With regards the checkerboard tail markings, please remember all squadron markings had to be approved by the Royal Herald or some such august body. Markings could not be applied until officially approved, big rap across the knuckles for the sqdn CO.

No doubt others will remember seeing a “bitza” racing car in the late ’50s early’60s, called the Swandean Spitfire. It was an old RR chassis with a Merlin shoehorned in. Sounded very rough and appeared a real handful to drive.

In my post WW11 experience the G45 gun cameras were extensively used for an exercise called “cine”. This involved dummy attacks on a fellow squadron member, a pair of aircraft taking turns at being fighter and target.

The resultant film was then “assessed” to determine if the pilots could shoot. When we had the Mossie with the fixed ring sight that meant labouriously clicking the film through the projector frame by frame. The point of aim, deflection allowed and range had to be assessed (guessed) and pilots critised on the results.

The cameras used 16 mm film running at half cinema speed. The best pieces I ever saw was when we did some affiliation with a warship. To see that ship jump in length each frame as the range closed was very entertaining. This was from a Meteor at fairly high speed, great fun. Wish I had been able to keep some of it.

The later marks of Mossies with the bulged bomb bay could carry 4000lb to Berlin. I can remember talking to an ex Mossie nav who claimed Berlin and back in 4 hrs 15 min.

As for Griffons, what a beast that would be !!! Have to be handed props or the swing would turn it into the original Oozlum bird, not to mention the weight and balance problems.

I guess the Mustang with the Griffon swung like lightning, needing a trike u/cart for landing ??

This proposal should be kicked a very long way into touch, together with the a**e of the proposer.

Re bombing of civilians. Go back to WW1 and the Zeppelin and Gotha raids on UK.

When Bismark unified Germany in the 19th century his General von Clausevitz wrote a magnificent piece setting out the principles of war, which I suspect is taught in every officers training school.
One of those was “Maintenance of aim” which was the principle abandoned by Hitler and which was a major factor in losing him the Battle

Now she was a true heroine.