I will be in the craft marquee selling copies of Spitfires Over Malta at a special air show price.
Paul

In a quieter moment vist the beautifully kept Capuccini Naval Cemetery at Kalkara, although a naval cemetery, many RAF airmen are buried there, including 5 of the original 16 Spitfire pilots who flew to Malta from HMS Eagle in March 1942.

May 1940

Stanley Grant claimed a shared probable, possibly in conjunction with Flying Officer George Proudman who also fired at one of the Dorniers, but was then struck by return fire from one of it’s gunners, wounding him in the leg, the bullet passing clean through and ending up in his parachute pack. Stanley wrote of his colleague:
‘George Proudman was one of the stalwarts of the squadron; he used to smoke his pipe in the cockpit while climbing to gain height, a
foolhardy thing to do but amusing at the time. Always the joker he kept our spirits up when things were looking black but we finally lost him early in July. I think, when the convoy attacks started in the first phase of the Battle of Britain. I was on a few days leave at the time when the whole of Green section failed to return. Had I been there I would probably not be writing this letter because I always flew in that section.’
Air Battle For Dunkirk. Norman Franks. (Grub Street 2000)

When i requested the use of a Robert Taylor print for my book cover I did it via Military Gallery, but the reply back was from Aces High. Who agreed it for me.

Paul

There is a listing for a new air show to be held on the Manston airfield on June 22 next year. It would be good to see the Lancaster at Manston then.

Operation Spotter Spitfires to Malta

In my book (Apologies for shameless plug) there is a copy of Flt/Lt Philip Heppell’s Pilot’s Drill for the take off from HMS Eagle to Malta in March 1942.
The flaps are listed as Up, rudder trim fully wound forward, tail trim one and half notches down from central. Pitch fully forward. After take off engine revs were to be reduced to 2400 at +2 boost at 170mph. At 2000 feet the pilots were to change to the additional external fuel tank. Once in formation revs would be 2500, or suffient to fly with the escorting Blenheims that were providing navigation to Malta.
Other details are also included. The sheet of paper the pilots were given finishes on a very patriotic note:

If seperated or lost: On last leg head north. turn east on reaching land (Sicily) Follow coast to eastern most end then set compass to 222 degrees for Malta.
Don’t flap or worry……..There’ll Always Be an England

Paul

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Brennen-Hesselyn-Spitfires-Malta/dp/0955364655/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350989347&sr=1-10

John Plagis

May not be the website you saw, but if you follow the link below it will take you to a page in Flight Magazine, Jan 18 1945 with a photo of Sqd Ldr Plagis presenting pilots to Lady H C Fowle on the occasion of 6 MkIX Spitfires being presented from the Persian Spitfire Fund. One of the aircraft became John’s own, ML214 named Muscat, which was painted on the nose in English and Arabic, below the cockpit was painted the name of Plagis’s sister Kay. Plagis claimed several victories in this aircraft in 1944, not sure why photo being published the following year in Jan 1945.

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%200145.html?search=plagis

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Brennen-Hesselyn-Spitfires-Malta/dp/0955364655/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349257632&sr=1-2

Paul Lovell