Ant.HRE: RNAS Yeovilton
Hi again,
The ‘Junkers’ is a modified Bowers FlyBaby,registered to John Day as G-ANPV,and operated as part of the Great War Display Team.This machine was mentioned in Pilot magazine a few months ago,and as I read it,it doesn’t mention anything about an optional biplane configuration,the FlyBaby has always been flown as a monoplane.The look-alike represents a Junkers D1 ‘Trench Strafer’,an all metal machine designed for ground attack, one of the first in the world,and also featuring armour protection for the machines most vulnerable areas.There’s more on the FlyBaby and the ‘Junkers’ at:
http://home1.gte.net/ikvamar/flybaby/junkers.HTM
Hope this is of interest 🙂
Ant.HRE: Defiant replica
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 23-09-02 AT 09:19Â PM (GMT)]Hi folks,
L7005 is a bit of everything-it’s part real and part replica.The original bits (including gun tureet and tail section)were recovered from a crash site,in the Lake District if my memory serves me rightly,and the rest is either aluminium or wood/fibre glass etc. Either way,it’s still an amazing achievement to see a free-standing intact Defiant.I know it has taken absolutely donkeys years to complete the project,but it’s well,well worth it to my mind,and I’m sure alot of others on the forum.
Ant.HRE: RNAS Yeovilton
Nice pictures,cheers coanda 🙂 The Corsair looks particularly good for some reason.
Ant.HRE: RNAS Yeovilton
Hi Philo,
I saw something about this machine a couple of months back.It’s only just been built,which explains why it’s never been seen before. From what I remember,the head of the dummy gunner is linked up to the rudder,so that the dummy’s head and the rudder move in concert! I’ll dig the info out and give you a precise name for the machine,which escapes me at the mo.I’m a bit dubious about it being convertable to a biplane though.
Ant.HRE: Dutch Constellation: Now it is for real
Hi Roger,
I got your mail,thanks,it sounds encouraging. 🙂 I’ve sent a reply to your email.
Ant.HRE: Dutch Constellation: Now it is for real
Hi Roger,
Will she be touching down in the UK at any time during the ferry flight?If so,where?
Fingers crossed that everything goes well after all the hitches that have been cropping up in the past.
Ant.HRE: The Ultimate Corporate Warbird !
Hi folks,
In terms of corporate warbirds already in existance,I think I’d probably go with a Cavalier Mustang.Ok,so it’s a bit cramped and it can get a bit like a greenhouse under that teardrop hood,but you’ve got sound proofing and carpets,…oh and full aerobatic capability,decent endurance and a top speed in excess of 400mph!On second thoughts I think I’d remove the soundproofing! 🙂 A close second would be the Hughes 500 conversion of the Ventura.
In terms of true fantasy types,I think a Canberra would be pretty awesome.The aura of a warbird,and the performance of an A320!
Ant.HRE: PoC
Hi Lancman,
I realise POC is fictional,but to me that isn’t the point.To rack my brains for what me learnded on my englsih lessons at school,one of the points about successful historical fiction is to create an air of authenticity-that the book could be reality if it wasn’t advertised as a novel.This is the feeling I get from Bomber-it seems to be almost a historical account of a raid rather than a fictitious one. I got the feeling from POC that the characters didn’t reflect the real people,and my feet never left the ground,so to speak-I always felt I was reading a novel,and in that sense I don’t mind the book being a bit fancyful.I think though that this partly comes from me having a wider knowledge of the period other than just reading POC.For those who only have PoC to go on,it doesn’t do thier general perception of The Few much good,and this is my main gripe.If you are going to write a novel aimed at the wider public,you should do it in a way that gives an accurate general picture of the people and events,rather than leaving people with the impression that it was common to do away with your CO,steal a squadron mate’s valuables when he snuffs it etc.
As for the TV series,I take my hat off to those who undertook arranging the flying sequences etc for the project.The aerial sequences are some of the best yet,but away from the flying the series for me fails like the book.It seems strange that someone would want to make an adaptation of an already controversial novel,and then twist it further.
Ant.HRE: anyone here like Mosquitos?
Hi folks,
I think the Mossie at Speke is the B.35 now at the Mosquito Museum at Salisbury Hall in Hertfordshire,although I’m not 100% on this.I know it also spent some time outdoors at Little Rissington,so perhaps I’m getting confused.I expect Nielly,our resident Mossie guru,will know more than I do.
That sequence of pictures certainly are of a Ventura.Unfortunately,they were not operated to thier full potential by the RAF.Firstly,they had a Boulton Paul mid-upper turret fitted instead of the Martin turret.The BP turret only had a pair of .303’s as opposed to the Martin’s 0.50’s,and was also far more bulbous,taking some 20mph off the top speed.To add insult to injury,the type was operated in a similar fashion to something like a Mitchell,being sent out at medium altitudes in sizeable formations. Hedge-hopping down on the deck was the Ventura’s forte,US versions being able to fly at well over 300mph given the chance.These low level tactics proved very successfull out over the Pacific,although ofcourse losses were often heavy because of the dangerous nature of low level missions.However,there are numerous reports of PV-1’s taking on the Jap fighters sent to intercept them,and coming away with a favourable outcome.
Just to add one or two recognition tips,the later PV2 Harpoon had short,squat tailfins of almost rectangular shape,and the wings were also longer,but I’ve often found it tricky to tell the difference.
Ant.HRE: British film … Piece of Cake??
I’m with you on this one Moggy.I enjoyed reading Piece of Cake aswell,but felt the ‘black edge’ to Robinson’s writing and the nature of many of the characters let the book down.Whilst I agree that Robinson didn’t set out to harm the reputation of ‘The Few’,I don’t think it did it much good,but then again without a bit of a bold storyline,a book doesn’t sell.
I think Richey was a Squadron Leader when he wrote/published the book,although I should perhaps have referred to him by his highest rank.Thanks for the correction. 🙂
Ant.HRE: British film and the Nightbombers…
Hi ageorge,
I also read the rumours about the ‘Dambusters’ remake.Allegedly, Mel Gibson was interested in doing it,but the plan,if there ever was one,appears to have come to nowt,thankfully IMHO.I’d hate to see the storyline being changed to some Hollywood crowd pulling drivel.There was talk of replacing Gibson’s dog with a Mistress,so you can imagine the twisting of the origianl tail (pun pun!) that would have gone on.It’s interesting that they felt it would be more politically correct to have Gibson ‘playing away from home’ than for him to have a black dog woth a name beginning with N!
As for the political correctness and viewpoint surrounding area bombing,I think it would be possible to illustrate what went on without putting accross a particular judgement,leaving the audience to make up thier own minds.Done well,I reckon it would make people wake up to the efforts,bravery and sacrifice of Bomber Command’s personnel,aswell as the terrible suffering of those on the ground.
To speak personally about this for a tick,I do feel it’s wrong not to have given the Bomber Command folk more recognition,and I also feel that the campaign was one of the lynchpins of victory.That said, area bombing is a distasteful business,and it can be very very difficult for the man in the street not to feel sorry for the people below,no matter what regime they followed.There are always two sides to every story.
Ant.HRE: Bruntingthorpe
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-09-02 AT 06:14 PM (GMT)]Excellent pics again Damien 🙂 That Lightning shot is awesome!
Ant.HRE: Pics of the Day
The Shackleton is an MR3 (MR=Maritime Recce).Although a pic of a Shack would be interesting enough in itself,the picture also shows a Lockheed Neptune in the background.The Shackleton replaced the Neptune in RAF service,so the picture is kind of symbolic.
Both these pics were taken at Auckland Airport,New Zealand in the late 60’s.I’m presuming the Neptune in this case is an Australian one,all RAF Neptunes having been retired by this time if my memory serves me correctly.
Ant.HRE: British film and the Nightbombers…
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-09-02 AT 12:19Â PM (GMT)]Hi Andre,
I would agree with you to some extent that a decent modern film has yet to be made about RAF Bomber Command,but there have been one or two efforts on British radio and TV to try and ammend the situation.The BBC commissioned a major radio production of ‘Bomber’ by Len Dieghton a few years back,and very well done it was too,and it has been repeated once or twice already.
Secondly,and in my opinion far less successfully,the BBC also made a film called ‘Night Flight’ about a Bomber Command veteran haunted by his memories.They even went to the extent of using the taxiable Lancaster NX611 at East Kirkby for some very impressive high speed taxi runs.Unfortunately,the storyline left alot to be desired.The whole thing was far too melodramatic and saucy with the main plot being centred around the pilot bonking the rear gunner’s wife.It was basically Eastenders with some bums and t*ts and some special effects.
I couldn’t help noticing your statement about the accuracy of Piece of Cake.The book and the TV series were actually very controversial, and a copyright lawsuit was even begun against Derek Robinson,the author of the book,because it was felt that he had copied vast amounts of material from Sqn.Ldr Paul Richey’s autobiography ‘Fighter Pilot’.There was a strong case on Richey’s side,and the case would probably have been won if Sqn Ldr Richey had not passed away. The TV series was apparently just as bad,the makers recieving a large number of complaints when it was shown.It’s worth noticing that it has never been repeated.
What I would dearly love to see would be a TV or Movie version of Dieghton’s ‘Bomber’.This is an excellent and exhaustively researched piece of fiction,that does justice both to Bomber command veterans,and also to those who went through the hell that was unleashed below.This would make a powerful film of epic proportions- it would make Private Ryan look like a cheap 5 minute time filler!
Ant.HRE: BAC Trident1C G-ARPP
Thanks for all your efforts folks,some nice piccies 😀 Interestingly, one of them also shows Trident 3B G-AYVF.All of BEA’s Trident 3’s were registered in sequence,from G-AWYZ to G-AWZZ,except G-AYVF.It had origianlly been allocated the reggie G-AWZY,but was changed before the aircraft entered service.Can anyone think why they would want to do this??It seems a very odd thing to do as there was nothing else unusual about the aircraft.It wasn’t a prototype or a trials aircraft of any kind.
Thanks again for the pictures folks,keep em coming…:)
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