I did ask him recently, through a third party, if he remembered the circumstances on that day – more out of interest than anything else.

I have found much about Bill’s last mission on that grey day in February 1940via the net – much more in fact than his immediate family ever knew. I had hoped that Oberst Falck’s response might have added the final piece in the jigsaw, but sadly he could remember little of that day – still at least I tried to pay my own tribute to the memory of one of thousands of aircrew on all sides lost during that time of conflict.

Thanks Jeepman – although can only find the reference to Barracca’s Spad on previous posts that I missed – apologies – anyway here is the revised Spad VII list:

S153 Museo Storico dell’ Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Vigna di Valle
S248 Louis Blériot, GPPA, Angers (under restoration)
S254 Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget, Paris (high degree of originality)
S1420 Museo Storico dell’ Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Vigna di Valle (high degree of originality)
S2489 Museo Francesco Baracca, Lugo, Ravenna
B9913 Canadian Aviation Museum, Rockcliffe (note shares identity with VAM example, little original material remaining and contains inaccuracies in its construction)
B9913 Virginia Aviation Museum, Richmond, Virginia (note shares identity with CAM example, built from parts left over from CAM example’s restoration, again contains little original material but better built than CAM example, original woodwork now sold on again, in Arlington, Washington State)
B9914 Kermit Weeks, (incomplete aircraft, wrecked by storm damage, now under rebuild)
B9916 San Diego Aviation Museum
S11583 Vojenske Muzeum (Czech Aviation Museum), Kbely
AS94099 NMUSAF, Dayton, Ohio

Vigna di Valle have another Spad 7.C1 ex Fulco Ruffo di Calabria (serial ?) which was used as a travelling exhibit for many years

I have a vague recollection that this is the one that has been restored recently – is Gregory still visiting and could confirm that?

surely a spelling mistake – don’t you mean “millstone”?

i seem to recall that there was a flurry on one of the old boards – maybe WW or WIX in its early days, about one or other of these being found in a lake – ? I suppose the example shown needed to be got rid of quickly as it was probably blocking a runway

Any truth – or a buried Lancaster/Spitfires type story?

this might help

http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/thread/1133180270/

The colour police on Hyperscale will undoubtedly be able to help

try posting there

I think they’ve started work on it now

Weren’t the panoramic windows going to be removed and it be restored as a British civilian DC3 in wartime colours – ie uppersurface DE/DG camo and registration writ large and underlined across the top of the wings etc

Yes, thats right. I think this is taken at Horsham St Faith, although I am not sure if his use of EE549 was post the World Air Speed record by Donaldson. Presumably it was, and James Milne-Robb just picked his SL721 replacement to be EE549 – the “fastest” and most prestigious machine in the fleet! Andy Saunders

After it’s “Star Meteor” role it went back to Glosters and had (iirc) long span wings fitted before transfer to the Metropolitan Communications Squadron based at Bovingdon – presumably this was a flag of convenience for it’s use by Sir James Robb

Short span wings were refitted during it’s restoration to Star Meteor status