It’s a Latvian VEF 1-11 or 1-12 in National guard markings. The plane in front of the Zlin in the photo below the Arado is a I-12

John

Lovely pictures note the Heston Phoenix and the VEF 1-11 (and a 1-12 I think) and the Weihe is nice too.

John

Look at the fin flash on the Anson behind, I’d go for red and “a” blue.

John

Because most rotaries are aspirated through the crankcase the petrol /air mix tended to wash oil off the bearings hence the use of castor oil as the engine lubricant as it’s resistant to petrol. Notice that the first graphic is a Monosoupape with the inlet valve in the piston.

John

The rotary produces it’s own flywheel effect and was a lot smoother than many of it’s early contempories.

John

According to Peter Moss (Impressments Log : Air Britain, 1962) 146 Moths were impressed. A quick scan of the list indicates a variety of uses to which they were put including airfield decoys, instructional airframes and communications duties. At least three – G-ABBD (W9367), G-AFWJ (W9368) and G-AFZB (X9438) – were impressed for the Royal Navy. Curiously 30 (!) impressed Moths were released to Sound City Films of Isleworth in 1940 “for decoy purposes”! Does anyone know the story behind this rather curious fact?

I would suggest that the wartime role of the film company was ideally suited to to produce decoys and camouflaged “sets”and the Moths were simply going to be base material. The DH 90 fuselage moulds apparently ended up on the Barnet By-pass, which shows many things were expendable.

John

It’s possibly Halifax W7776 which flew on trials from Boscombe with a cleaned up nose and no dorsal turret.

John

Desford

Thanks to the clue of 19 Dec 1935 I have found the article in Aeroplane 18 Dec 1935. I can attempt to scan if you wish.

John