Dr. John SmithDutch Firefly, interesting pictures
For those who don’t speak Dutch, here’s a “rough and ready” translation of the text, from Dutch to English:
“Karel Doorman Supplement 1
Following the beautiful pictures I added a few more.
contemporary of these H Nuyten was Martin den Butter, from whose album these pictures come.
He is now 91 years old. Head of Flight while traveling to India from the QH 1 Superior was Jhr P Elias. He has written about in his book “I’d rather the air”, which I found a copy today. If you are interested … I would also pieces of what compassionate look at the (barely )-flight operations on board to place, if it fits within the forum. I have only yesterday registered and am therefore not yet fully aware of what can and should. Flying only took place again after one solid ground under our feet had . Den Butter flew as a passenger happy, he had airplane maker. 1 Karel Doorman 1, outbound India, 1946. 2 Cape Town, The Butter for the anchored 23. 3 Firefly MK 1, formation flight from Surabaya. 4 Close formation.
Photos: Firefly 5 pax, ’46. 6 Return Morokrembangan, the airport of Surabaya. 7 Joining the circuit. 8 No meadows but rice-rice fields. ..”
Dr. John SmithIraqi DH.89s
As mentioned above, DH.89 G-ADKW spent some time (January 1946 to August 1947) in Iraq as YI-ABD
Here is a more recent picture of her, taken at 12:30 on 25 Oct 2009. Needs a little more work to make it look pristine…
Dr. John SmithSerious question – could this Hurricane possibly be one of the Static Replicas commissioned in 1968 for the film Battle of Britain?
I seem to recall that static wooden Hurricane replicas were actually built in WW2 to “populate” decoy airfields (along with impressed Gipsy Moths) to fool enemy photo-recce sorties.
In short: is this Hurricane a 1960s replica – or much older 1940s one?
Dr. John SmithAs for XA847…
“…was finally retired in 1972 to display at the RAF Museum at Hendon. Unfortunately when the RAF Museum gained a more representative Lightning F.6, XA847 went up for tender. This was a rather disgraceful affair in that the scrapmen had just as much chance of buying this historic aircraft and turning it into saucepans – however thankfully Wensley Haydon-Baillie bought her instead and stored her dismantled in the Southampton area for some years.
The 1994 Farnborough SBAC show saw her re-assembled and on display in the static, but then she disappeared into storage once more until Wensley’s bankruptcy when she was acquired by Marine Salvage near Portsmouth. They happily knew her historic value and didn’t reduce her to scrap, hoping a museum would take her off their hands.
This, incredibly, did not happen – but a private collector, Giles Howell, bought her and intended to fully restore the aircraft and place her in a dedicated building to keep her in good nick. The most recent update I have had on her is that, unfortunately, over ten years down the line, she is still stored in a dismantled state.”
See: http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/survivor.php?id=7
Breif recap
June 1969: Withdrawn from use at Henlow (468 flights/205 hrs total)
1972: To RAF Museum, Hendon
08/06/1988: Sold to Wensley Haydon-Ballie
mid-1990s: To Marine Salvage, Portsmouth
19/02/1998 Sold to Giles Howell
28/10/1998 Moved to Stowmarket, Suffolk
Dr. John SmithAuster G-ARIH
Since it doesn’t seem to have been posted yet, here what G-INFO has to say about the civil history about Auster G-ARIH
History 23/1/1961 to 1/15/1969: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ARIH-1.pdf
History 14/5/1969 to 7/5/1985: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ARIH-2.pdf
History 4/2/1977 to date http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=reg&fullregmark=ARIH
Official pictures at http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-ARIH&imgname=G-ARIH001&imgtype=jpg and a close up at http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-ARIH&imgname=G-ARIH002&imgtype=jpg
C/no. 2463: Military service as TW591 seems to have been with 664 Squadron, being struck off charge 17/6/1960
Dr. John SmithAuster G-ARIH
Since it doesn’t seem to have been posted yet, here what G-INFO has to say about the civil history about Auster G-ARIH
History 23/1/1961 to 1/15/1969: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ARIH-1.pdf
History 14/5/1969 to 7/5/1985: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ARIH-2.pdf
History 4/2/1977 to date http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=reg&fullregmark=ARIH
Official pictures at http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-ARIH&imgname=G-ARIH001&imgtype=jpg and a close up at http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-ARIH&imgname=G-ARIH002&imgtype=jpg
C/no. 2463: Military service as TW591 seems to have been with 664 Squadron, being struck off charge 17/6/1960
Dr. John SmithShort SB.4 Sherpa
Erik,
Best place to go is to talk to the aircraft’s current “keepers”, the Ulster Aviation Society at Long Kesh in Northern Ireland, where it has been since 2008.
See HERE: http://www.ulsteraviationsociety.org/#/short-sb4-sherpa/4537302722
…and contact details are at http://www.ulsteraviationsociety.org/#/contact-us/4534001228
Dr. John SmithShort SB.4 Sherpa
Erik,
Best place to go is to talk to the aircraft’s current “keepers”, the Ulster Aviation Society at Long Kesh in Northern Ireland, where it has been since 2008.
See HERE: http://www.ulsteraviationsociety.org/#/short-sb4-sherpa/4537302722
…and contact details are at http://www.ulsteraviationsociety.org/#/contact-us/4534001228
Dr. John SmithMon Dieu! Les French letters are everywhere!
I have got both brain cells revved up, and I am beginning to think it was maybe a film/TV production about Antoine St Expury.
Hmmm…you could be right. Antoine St. Expury famously wrote The Little Prince, and a quick search on Wikipedia turned up this:
“A film musical adaptation titled The Little Prince was made in 1974. This film is notable chiefly in that it marked the penultimate collaboration of composer Frederick Loewe and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, and was their final musical. The authors were dissatisfied with the film’s Hollywood treatment. Loewe refused to visit London to supervise the arrangement and recording of the score. The film was unsuccessful at the box office, but has become somewhat of a cult classic and is again available”
Full Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince_(film) – however this asserts that all filming took place on location in Tunisia (and not Booker)
That does have the right time scale, and the Antoine St. Expury connection, but, not having seen this movie, I am not clear of the connections with French-registered aircraft at Booker!
Dr. John SmithAncoats Dragonfly
Mention is made of Dragonfly HR.3 WG751 in Wrecks & Relics Five and Six. It was located in Noone Brothers Motor Engineering yard. It was noted as “ex Wisbech”. It had moved on by May 77. No destination reported. Photo in W&R 6.
Wonder if that helps?
Well, if it was WG751, then it is now safely in the hands of the World Naval Base Museum at Chatham, Kent
See http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/The_Trust/Volunteering/volunteering.html – the first picture shows WG751 being restored and refurbished and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File Dragonfly-wg751.jpg which shows that it has been repainted as “GJ/710” from its days with 705 NAS at Gosport in 1953.
An alternative, clearer picture can be see at http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1253954/
Dr. John SmithFalklands Sea King Veteran goes on display
Just found a related link http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Sea-King-helicopter-feature-museum-exhibition/story-15364515-detail/story.html which is a slideshow of 10 pictures, showing how the Sea King was squeezed into its new home – and even better, shows the “yellow” side, the “grey” side, and a “full frontal” shot(!) showing the two (and the dividing line between the two paint schemes)
Text reads as follows:
“More used to seeing Search and Rescue helicopters safely into hangars, this crew had just one and a half inches to spare each side as the Royal Navy Sea King was manoeuvred inside the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Visitors to Events Square could have been forgiven for their double takes as the Royal Navy Sea King – at 70ft long, 16ft high and 6 tonnes – was brought in on loan from the Ministry of Defence as a highlight of the museum’s new exhibition which opens on March 16. Pictured are engineers, RAF, Navy and museum representatives with the helicopter outside the museum.”
Dr. John SmithSeen On Ebay Thread (August 2011)
It’s one of mine XL609. Take it away please…..
According to the UK Serials website, you only got on December 28th, 2011 – was it an unwanted Christmas present?!
Dr. John SmithBritten-Norman BN-1
The CAA registration document can be seen here: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ALZE-2.pdf
and there’s a brief description on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten-Norman_BN-1
A page from Flight magazine (available on line) at http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1951/1951%20-%202407.html and http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%200634.html which is a brief history of Britten-Norman aircraft (up to 1963) – the relevant passage being this one:
“As might be expected, the organization came into being as the result of two personalities, John Biitten and Desmond Norman, the son of Sir Nigel Norman who founded Airwork in 1930.
They met as premium apprentices at the de Havilland Technical School in 1947, and subsequently designed and built an experimental ultra-light aeroplane known as the BN-1F. This machine crashed on an early flight, when the petrol supply to the JAP engine faded out. It was rebuilt, flown for a while, and now hangs in a boat store”
…and this is what the BN-1 looks like today http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-ALZE&imgname=G-ALZE001&imgtype=jpg
Dr. John SmithBenes-Mraz Be550 Bibi G-AGSR
Is this of any help? Copy of the registration document for G-AGSR: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AGSR.pdf
and the wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bene%C5%A1-Mr%C3%A1z_Bibi makes specific reference to G-AGSR
and this: “The Czechoslovak manufacturer Beneö-Mr·z produced a series of light side-by-side two-seater “tourist” aircraft in the 1930’s. The design and manufacture was undertaken at Choceň by Pavel Beneö and Jaroslav Mraz.
The first of the “Bibi” series was the Be-501 in 1936. This was followed, later in 1936, by the Be-550, which was a much more streamlined machine.
Following further development a much modified and more powerful version, the Be-555 “Superbibi”, was introduced in 1938. WWII must have seen the closure of this small aircraft company
OK-BET, was registered on September 22nd, 1937 (CofR #685) and removed from the Czech register on January 10th, 1940. OK-BET was used as a racer and won the Czechoslovak National Flight in 1937. Bearing race number “53” she finished 9th in the Small Treaty Race the next year, outclassed by much more powerful military planes. Was then sold to UK on January 10th 1940 but remained crated till the end of the war. Then flew until destroyed in fatal crash at White Waltham (UK) 25 October 1951.”
source http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/G-AGSR.html and http://www.ipmsairrace.org/30bibi.pdf
And http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/o/1755/9_o/0 has a small picture of G-AGSR (right hand side – click to enlarge). Was it really a cream or pale yellow overall?
Also three view general arrangement drawing at http://richard.ferriere.free.fr/3vues/benes_bibi_3v.jpg
Dr. John SmithRed Arrow Gnat serials
Can anyone tell me what the serials were for the leader’s aircraft were during the 1965 to 1970 seasons? Thank you.
Well, not exactly, but…the following Gnats were recorded as making up the Red Arrows team at the 1976 Teesside Air Show:
XR534 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR540 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR572 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR981 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR987 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR991 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XR993 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
XS107 Folland Gnat T.1 RAF Red Arrows
As you can see, eight aircraft in all, usually operated as seven display aircraft plus one reserve. Date for the above was 8 August 1976, back in the days when Durham-Tees Valley Airport was known as “Teesside Airport” (to me, it will always be “Middleton St. George”…). Source http://www.dtvmovements.co.uk/Info/Historic%20Logs/TeesAirShow76.htm
Sign In
