Is there any update on progress with these?

Thanks alertken!

Yes, Addams didn’t buy – or even formerly accept – anything. But he is pictured in the US press shaking hands after test flights, climbing out of cockpits in his tweeds etc – he was the presence on the ground, representing the ministry if not actually being it. He was asked to test the Hudson pre-order, and it appears he had a similar role with the Harvard as well, from a North American Aviation in-house magazine report of the time. I am sure there were other personalities attached to other manufacturers – Addam’s ‘patch’ was California – Lockheed, NAA, Vought (he was all over the press testing a Vanguard) and Consolidated (he was expected – again according to an in-house magazine – to have travelled on the first Model 28 (Catalina) to cross the Atlantic, but I can’t find out whether he did or not).

So no overall say, but much more glamour!

Yes, it seems Addams was ‘the man on the ground’ on the West Coast, ultimately reporting to the Air Ministry, perhaps via Marsden?

The LA gossip columns recorded every week what parties Addams had gone to and with whom, between 1939 and his marriage in 1942. It seemed LA high society was fascinated by him. Apparently he and Bob Gross, Chairman of Lockheed, would talk about aeroplanes all night. Not sure how that works in terms of impartiality – but I reckon there’d have been quite a falling out when the Ministry refused the P-38’s being built for them at great expense – possibly due to his flight test report. Maybe the ‘talk’ was in fact negotiation.

Thanks Bazv!!

I’ve been digging as well. He was the son of two well-known artists, Clifford Addams and Inez Bate. His dad abandoned his family citing ‘cruelty’ on the part of Inez. His younger brother died performing aerobatics in a Siskin in 1926, and in his memory Inez instituted a trophy for an annual 41 squadron aerobatic contest. Different times. His wife died in 1936, leaving one daughter Victoria Dawn, who went on to fame as the actress Dawn Addams, and then married an Italian prince. In LA, and while mixing with stars (Douglas Fairbanks Junior was a close friend) Addams married actress Aline Judge – one of seven of Judge’s marriages.

When he was posted back to the UK (To Milfield, where he was reputedly the only owner in the RAF of a tailored battledress) she divorced him for ‘desertion’ after shacking up with a Chicago ad man (victim number four). After the war he moved to Italy – somehow ending up in 1960 with the speaking part of ‘Corrado’ in the new-wave Antonioni film ‘L’Avventura’. It seems the film world is unaware that this part was, rather curiously, given to a retired RAF Group Captain rather than a professional actor. This was the only film role I can find, though he was senior advisor on ‘A Yank in the RAF’ back in 1941. So an exciting life generally.

Edit.. yep, definitely the same chap: [ATTACH=CONFIG]258677[/ATTACH]