Tangmere1940

I know that I am not part of the Spitfire Society Exec and I am pretty certain that R6915 isn’t either. You want the best to be done with the Svendsen family donation. Frankly, we do too. Unfortunately, if the Spitfire Society is dissolved, the only people with ANY say in what happens is the 3 members of the Exec (maybe the Charities Commissioners if there is a valid challenge to process, but they have been roundly criticised in official investigations so I would not wish to bet my house on their actions).
Personally I would prefer the Society to persist and re-invent itself with new blood coming on board. At the moment there seems a reluctance to “join in”. This could be for many reasons- the general lack of enthusiasm these days for “doing that sort of thing” is one, but not wishing to work with the current incumbents for whatever reason might be another. I have stood for office in the past but ill health prevents me from doing so just now.

If you wish to take up the issue with the Exec, the Spitfire Society website lists email addresses as below:
Michael Hayes [email]deputy-chairman@spitfiresociety.org[/email]
Lucy/Michael Hayes [email]memsec@spitfiresociety.org[/email]
Ray Burgess [email]treasurer@spitfiresociety.org[/email]

If you can help either in keeping the Society afloat or determining an appropriate home for the ex-Tangmere replica you can be assured of my absolute support (and I suspect also of R6915’s).

I do endorse what Steve611 has written in post # 47.

In fact I would go further by saying that I am pretty certain that if the three trustees think that if they get some sort of approval from the small number of members likely to get to Newport, South Wales for 11.00am on Saturday Sept 19th ( also the day of the big autumn Duxford Air Show where, believe it, or not the society has a well manned stand!) the tortuous processes of the Charity Commission will rightly ensure that it will not just happen because they want it to do so on the day the Trustees determine as a closure date.

I know there is now a significant ground swell of anger at this dictatorial decision by Trustees to hold an EGM at a time of day and a location that effectively prevents the main concentrations (including London, eastern England, south and south east England) of members from making an effective presence felt in opposition to their proposal. Particulalrly, as a number of us could make a good guess at what is really behind all of this and steps will be taken to counter this.

The glass fibre replica was gifted to the museum by the Svendsen family under an arrangement which I had some considerable personal involvement with. It was gifted as a memorial to Axel Svendsen of 234 Sqn who made his last flight from Tangmere.

If it is ‘to be disposed’ of then I’m sure the family would wish to know what is going on.

Re post #38 My understanding is that the family were consulted at very great length by the Tangmere people over some months early in 2013. I was told that they gave their blessing to the suggestions made. In fact the replica was stored in the car park outside and open to the weather from late autumn 2012 after it was retired from display inside. The possibility of K5054 facsimile full ownership, I recall, became a possibility from early in 2013.

The facsimile had been on display within the museum for quite a few years previously on a loan basis from the Spitfire Society and it had been superbly looked after by the team at the museum. When it was taken out by the society to be used at the Polesden Lacey event in July 2012 it was damaged by careless supervision of its transport and handling by the then society Exec members. Worse still the cockpit canopy was left open at Polesden and several gallons of rain water were trapped inside the fuselage on its return to Tangmere. Members of both the society and the museum staff who were there to help unload it back at the museum were horrified at its state. The Tangmere team did a great job in reviving it. It took over 3 weeks of running a dehumidifier inside the fueselage to get the last of the water removed. Phil Stock and his team even managed to ensure that the wooden framework did not warp.

That was the catalyst by some society members to ensure it was preserved properly for future years.

I hear there is a chance that it will make a ‘guest’ appearence at Goodwood Revival in September. But carefully looked after as usual by the Tangmere people and possibly Bill Williams who managed the building of it all the those years ago.

RE Post # 29.

Mark, a further aspect to the handover of the Spitfire prototype facsimile K5054 – as Jeffrey Quill preferred to call it – was that the Spitfire Society gained the Tangmere Museum glass fibre former replica in the exchange facsimile. It was quickly taken away by the then society chairman David S. Evans and moved to Cornwall. Few society members know of this replica’s existence and so far as I know, none of the society regional groups has been able gain the use of the replica for any fund raising or publicity purposes due to that lack of knowledge – or so I was told.

The same Mr. Evans is also one of the Directors of the Spitfire Heritage Trust and additionally the more recent Spitfire Trust (both are Limited Companies) and he has used it for some of their fund raising events. I trust the society gained a good rental fee each time from Mr Evans? The society accounts as usual don’t show anything specific, however.

As the society is now, apparently, going to be dissolved by the three remaining Trustees at a forthcoming meeting, one assumes that Mr Evans would then wish to pay a fair price price for the replica that he estimated, in 2012, at around £40,000 – if he wishes to offer to acquire it! This figure is coincidently about the same amount it cost the society to build the facsimile K5054 in 1988 to 2003 and to which you, Mark, and many others contributed at the time.

But the glass fibre replica could not go into the society dissolving sale of assets. Tangmere Museum only exchanged it for the facsimile with a note saying that if either organisation is dissolved in the future the facsimile or the replica returns to their original owner.

That documentation DOES exist. I checked this morning. That should please the many members who are about to resist the closure of the Spitfire Society.

There was (or is) I believe another string to this remarkable man’s bow that of miniature railways. I think that the Great Cockcrow Railway at Chertsey in Surrey runs to a two mile loop of seven and a quarter inch guage track. Computer controlled signalling and points and best of all steam powered! Off thread in a sense – sorry for that – but he will be rightly remembered by many diverse enthusiast communities. RIP – ABC

Wasn’t the two seat Hurricane (one of two) under rebuild alongside the (now) Boultbee Spitfire Tr9 at Thruxton? Then the story was denied and the two Hurricanes (one now flying) became the usual single seat configuration. Later was there not some company ownership change to further complicate the gossip? Or have I got this all utterly wrong? Maybe someone who really knows the up to date and earlier history will set this story up correctly for us……..please!

The spring 1993 edition of the Spitfire Society’s journal – DCO – has an article written by Len Thorne. Len was attached to AFDU and he was giving his views on flying an FW190 A/3 (RAF serial PM679) after it had mistakenly landed at RAF Manston on June 20th 1943. He says the engine always seemed to be harsh and felt rough. Nevertheless he did perform nearly 70 flights in it. Although this is not the same aircraft as the Forum enquirer refers it still makes for an interesting read.

He goes on to say that on March 19th 1944 “the electrically operated constant speed had a fault resulting in total engine failure” He put it down in a field and the powers that be greater than he decided to end their work with it. However it was retrieved and returned to flying condition and lodged with No. 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) Flight at Colleyweston. Flt Lt. Lewendon was killed in it when it crashed into a garden of a house during the final approach to Collyweston shortly after it commenced flying again.

Len was constantly on to call to provide demonstration flights to a variety of military units around the UK. On one occasion he called in at RAF Benson, met up with the AOC of PRU at that time. He took Air Commodore John Boothman for a tour around the cockpit and with permission already granted by the Air Ministry Boothman flew it for a short period. In return Len was invited to ‘try out’ any of the specialist PRU aircraft available at that time.

Len died , I recall, in 2008. He was also acting, in minor way, with FlugWerk in Berlin offering some assistance them. In his non RAF life he was a specialist ‘metals’ man working for High Duty Alloys at Slough. I did have the pleasure of introducing him to Wille Lindsay at a Southampton air show in 2000. Willie was then the last Spitfire float-plane pilot still alive. Dr. Gordon Mitchell’s (son of RJ) joined in the conversation and when I was called away the shouts of noisy laughter from that trio was something else! No doubt Willie was talking about the PINK He111 his Flight had pinched from a German airfield after the Luftwaffe left in a hurry! Just think about using it to fly to Cairo as a truck to carry liquid nourishment back to the thirsty troops in the Western Desert! But alas all three of those gentlemen are no longer with us.

I gather that the He111 was in use for some time until a American General said he wanted it. Willie said he cheekily asked what aircraft he would get in return ….the General offered a new B25 with only delivery mileage on the clock!

If it was AB910 then it was most probably flown by Jeffrey Quill out of Wisley. It may be possible to have his log books checked would this be useful information for the Forum?

As to G-AIDN -the Tr8 two seater, yes it was owned by John (?) Fairey for some years. It was usually kept flown out of RAF Andover airfield. It lost the rear bubble canopy on at least one occasion and I remember seeing a “Have You Seen A ….. on your field or garden” in the local newspaper! I think we are looking forward to seeing it take the air again soon….. this year maybe ???

Somewhere in my collection I have a partial copy of the DB test report on this Spitfire. Also an English translation. When I asked DB some fifteen years ago if the complete report was available from them they told me that it was a gap in their archive. Apparently US Forces ‘liberated’ the document and they think it is (or was) somewhere in the American Library of Congress but they could not find it!

I have tried to look there as well, but quite unsuccesful I regret to say! By the way on the topic of unusual DB engined aircraft, does anyone have a photograph of the Yugoslavian licence built Hurricane that was fitted ( and it is rumoured flown) with a DB engine when Merlin’s looked to be scarce? Now that would be a find, as would a photo of the Mark l Spitfire Floatplane that was floated on the Solent near Folland’s back yard in the spring of 1940! Not flown of course. Any offers?