One of the aviation mags states that Spit IX PL344 will be coming back to the UK for some work by ARCo

Yes – perhaps Roobarb will even sort out the colour scheme once and for all – its been done twice since the second ‘re-build’ and is still completely wrong.

So… was/is there an RAF equivalent of the USAF TO publications which shows the specific pattern to be applied to each type of aircraft? Would RAF painters stick to it religiously? And if not, would you expect all the aircraft at the same unit at the same time to be painted the same way?

Camouflage schemes for specific aircraft were usually produced by the aircraft manufacturer based on general military requirments. The manufacturer would produce a drawing with quite specific measurements for the camouflage lines. There is a lot of debate about this subject but if you use say the Spitfire as an example the Supermarine drawings are quite definite about the camou pattern and where each wavy line starts and ends, the drawings are very precisely dimentioned. By and large these drawings were followed in the factory and produced a surprising level of uniformity. If you look at photos of Spitfires lined up on the Castle Bromwich apron they are all basically the same and conform quite closely to the standard design. Now having said that there are many examples of where uniformity was lost and camou patterns looked nothing like the standard design. Desert operated Spitfire V’s had quite different camouflage lines and there are many other examples of ‘strange’ schemes to be found. However, by and large, these schemes were applied to a standardised design and were not just sprayed on however the painter felt on any particular day. Although I am no authority on the Meteor I am sure you will find that Glosters produced painting drawings showing the fighter camouflage and roundel setting out. It is possible that they were altered for some reason in the field but I would expect a good degree of uniformity if I was looking at a group of similar aircraft in the same squadron at the same time. Hope this helps.

Probably not for long though. They have had quite a few aircraft pass through their ‘hands’ now – not sure if they will ever fill that lovely new hangar. The P-47 at $1.8 will not take too long to sell – thats less than £1m.

As a local resident

Have you contacted your local authority about this? Is this a listed building (if not what did EH think about it in their recent review)? Have Crown Estates sought permsission to demolish the building yet?

Yes – next summer sees the seventh anniversary of the Battle of Britan 60th Anniversary Air Show held at Duxford in 2000. Coincidentaly we will also be celebrating the 17th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain Salute (50th Anniversary) Airshow held at Boscombe Down in 1990.

Went up to Dumfries this afternoon to look at the recently-recovered inboard engines from lancaster III, PB456 which crashed on 13 September 1944

Can anyone point me towards any further info on this recovery please?