Pete TrumanInteresting map, BlueRobin, it’s still a pity that the Test rig couldn’t have gone somewhere else, but I have been informed by a former local like myself that it was done deliberately by Rolls Royce to prevent use of the main runway.
Were concrete runways in place during the war, I’ve Googled but can’t find anything, the main runway in it’s eventual form must have dated from the mid 50’s at least, as during that period we could hear the take off noise from our house in Wollaton, which is several miles away. I also recall an aircraft from there breaking the sound barrier around that time, we stood in the garden and watched it and heard the sonic boom, we suspected it was one of the early P-1’s, any one know?
I notice on another current thread re the Southend mystery aircraft, a reference to the Ambassador, a great favourite of ours which was flying about nearly every day.
I also remember sitting by the fence and watching some poor sod attempt to keep the Flying Bedstead straight and level and untethered.
I used to go to Bilborough Grammar, now sadly demolished and only a few miles from the airfield. Every May, when we were doing exams, they used to air test the Spitfire, probably as a practice for the Whit airshow and it inevitably used our substantial playing fields as an aerobatic area, I used to find it difficult to concentrate, someone should have told them.
Pete TrumanUnfortunately they have that mast rather stupidly stuck in the middle of the original runway, I was told that this was done deliberately by Rolls Royce to prevent further use of the airfield, apart from light aircraft on the grass strip.
It’s a real shame as the great Hucknall airshows from the past can never be repeated, unless someone has a secret hoard of Semtex of course.
DB, I’m assuming that the first fitting of a Merlin to the Mustang was carried out at Hucknall and that the first air tests were carried out from there, it would be interesting to know the last time a P-51 visited the place, certainly not during the classic airshows of the 50’s to 70’s unless the Mustang that won the Kings Cup air race at Tollerton circa 1968 paid a visit.
Pete TrumanGawd, I feel for you Pete – a sad day made worse by Mr. Murphy!
I did wonder how the day would pan out for those outside at crash gate 3 – crash gate 4 would have been much better for viewing the flypasts and take-offs (but offering far less room I admit).
In the station’s defence, the flypasts were advertised as being over the parades (and practiced as such) – along the runway would not have been of much use for that. I agree it’s a great shame but deliberately putting on what would in effect be an air display for the public would put the RAF in a lose-lose situation with the press likely to crucify them for wasting public money etc. (look at the reports of the recent Jag deployment). The Hurricane cancelled early in the morning, and the Spitfire cancelled not long afterwards – the weather has us all at its mercy, as the rain also proved.
Incidentally, the Jags had to backtrack on the runway as the taxiways were still blocked by seating and the parade dais; the BAe 146 was parked the other side of this blockage so could taxi normally.
I agree with what you say, sorry, I’ve been in a bad mood all day and should have taken the time to say how superb your pictures were, due to madams bad back, I now have to slink off into the spare bedroom to try and get some kip. Incidentally, I did video the hordes at the end of the runway but I’m unable to get the vid to play it back, it was too warm tonight for me to have the excuse to light the fire with the bloody thing.
Pete TrumanExcuse my ignorance, but I didn’t realise Argonauts had Merlins, why were they so equipt compared to DC-4’s.
Pete TrumanIt was a British Midland Herald, the tail of which you can see in the distance as pictured at Jersey Airport 1966, also found a clearer picture of a Derby Airways DC-3 at Derby, early 60’s.
Pete TrumanConsul/Steve,
Yes indeed you were both correct.
She was delivered to Southend from Riddle Airlines of Miami on the 19th April, 1962 after a 21 hour flight via Gander. She was then flown to Wymeswold on the 25th April for a Check 4 by Field Aircraft Services. Unfortunately there was a huge dispute over the bill which meant she was unable to enter service that year and did not actually enter service with Channel until Easter 1963.
Also at Wymeswold on the dayt the photo was taken (sometime in the Summer of that year) was an Aden Airways Argonaut (see photo) and apart from some visiting Jet Provosts on a training exercise that was it, so pretty sparse!
Pete – Thanks for sending in the Derby Airways Dakotas. I assume by DC4’s you mean Argonauts.
Correct, in 1966 we were waiting to fly home from Jersey when it was found that the Trumans had been omitted from the schedule, it looked as if we were on to go back on an Argonaut, which I thought was pretty amazing at the time, but my mother had remembered the Stockport aircrash and wasn’t too keen, we ended up flying home in a Herald with just 2 other passengers during a violent thunderstorm which upset her even more. Best rollercoaster ride I ever had.
Pete TrumanThe only two Flypast enclosures that I actually enjoyed being in were Waddington, 1992? when my old man had a good old chat with Ken Ellis and sat right in the middle and front of the crowd line, and North Weald, the year the two Bf109’s formed up with the BBMF flight, when it was situated up the south end of the runway, otherwise, forget it, especially at DX.
Pete TrumanHow about Derby, Derby Aviation, later British Midland operated DC-4’s from there.
This is a picture of DC-3’s at Derby in the early 60’s
Pete TrumanDuring the war, while my father was away in the army, my mother lived with her parents in a bungalow on Trowell Road, Wollaton, Nottingham, about 200 yards west of the railway bridge. One day, she was out on the front lawn with my brother in his pram, when a German bomber flew very low along Trowell Road heading west and straffing anything that moved as he went. She grabbed my brother out of his pram and dived under the front hedge, fortunately avoiding any injury.
About half a mile up the road at Balloon Crossroads was the testing plant for Rolls Royce aircraft engines, still there, but now an industrial unit and heavily defended during the war, in fact there is still a concrete pillbox in the field across Trowell Road from the site. Obviously the raider was after this site and mother claims that the AA batteries opened up and brought him down, however, I can’t confirm this, does anyone know?
As my brother was born in September 1943, this would put the date of the raid just after then, was there much activity around this time?
Over to the experts.
Pete TrumanGary Numan was interviewed on the Jonathan Ross show a week ago, mainly to promote his new album, however the flying was briefly mentioned and I got the impression that family commitments had in fact taken precedent and that his wife had not been happy with the dangers of too much flying, I may be wrong, but I also felt that there was a suggestion that there had almost been a nasty accident.
If I have the nerve, the next time I see him in Tesco’s at Dunmow, I’ll ask, as he seems a decent bloke, I still have 3 very dusty albums of his on vynll.
Pete TrumanCheers for that, I just realised that it was a year ago today that the disbandenment took place of the other 2 squadrons, same sort of weather too, freezing cold with the threat of snow.
A 16 ship take off with probably a couple of reserves will be a fitting finale, I’ll have to find the ear defenders for that.
Only other questions are, is anything happening on the last official day, March 31st and does anyone know the proposed time of the flypast, I remember that the Phantom farewell lasted several days, though I acknowledge that the Jaguar isn’t quite finished yet.
Pete TrumanInteresting how a few glasses of vino can produce such a thread, I suppose the references to well worn friendsreunited women reflect the historical theme of this site.
Personally I would leave friendsreunited well alone, I did innocently contact some old female pals some years ago, who turned out to have aged very little in nearly 35 years and were even more impressive than they were at school, this caused, (naturally), a bit of fear and loathing with my other half.
Please don’t turn this into a site of adulation for fast cars, I hate the bloody things. I have a regular client base of about half a dozen developers with a few extras thrown in. Three of them are Ferrari owners and fanatics, then we have the Bentleys, the Jags, Maserati’s and only one Porsche, which drives like a bitch by the way, I feared for my life in that one.
I can borrow a Ferrari whenever I want, I have driven the beasts about before, but it’s not my thing, and I don’t think it ever was.
So can we get back to a/c and leave the cars and elderly women out.
Tee Hee, it’s a laugh really, looking at the previous posts, my missus is 23 years younger than me, perhaps thats why I don’t give a damn about Big Boys Toys.
Pete TrumanWhat about the ‘Over Here’ TV series?
Was this the programme featuring Martin Clunes as the twitchy Group Captain, I can’t remember, I don’t think it was, whatever it was called, it was a black comedy and a good one too. It featured a mistaken attack by a Spitfire, piloted by Sam West, on the Sally B, I can’t remember which one it was, but the Spitfire featured in several scenes, similarly there was a very cool ground attack on the American base involving Black 6 and the DB powered Buchon, I remember seeing both of them at Duxford painted in a temporary grey camo scheme following the filming.
There was another TV production based on the career of Richard Hillary which was filmed at Swanton Morley and featured several Spitfires, surely Ray Hannah was involved in both of these productions. Somewhere in the mouldering collection of videos that I have recorded off the TV, I have copies of both these programmes, but too many people have picked over them for me to reach succesfully on to the shelf and read the credits.
There was also an episode of Lovejoy that featured P-51’s, one of my clients has a copy of this so I will have to borrow it and look at the credits for that.
Pete TrumanMy old man hated the sten, he had many tales of it going off by accident and settled for twin colts instead. The only use his company had for it in Germany was to discharge the things into haystacks at night and get rid of the rats so they could get a decent nights kip.
Adrian
Been trying to track down some old OS maps of Sampford today without success, however I think that they are in the possesion of my ‘retired’ structural engineer in Lt Dunmow and I should be going round his house in the next few days so a raid will be on.
Pete TrumanAny comments on the Spitfire programme, BBC4, 7:00.
Made in 1976, introduced by Raymond Baxter and featuring some classic characters, including Bader, Johnson, Tuck et al.
I don’t remember seeing it before, it must have been first broadcast the year I first moved down here and we didn’t have a telly at first.
I would be interested to know what spitfires were flying then, apart from the BBMF and RR examples featured, I can’t think of any. Apart from just discovering fledgling Duxford with Sally B parked outside, I wasn’t involved in to much aviation activity at the time, possibly Mildenhall but probably not till the fogged out Coltishall 40th BoB anniversary when several spitfires were due to attend, I’ll have to get at me slide boxes out and see.
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