Sex what’s that then ???????

I’ve spoken to a well known restorer who has had a lot of experience of a number of different engines including the Merlin and DB601. He thought that the DB601 though a good engine was typically over engineered, i.e. where basic barings would suffice the Germans would fit needle bearings.

Doing a search re Paul Brickhill, I came across this old thread. One which I don’t recall seeing at the time. So sorry if I’m resurrecting it.

I also watched a Time Team earlier on Discovery (probably quite old). Showed an excavation of a Spit from France. Was also a good programme. Quite moving when they showed them going over with the pilots brother what happened. They showed him a picture believed to have been taken the morning of his last flight and gave them the metal chain from his flying jacket for hanging it up, which they had found.

There was a direct link between this Spitfire and the Great Escape, Roger Bushell was leading the Squadron “92” the day that this Spitfire as well as his own was lost in combat with a gaggle of Me110’s. Bushell flagged down a passing motorcyclist for a lift, unfortuantely the biker was German and his lift was straight into captivity.

have any of you read the Canadian authors book on the Great Escape called ” A Gallant Company” by Jonathan F. Vance? Its truly and outstanding look at what happen now some 60 years ago!

Vance’s book was OK but not as accurate as some may have you believe. It contained a number of glaring inaccuracies, which with a bit of effort could have been researched better. The one that springs to mind and has been replicated recently by another author as a result of using Vance’s book as a reference, is that Bushell was a Hurricane pilot. He in fact commanded 92 Sqn (Spitfire) and was a Flight Commander on 601 Sqn (Blenheim and Spitfire). there were a few more that I picked up on when I read it, but don’t have the details to hand here at work…

Yes he was in the RAF. Shot down in North Africa while flying a Kittyhawk with the RAAF, I don’t have the exact details to hand.

He had first hand experience of The Great Escape, being in the camp at the time, which also put him in contact with Douglas Bader, I’m not sure how he came to write the Dam Busters.

His books are fairly accurate, though as we have learnt in the past few weeks more details have since come to light that contradict a lot of what was written back in the 1950’s. However this is due to the records now being readily available

I say: Start to forget!

That was 64 (sixty-four) years ago!

And the Empire is only a distant memory.

How can we when both have left a lasting legacy of one kind or another.

Lets not forget the reason that you can post your ‘opinions’, and not fear having a knock at the door, is due in no small amount to those who gave their all, 60+ years ago.

It looks as if he’s considering the opportunity for a crafty pinch.

Is he wearing a name tag, in case he gets lost ?????

A recent one of myself at the museum.

Geoff.

Not a very convincing crash test dummy impersonation Geoff 😀

Do you mean this ????

What an aircraft is all I can say