Saw it in England a few years ago – you just do not realise how SLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW it is until you’ve seen it sailing it’s stately way across the sky! Good luck to ’em and thank you for the lovely photos. One of my Granny’s Uncles was a metman at Toronto in the 1940s – wonder what he’d have made of it even then?

Adrian

Count Manfred von Czernin? Born in Berlin (?) to an English and a German parent? Alleged to wind up new pilots by claiming he had flown Bf109s with the Condor Legion… and if I remember rightly wasn’t there a Belgian in the RAF who HAD?

Adrian

Galdri,

My Icelandic workmate wants to know what on earth you dust from the air round Reykjavik in May!

Adrian

Pete,

From the Essex Aviation Group’s book:

“On Sunday 3rd August 1941 No 52 OTU at RAF Debden lost two Hurricanes due to a mid-air colision. Both aircraft were Mk1s (serials R4101 and W9149) and were totally destroyed by the crash with the pilots, Sgts Wiliam Flemming and Ian McDonald both being killed.

During September 1982 and August 1983 the Group recovered the majority of the fuselage, engine and wing centre section from one of these aircraft, including 4 machine guns, and selected items from this crash now form one of the more significant displays at Duxford. Unfortunately it has not been possible to identify which of the two Hurricanes has been recovered from this crsh site at Great Sampford.”

Sadly the EAG’s hut at Duxford is no more… So where the stuff has gone I know not.

Given that there seems only to be thee and I left in this thread, do you think we should post the Wellington story in a new thread and see if someone can come up with chapter and verse?

Adrian

Hi Pete,

I effectively left CHE in 1982, though my parents lived there until 1997. I was a cub there, but went to boarding school at 10 so never became a Finchingfield scout.

Sounds like I have muddled up a BoB and a WW2 pilot – easy mistake to make! I don’t know him myself, just somehing I have a feeling crept in the Villager once.

I thought the incident where the Hurricane crashed at Little Bardfield (The Hydes) was one of the days that Debden was raided – 26th and 28th August 1940, I think. However I have no references to hand, so I couldn’t tell you for sure. If the dates coincide, I wonder whether anyone anywhere knows the name of the injured airman – a now-dead relation captured two Germans at Great Sampford that day and I’d love to confirm who!

I am afraid I know nothing about a Wellington. However as a boy of 7 I was there when a Hurricane was dug out of a field near Spains Hall (just where the little kink is in the road with the spinneys on either side as you head from Spains Hall towards Howe Bottoms) – I have the Essex Aviation Archaeology Group’s booklet from the days they were at Duxford which covers it. AFAIK the Havoc was dug out of a field at Mill End – below Spains Hall, at the bottom of the hill. I remember the day because it was pouring and Mum wouldn’t let us go and have a look. As it happens, I don’t think they found a lot – I think the sight was mostly cleared at the time. I have walked across both fields since and there is no sign on the surface.

Any help?

Adrian

Just a thought, to see who will cast light upon my ignorance…

The classic movie peel-off is AWAY from the camera. Aircraft peel off AWAY from the camera ship, and reduce in size in the frame.

The PoC one is TOWARDS the camera ship. Presumably this is a much harder shot to set up as the aircraft are coming closer to the camera, and becoming larger in the frame – very easy to wreck a shot by losing a wing etc off-frame. And easier to do likewise to the camera ship…

Is this so?

Adrian