Regarding Post # 21 and, in particular, the Auster Arrow that was not in the photograph of the static display, another report says that it was to have been exhibited but, on the day before the show opened, someone realised that it was powered by an American engine and it was moved ‘out of sight’.

On the other hand, AJ Jackson wrote that, having first flown earlier that summer with a Class B registration (Z-1), it “was exhibited as G-AICA at the Radlett SBAC show the following September“. G-INFO says that it was only registered as G-AICA on 9 September 1946 (three days before the show – another case of cutting it fine), though Jackson says the C of A wasn’t issued until 20 September 1946.

The contemporary report will be correct: G-AICA was present but withdrawn from view*.

I know that the objective of the SBAC was to show off (and thereby promote the sale of) British aviation products but, at that time, import restrictions were tight, so the home market was surely pretty well assured. Thus, the Auster Arrow, with its Continental engine, was effectively only available for export and one would have thought that the potential for the overseas sales of its airframe and its equipment and the resulting contribution to the UK economy would have been of overriding concern.

* I was going to say ‘withdrawn from public gaze’ but Radlett 1946 was not a public event – it was by invitation only.

Thanks, Mark, I suspected not, so it is good to have that confirmed.

I don’t know how many staff photographers the Ministry of Supply employed at that time but I’ve seen a Flying Officer L.H. Hammond mentioned in this context around the same time. A selection of aerial photographs of a Meteor IV (EE521) were credited to him and Charles Brown.

At the instigation of the Ministry of Supply, the RAE, in June 1946, put on a ‘Display of British Aircraft and Equipment’, at which three Seafires appeared. Around the same time, this cartoon was published:

The previous issue had a one-page report. I’ll try to scan it and post it here.

Was the photo of the Seafire 47 actually taken at Radlett or was it a Supermarine publicity photo that was used, do you know?

And let me add, for the record, that I did really badly in the recognition stakes.

Here are a couple of views from ground level [click to view each larger]:

Herewith the originally posted photo with the key (there are more details in the subsequent posts – see over):

G-AGRF was the Tudor at Radlett and, yes, the Hastings was indeed TE580, complete with a prototype ‘P’ on it, I believe.

I had noted the similarity of the two when viewed from above, from behind and from a distance.

It seems that the Martin Baker M.B.5 did not attend the Radlett show in September 1946. It (R2496) was, however, at the Farnborough air show on 28 June 1946 but, as I understand it, that was an RAE event, not under the auspices of the SBAC.

The Radlett show was over two days: 12 September for the static display (I assume that this was the day on which the photograph at the start of this thread was taken) and 13 September for the flying display. For obvious reasons, Short Brothers could not show flying boats at the static display but did contribute to the flying display. I do not know if any other aircraft not in the static display on the first day still took part in the air on the second day.

There is one (land-based) aircraft that did take part but is not in the photograph at the start of the thread. It is the Auster J/2 Arrow (G-AICA) that was owned by the Auster aircraft company. I wonder if this was the aircraft from which Charles E. Brown took that photograph. Does that make sense?

The AEROPLANE SPOTTER cover shows the ‘clipped wing’ Meteor I mentioned earlier. It makes the engine nacelles look even larger, relative to the size of the rest of the aircraft.

The Cierva W9 (PX-203), which is #1 in the aerial photo of Radlett, has no tail rotor as it used exhaust gases ejected sideways to counter the rotational effect of the main rotor. There should be a photo of this research helicopter, taken at the Radlett show in 1946, at the end of this post. It bears a prototype ‘P” on the side.

As indicated on the cover shown above (in Post 15), there is a double-page spread on the “SBAC Aeronautical Exhibition” inside which includes a photo of the “Seafire F.Mk. 47”. It doesn’t say the photo was taken at Radlett but the aircraft also bears a large prototype “P” on the side.

The Viking displayed at Radlett was VL226

The inside exhibition had drawings and/or models of aircraft ‘in the works’ as it were. These included: the Bristol Type 167, Mk.1 (the Brabazon), the Cunliffe-Owen Concordia, the Hermes IV, the Vickers VC.2 (forerunner of the Viscount?), the General Aircraft G.A.L. 60 Universal Transport (forerunner of the Beverley) and the Airspeed AS.60 Ayrshire (freight version of the Ambassador) – all nose-wheel designs. A couple of the helicopter designs – Fairey FB-1 (also called the Gyrodyne) and the Bristol 171 (later the Sycamore) – had nose-wheels but I’m not sure if these count.

Finally, #11 in the line-up is a Hastings. From this angle and at this distance, it looks similar to the Tudor next to it (#12).