and a few odd’n’ends like the fins from a Miles Messenger), and they do a very nice pint of ‘Vulcan’ (or you can have ‘Concorde’), but do what I did and get someone else to drive. The pub also acts as a tea room.

Andy

On the back of a lorry, heading west on the M4 on Tuesday morning (12/3), between J17 and J18: Looked to me like ex-Lasham Sea Prince WF137, as seen from the other carriageway. Was it heading for Saint Athan? or Newquay?

Andrew

I’ve attached three photos that hopefully show that the Anson photos were taken at Filton. The first photo shows the first production Bombay at Filton in 1939. Although it is taken from a point further east, looking north, the buildings are the same. The second is much earlier, looking south west, and shows a Bristol Fighter with a very similar background. The third is a comparison of trees to the north of the airfield. The wing is from the sole Blenheim Mk.II, L1222, in September 1938. The full photo is in my book, Filton Airfield Through Time (unashamed plug).

Ansons were used by No.2 ERFTS at Filton in the late 1930s, and the Ansons of No.2 AONS at Yatesbury would have been frequent visitors. I have a list of accidents at Filton, but it is far from complete and doesn’t have any Ansons.

Andrew

I know this thread is for 2013, but I found Spitfire IX RR232 in the Aerial Museum hangar at Filton today, and it is expected to fly very soon. As the airfield closes on 21st December 2012, that means it must be within the next month. I say ‘found’, I didn’t know it was here, and thought it was still in Exeter. It was looking very good, in primer.

Andrew

I was involved in this little investigation about four years ago, but couldn’t add anything to what you’ve already listed in the opening post.

There were a number of small units in and around Filton at the time, but the most significant were No.501 flying Hawker Hinds (all of which are accounted for in ‘Fear Nothing – History of 501’) and No.2 ERFTS flying Hawker Harts and Tiger Moths. I don’t have fleet list for the Harts. This was originally the Bristol Flying School, run by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, so there is a close affinity with factory.

I’ve got a list of engine test beds in use at the time, but there is nothing obvious there, although there is mention of an anonymous Mercury XII powered Lysander being used by the engine department at Filton around 1938.

Andrew