the greasy, waxy substance is cosmoline. Many NOS jeep parts are still wrapped in the stuff. I always find the easiest way of cleaning things off is to just drop them in a bath of turps.

Other ways of use included wrapping the boxed part in wax proof paper and then immersing the complete package in the warmed liquid cosmoline. There is a certain pleasure to be derived from unwrapping these parts nowadays and finding they are a good today as the day when they were manufactured 70 odd years ago

have you tried googling “Port Victoria PV” – that seemed to bring up quite a lot for all of the PV series – including 3-view drawings

Three or four times a week, I see Tiger Moth R5136 in wartimw training colours up from nearby Netherthorpe aerodrome. I must buy a flight one day – would be quite fun to drive up in the jeep and then fly in the Tiger

Just been up to Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster today where the BBMF Dakota gave an excellent short display at quite a low level.

Something here

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080803/spectrum/main4.htm

I wonder what else lies behind hidden doors in the sub-continent……….

Not my shout – but in my mind as it will be the sole survivor, it represents and commemorates everyone who flew, flew in and perished in Barracudas – so to some extent the serial number is inconsequential. Having said that, if one of the assurances given to the families of the crew of DP872 was that their aircraft would be rebuilt as a commemoration then I think that promise should be honoured.

An alternative would be to give the rebuild a serial number of one more that the serial number of the last Barracuda II built – that way nobody can attribute the aircraft to a particular crew – and the source airframes can always be listed on an explanatory board adjacent to the rebuilt airframe. 99% of people viewing wouldn’t care about the serial number anyway.