Originally posted by Snapper
Now i’m really confused!! SDO?

Quite.

Originally posted by Snapper
“Might be joined by one Franek known to you”

Good show – just don’t expect me to try slivovitz again!!! (Are you who I think you are, and did I rteturn the email from a few weeks ago before life went crazy?)

Slivovitz? I am not sure if I guess right as to who you think I am, but no, you have not replied to that email yet. Never mind, half a year either way won’t make much difference from 43 years’ perspective.

Re: The PR Mk XIX Spitfire

Originally posted by Mark12
Can somebody please take a nice well lit wide angle shot and capture the whole of the Spitfire.

First question on visiting any museum on a pre-arranged basis and ‘top tip’ to get your shots published.

“Would you have a step-ladder available please?”

Mark

Exactly!
All of you who plan to go there might want to have a look in “Spitfire International” to see what happens when you do not have a ladder.:(

Re: Bader Spitfire.

Originally posted by Andy in Beds
The other observation I have is that there appears to be some marking on the aircraft under the rear-most portside exhaust stub. It could be just a blemish in the picture but I’d like further opinion.

In one of Classic Warplane issues (published by Ventura in NZ) there is a close up photo of the nose of Bader’s Spitfire with a badge. I do not have it at hand (Mark 12 do you?) to scan and post, but I think it was similar to the one he had on his Hurricane.

My first Spit sighting was 1992, International Luft- und Raumfahrt Ausstellung (ILA) in Berlin. I with a couple of friends went to Berlin mainly to take photos of latest Russian types. I was busy taking pictures of Sukhoi Su-24 ‘Fencer’ which had its public debut there (and it took some persuasion to make the Russian guys allow us to get across the line and take good close-up pictures). When I heard the Merlins, I simply dropped everything, said something like “I’ll be right back”, and ran towards the runway. Three warbirds arrived: MH434 flown by Rolf Meum, Buchon flown by Mark Hanna and with the P-51 ‘Old Crow’ flown by I don’t know who.

Originally posted by Mark V
Hold on! I am certain about reversed colours on Hurricanes, not Spitfires. The reversed Hurricane schemes are very well documented.

I admit I know nothing about Hurricane scheme variations. Would you mind telling when exactly were the reversed ones used and what sort of documents confirm them?

Originally posted by Mark V
To my eye the colours look reversed on these aircraft (this was something done on Hurricanes certainly but not normally on Spitfires).
There have been cases of reverse camouflage on Spitfires as I recall but I do not have a photo to hand.

MarkV,
Do you mean colour photos? If you only refer to black and white ones, I suggest a lot of caution before you state you are certain about the ‘reverse colour’ scheme. I think this was done with the Desert Scheme, but I have never seen any credible proof of reverse colours on Day Fighter scheme Spitfires. Those quoted as such tend to be aircraft repainted with Mixed Grey (substituted for Ocean Grey) and can reasonably be explained with the grey being darker than Dark Green, rather than reversed colours.

Originally posted by Mark12
Mark V,

Try cutting and pasting an equivalent section of camouflage. I believe we have similar greens with higher tonal value (than the green) grey in one case and lower tonal value grey in the other.

Mark12.

Mark V (and others),

Let me illustrate graphically what Mark12 was trying to explain.
This is my favourite Spitfire V shot. AD233, an early Mk V had left the factory in Temperate Land (brown and green), then was repainted at an MU with ‘Mixed Grey’ much darker than the regulation Ocean Grey. Stbd wing tip, ailerons, and top engine cowling were replaced in service, so all these items have more or less regulation Ocean Grey hue.