The RB-45s flew operationally as ‘RAF crewed’ aircraft so it is possible that, if he did fly on one of the operational missions, he was issued with an RAF Logbook to continue the deception if crashed (BUt logbooks aren’t flown are they?)

More likley is he was given an RAF log book while working with & training the RAF Flight at Sculthorpe

Mmm, not sure Jasper’s photo shows either the full four colour Temparate Land scheme nor one of the Tropical schemes in use either – if you note, the darker green is outlined, whereas the shadow shading scheme is upper/lower fuselage division

My suspicion is that the ‘border’ might be Dark Earth, left as an edge from painting over the Dark Earth on a european schemed aircraft with light earth for use in the Middle east. Dependant on when it was first painted, as this aircraft was in the Middle East in 1939, it may have been painted in the ‘Munich’ scheme of Dark Earth/Dark Green uppers only

Edit – incidentally, the aircraft shown in the photo is quite a famous Gladiator, L7619. It’s illustrated in the Osprey book on Gladiator Aces, but I have’t got that to see the profiles in there

As I’m sure Andy knows, and Paul may, this is no UK-size lake. Windermere, the UK’s largest (natural lake) is less than 6 square miles surface area, while Sebago is 45 square miles area! Windermere is deep at a max of 220 ft, but this is half again at 316 ft max.

James, sorry, but you are slightly wrong here. Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater natural lake in Great Britain (27 Sq Miles, deepest point 600 feet), and Lough Neah is the largest in the UK (151 Square Miles although not that deep, at max 80 feet).

Loch Ness is 21 Sq Miles, but can be up to 750 feet deep

R7881 spent the winter at Langley where the fitting of the AI VI was completed and it was painted in the then current NF sceme of Medium Sea Grey with Dark Green disruptive pattern. It went to RAE Farnborough for trials in April 43 and on to FIU Ford in June. It was with FIU for a year, then flown to 3 Tactical Exercise Unit at Honiley (they were short of Typhoons). By 21 September 1944 it was with Marshall at Cambridge where it was rebuilt and redelivered to 51MU in May 1945. Scrapped there, September 1946.

At some point she also was fitted with the four bladed prop as well (and possibly the Tempest tailplane). F.K Mason apparently claimed she was painted in a sand/green experimental night fighter scheme as well.

I wonder if that is now liable for inheritance tax or Capital Gains (or both – would a medal be included in valuation of an estate?)

It’s interesting that you can sell a VC but not the US Medal of Honor.

You contact the TNA at Kew or RCAHMS, simples. All the info held is freely available for anyone to look at, and at cosyt usually to copy.

Must admit I thought that the aerial photography section moved to Scotland a while back.
Welsh airfields (and all military) is held by the National Assembley archives.

It did – this thread is almost two years old

Odd thing for RAFM to take on – doesnt seem their sort of thing at all!

Still nice to see a bit of local history that I wasnt aware of until recently…

Bruce

Is a bit – but then as RAFM property it could be preserved and loaned out to an appropriate museum with proper safeguards, rather than be scrapped.