Another picture on the plane (this time on the beach as a memorial) is at

http://www.chez.com/eternalflight/413663.html

Note the name of the page!

What we can’t see cleary is the other 2 blades on the recovered airframe. Also the ‘soon after’ picture of D’Quake is unclear. We can see the top two blades bent back. But the bottom 2 are either ‘cut off’ or ‘buried’ or bent back and buried. They do not look like they are going forward at all..

The ‘buried picture of 663’ shows on the top of one prop and it is forced back. We know it is 663 becuase the fuselage is silver (and the markings still present). What we need is a soon after picture of 663 to compare. However the first recovery picture does SEEM to show 2 forward (the top 2) and the other 2 props back (look carefully bottom left). I would image that it would not be impossible for the props to have rotated 180 degrees either during recovery or by brute force…

I have to say based on the photo evidence ALONE I would be more inclinded to believe the recovered aircraft is 663…

There is a floatplane in there.. Shall we put it in a garden pond and then try to ‘discover it?’

I will put a note on Barnstormers…..

So that is ‘1 all’ then in that particular B-17 verses Hurricanes match so far..

PB4Y-2 Privateer

http://home.sprynet.com/~anneled/ColdWar.html

Also see:

http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_346.shtml
http://www.heroinflight.com/planes.html

and

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=burma+%22sea+fury%22+1961&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&selm=7eeec948.0403131856.7de5469f%40posting.google.com&rnum=3

The latter 3 all say B-24 but I reckon Privateer (definately Consolidateed not Vickers!)

FL200

It must be G-AIED as that would tie in with the date of the BoB film

I think 1947 would be way to early

OK Back to the Proctor

As it so happens I am reading a magazine article about BoB Proctukas at this very moment!. It says 4 Proctors were bought for BoB Film

G-AIEY, G-ALOK, G-AIAE and ??? (from Shoreham)

Only the first 2 were converted to ‘Stukas’ and only the first one flown by Vic Bellamy

Says all ended up being bought by Jeff Hawke and ended up at Pinewood.

Says one given false reg of G-ATIO (poss for a film) and a second (probably G-ALOK) ended up being in background of 1972 Spike Milligan film ‘Adolf Hitler – My part in his downfall’ and ‘appears to have been destroyed in the making of the film’

The article ends up with saying ‘last known Proctuka G-AIEY was said to be in Pinewood Studios Buckinghamshire. Last recorded sighting in the early 1970’s stated aircraft in ppor condition and not for sale. Rumours suggest it was recloacted to Derbyshire in 1977’

Right back to the photo…

First problem. The Proctors were at Pinewood in Bucks, not Borehamwood in Herts (though the distance is not to far between these 2 studios and they could have been moved)

Secondly, One film studio could easily be mistaken as another – I am not doubting your memory or pictures Mark!! But were they at Pinewood?

Thirdly – The Proctor had obviously NOT been converted to a Stuka – The rear cockpit decking is still ‘evident’ – the converted ones were ‘glass’

So I reckon it is either G-AIAE (the uncoverted one) or the unknown one From Shoreham

“another shilling in the meter or something?”

Or kicked the server