BlueNoser352Now that called “mowing the grass” !!
Wow…how low is that pass ? Will have to pop the DVD in and see that sequence again, the props look like they are ready to hit the gound on that pass. Looks like something the great Bob Morgan of the Memphis Bell fame once did here in his home town of Asheville, North Carolina. Upon his bond tour he flew the Belle between the city hall and courthouse , he could handel a 17 with ease! If your ever in Asheville take a look and see for yourself, quite a feat of flying. I heard him once tell our Eighth Air Force North Carolina Chapter meeting this. Guess before the days of the FAA , things like this took place very often.
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Sure hope the plan to build houses or what ever they are planning to build at North Weald will be defeated. Can’t see why they ( who ever they are) are making an attempt to take over such a historic airfield that means much to many with regard to
The Battle of Britain.I believe that I once passed the sign for it off the M-25 going from Gatwick to Cambridge …should have stopped in. Here is the states they have fought similar battles over the encroachment of housing and shopping centers covering Civil War battlefields. North Weald is way to historic to lose to some lame housing project, hope it is defeated. Granted new homes and business development is important to the national economy but not at the expense of such history.
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352I have sent a letter to their offices in LA, California and will call the office to inquire about this, maybe enough letters and calls will get someone to listen and get this on the DVD market. This happend here in the states when a bunch of us on the Yahoo site for the 1960’s American TV show “COMBAT” wrote and called Paramount the rights owner to the series. When they did some market research and saw what a large baby boomer buyer market might buy this, it now is out on DVD. Even the NBC series “Ba Ba Black Sheep” the WWII series about US Marine Corps ace , VFM-214 Gregg “Pappy” Boyington is now coming out on DVD. Horrible story line , but great flying with the F4-U Corsair. It won’t hurt to try !!!!!
http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_boyington.html
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Thanks Mike J, guess by the time the news reached here it was over, a historical footnote the editor of the 339th associations newsletter Stephen Ananian flew a P-51 called “Baby Mine” and shot down on ME-262 and damaged another in combat. How many newspaper editors can say they took down an ME-262 in combat? I would think
that Duxford is protected as a national trust or something like that as part of the Imperial War Museum. Great to hear this lame deal won’t happen !
Thanks!
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Dave, Rob and fellow Flypast forum readers….besides the great air to air photography in “Spitfire Ace”, it so supurbly written and full of historical facts and interviews with ‘The Few’ who flew in the critical battle for the survival of Britain & indeed the free world. Love the closing narriation to part four as BOB pilot Pete Brothers takes the controls of ML 407 with Ms Grace and does a victory roll …. “If there was one maneuver the Spitfire was born to fly……it is the victory roll ” !!!!! That says it all about this classic series !!!!!! After work tonight I sat down in one of the edit bays here at the station , cranked up the audio and enjoyed the final part four again…a nice way to top off a monday night at work with the sound of that marvelous merlin coming out of the speakers!!!! Would treasure a chance to talk with Mr Pete Brothers, had he written any books about his BOB experiences? He rolled that lovely Spit like he climbed out of it last week in 1940….amazing !!!
Talley Ho all !!!!
BlueNoser352 !
BlueNoser352Locobuster:
Greetings and thanks for those great links…WOW just looking at those great looking P-51’s get my blood flowing. Might have to get one for Christmas….Of course “CRIPES A’MIGHTY THIRD” being from the great state of North Carolina, Maj Preddy is of great interest to me. Yes, Bob Powell is such a fine man and a great pilot.
I do know about the HUB City writers project and I live out near the old US Army base, Called Camp Croft. I am a television news photojournalist and editor at WSPA-TV
NewsChannel 7, CBS in Spartanburg and have a copy of this great book on the history of Camp Croft. Speaking of 20th Fighter Group, about 10 years ago I once called up Jack Elffery ( SP) about his days in the ETO and he sent me a copy of the groups history or one he wrote….something like Peter ..Three Eight????? Enjoyed our phone conservation and I dont know if he is still living. Correct me if I am wrong here , but the group came over with P-38’s and then of course went to P-51’s later on! I did pick up a great book on the BlueNose P-51’s operated by the West Virginia Air National Guard in the 1950’s and I believe the group came from the 352nd or something like that after the war. What is the story behind the 77th FG, did they stay in the Spartanburg area in the early 1940’s after Pearl Harbor? There were B-25’s based in Greenville ,SC during the war at Donaldson Army Air Base. Now a industrial site and Lockheed Martin operates a repair facility there for USAF & US Navy planes. Love that handel you have….has got to be ground straffing and shooting up trains by our boys in the ETO !!!!! A bit of triva…Maj **** Winters of E Company 506th PIR , 101st Airborne …yes that Maj Winters of Band of Brothers HBO deal..did his basic here as did well over 200,000 other GI’s bound for ETO & other places during WWII. Yes if you know Paul Young pass along my thanks for those great photo’s , they are so sharp and the composition on them tells me this is a very experienced photographer. Regarding Glenn Miller and my original post for many years I have been a member of the Mighty Eighth Historical Society for years and heard so many “stories and tales” at many reunions of the Society meetings over the years, wish his plane could be located or at least find the engine and serial number on the block like the Channel Four documentary was talking about! Send me your private email and contact number off forum, would like to send you something 8th af related you would enjoy watching Locobuster! You have to get the new DVd documentary on the 352nd FG….called The Last Reunion!
Here is the weblink……http://www.lastreunion.com/ Thanks again for the links !
Tom Colones
Photojournalist
WSPA-TV NewsChannel 7 CBS
Spartanburg, SC USA
http://www.wspa.com [email]tcolones@yahoo.com[/email]
BlueNoser352LocoBuster….those are great photos and I see your from W.Virginia, there was a pilot in the 352 FG , Bob Powell, he flew “The By Gawd W. Virginia” nose art on his P-51 Mustang. He is active today with the 352nd Fighter Group association. Thanks for posting those super clear & very colorful photos, what that place must have looked back in 1944-45. A hanger full of P-51’s and P-38’s I believe flew out of Kings Cliff , those are great photos. Also thanks to every one here who posted some great information…thanks so much. Locobuster you don’t have similar photo’s of Bodney , where the 352nd flew from. I had hoped the team from the Channel Four documentary would continue to search that location in the English channel for additional aviation
wrecks. Guess that would be a great project for Bob Ballard and the National Geographic team. Thanks again troops for all the links and info.
A salute from :
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Thanks Moggy for the offer if you have the time, saw your photo you took around 2002 on a website about airfields of the Eighth. At one time members of the 352nd thought about a fund to restore the tower, but cost so much. Which really says much about the group of folks who raised the money to save the tower at the 100th BG. Now they have a nice museum to enjoy. Sent you tapes out on friday !!!!
Thanks!
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Dave, I wrote several post on the Grace website and here in the states its run twice on our History Channel on once on History Channel International. Have it on VHS or three of the four parts. Wrote to see if they were putting it out on DVD. It is a great series and deserves to be out on DVD. I wrote RDF here in the states and Britain’s Channel Four ,so far no reply. I can’t understand how you can spend all this time and effort to shoot, write, edit and produce such a wonderful project and then just allow it to sit a shelf in a production house and collect dust. This one is a no brainer….it would sell like hotcakes on the DVD Market. Do you have The History Channel in New Zealand ? What a great series!!!!!
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Martin Cadin book on the B-17’s used in War Lover!
http://www.ffbooks.co.uk/x1/x9113.htm
Have to locate the paperback , look at the price of this book on the flight over of three B-17’s for the film The War Lover. I said a bit pricey……something about old books !
TC
BlueNoser352Two B-17 scrapped after the film….that’s not good!
Planetrace:
Thanks for filling in some of the details here on the B-17’s use in the film. The mere thought of two rare B-17’s going to way of the scrap heap is a bit hard to take. To bad the warbird restoration movement & Duxford wasn’t around then. Might have saved those airplanes for future generations to enjoy.
Thanks!
BlueNoser352!
BlueNoser352Thanks to this fine group for the information…the magazine you refer to here DavidB, is that the new edition of “FLYPAST” (March 2005!)
Thanks !
BlueNoser352
BlueNoser352Believe he was in the 100th BG in the Eighth during the war and had at one time several aviation themed resturants around the USA. One near me in Atlanta, Georgia USA at Peachtree Dekalb airport. Using the 57th Fighter Group as its theme ( P-47’s).
Think he was one of the pilots in the film The Memphis Belle,a salute to him for saving many a warbird.
BlueNoser352 !
BlueNoser352Good info here…thanks men…was hoping to see some great color footage of this historic event ! I was happy to see some very rare color footage of Wing Commander Gibson in the 60th Anniversary DVD of the Dams Raid from Channel Four. Guess some one at The Imperial War Museum might know. In today’s digital age of photography has sure spoiled us!!!!!
BlueNoser352Wow..pretty impressive line up…need to get some BlueNose P-51’s in there. Come on Mr Weeks…need to see “Cripes A Mighty 3rd” in the line up!!!!
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