I spent three four-month field seasons working in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, the last three years and there’s still a -200 freighter serving Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Even when it was dark and one was propping up the bars you could always spot the 727 departing on account of the almighty racket!

More excellent progress-good to see more parts going back on that firewall!

Just been perusing the Botha Database in the Feb ’13 Aeroplane which shows a number of Botha banking shots, unfortunately generally poor quality or heavily shaded! The best shows W5065 taken from below, port, and in front , one can just make out five portholes (two close together under the trailing edge of the wing either side of a panel joint, and three more widely spaced in front of that. There is also something which could be a sixth further forward again, although it’s two smaller, non-round dark patches. A later side view of a parked Botha from the starboard front quarter shows four portholes on the starboard side, I think the place of the aftmost window to port is taken by the entry door (which is windowless).

Let me know by PM if you want any scans, it also has some excellent interior shots of the prototype.

Mark: I’d suggest that lumpy stuff around the circular structure with bolts in your image is actually the gearbox grease mixed in with a very large quantity of fresh filings from the underside!

For what it’s worth my guess was also a pastel blue similar to the Puss Moth posted by Chad.
I’m fairly sure it’s not silver, it just doesn’t have a metallic sort of sheen.

EDIT: Did DH aircraft (or others of that time) come with a palette of available colours from the factory, as with today’s cars? Might it be one of a small range of colours offered by the manufacturer? Or were customers allowed to specify any colour they liked?

Looks like the upper part of the manifold surround has burnt through too! Thanks Duxman and DCW for the archive shots. This Mustang crashed a year after I first went to an airshow aged seven, so I can’t claim to remember it!

Exciting stuff. It’s such a shapely machine, the Ki-61. I’d love to see one fly! [Stephen Grey, are you listening?!]

This thread would have the gate guard at Benson as a PRXIX PM651, albeit later than the period suggested for this shot.
115sq with Argosies seems to have been at Tangmere, Cottesmore (from 1968) and Brize Norton (from 1976) and was not at Benson with Argosies (Andovers only from 1982), does this raise any other possibilities?

EDIT: Argosy XP413 seems to have been recovered after ditching in 1964 with 105 sq, rebuilt by HSA and re-delivered to the RAF in 1966, it then went through two MUs before joining 115 in 1969, when it was at Cottesmore.
(see http://www.argosyair.co.uk/2nd20.html#Top)

So was there a Spitfire XVI at Cottesmore at any point during the late 1960s/early 1970s?

EDIT AGAIN: RAFRochford’s option below seems more likely!