Deoutter

I thought you might like to see the Moorabbin Desoutter when it was first acqired in the late 1960’s. It certainly looks different today.

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The Desoutter was one of a number of aircraft that were locked away for years because the museum had no undercover display space. It’s nice to see them emerging from the shadows and going on public display.

Keith Gaff

Parts discovered on old airfields

During my Presidency of the Moorabbin Air Museum a party of museum members did a four wheel drive trek through the Northern Territory. The stopped at the old wartime RAAF base at Coomalie Creek. Coomalie was a Beaufighter base during World War 2 and the boys searched through the scrub looking for parts. Incredibly they foumd several engine nacelle panels missing on Moorabbins Beaufighter. These panels were in excellent condition and when brought back to Melbourne were fitted to the beau with no difficulty whatsoever and they remain on the aircraft till this day.

Keith Gaff

The first time i saw a Spitfire

For me that was in 1967 during a school excursion to Canberra. While we were there we visited the Australian War Memorial and on display was the Mark VA of the Memorials collection still in its original wartime paint finish. Absolutely marvellous.

Keith Gaff

That’s more than a few years ago

My first kit was the FROG 1:72 scale Hawker Tempest which I built when I was 9 in 1960. It didn’t survive a crash landing on the linoleum floor a couple of days later.

Keith Gaff

One of the only memorable parts of the film Pearl Harbour (apart from Kate Beckinsale) is when the 2 P 40’s emerge out of the smoke to intercept the Japanese and it’s not CG.

Another great sequence occurs in the film A Bridge Too Far when the Dutch boy is buzzed by a photo recon Spitfire. As the boy waves to the Spitfire the pilots waggles his wings to wave back. Nice touch.

The best film sequence I ever saw was a piece that formed part of a documentary on the origins of the Confederate Air Force which I saw many years ago when I visited Harlingen. A veteran is driving along a Texas highway in his mile long red convertible and out of nowhere he is buzzed by a Buchon and a Spitfire going like the clappers at dot feet. Brief but spectacular.

My favourite movie quote comes from actor Trevor Howard who played Air Vice Marshal Keith Park in the film The Battle of Britain. Right at the end when the Germans have abandoned their invasion plans Howards character enters the fighter control room to see no plots on the map. The chief controller remarks “They’re late today Sir” to which Howard replies ” The b###ards are up to something”.