Bert Stiles “Serenade to the Big Bird”
Edwards Park “Nanette”

Steve Birdsell both for “Flying Buccanners” and for “Log of the Liberators”
Edward Joblonski for “Flying Fortress”
Roger Freeman for “The Mighty Eighth”

If you were going to limit my reading to two books to keep me going it would be The Mighty Eighth and Flying Bucaneers

What the heck, it’s Spitfire XII stuff and it gets the blood pumping.

Stan May, 3rd from the left between IO Lord “Gizzy’ Gisborough and Tom Slack. S/L Tom “Ginger Neil to the left. Leslie Prickett on Slack’s left, unknown, Hugh Parry on the right. Of the named pilots, only Neil wasn’t shot down. Slack was shot down twice, walked out the first time, and POW the second. Parry was shot down and made a POW. Leslie Pricket also was shot down and made a POW. 5% of the Spit XII production was lost with those 4 pilots. Scary when you think about it. Tom Slack lost a 3rd Spit XII as well when he ran out of fuel over the Channel. Behind May is Ross Harding who was shot down by friendly flak while chasing a V-1. So it’s 7% of Spit XII production lost in that photo. Harding survived.

Photo taken early Summer 1943

Stan May is back row 4th from the left. Coltishall July 1985

I had a chance to meet and talk to Stan May back in 1985 at the 41 Squadron reunion at Coltishall.

He recalled that they were escorting medium bombers and he spotted E/A. He tried to call them in, but his radio was dead. He broke into them and got the top of his fuel tank shot off and his controls shot out. He bailed out and managed to evade with the help of the French underground.

MB800 was the first EB-B and had one kill to it’s credit when Polish pilot Jerzy “George” Solak claimed a 190 off Folkstone on June 4, 1943

Stan May while at OTU in a Spit

I was wondering how many there are in existance as i think i know of one in the uk and small bits of one here in switzerland.

EN224 is the only one I’m aware of. Mark12 could give more detail, but Peter Arnold had the firewall and some bits combined with other Seafire XV parts and other Spit bits that were going into the restoration of EN224. I believe the EN224 project is with someone else now and under restoration.

I’d be curious as to what Spit XII the parts in Switzerland are from? I know that a couple of Spit XII crash sites have been investigated in France.

There is bodies trapped in the Arizona we all know there still in there can’t see the yanks getting them out they call it a war grave.

The only difference i can see here is they want the plane out of the sea and the crew is still there, not sure whats best to leave the bodies on the sea bed which of course is now a skeleton or to bring up for a burial.

Interesting point above with the RN if you died at see you were buried at sea no difference here really.

To be clear. They got all the remains out of the Arizona that they could safely recover. Outside of raising the wreck, which based on the damage wasn’t feasible, they were unable to safely recover any other remains.

Also remember that the they did raise Oklahoma, West Virginia, California and all remains were recovered.

The two pilots remains could be safely recovered. The Arizona comparison doesn’t ‘float’ Considering remains of American soldiers from WW2 are still being recovered, some from far more difficult locations, it again seems tragic to me that the two RN pilots aren’t being brought home.

It is an absolute tragedy that the aircraft and the remains of the pilots aren’t recovered. It’s really a time capsule. And I’m a firm believer if that pilots can be brought home, it’s the right thing to do.

There are enough Hurricanes around to do it right. How about Paul Richey’s book “Fighter Pilot”. Battle of France and all that