Not blaming you Dave. Sorry if it looked like it. I’m just feeling so upset by the news since yesterday that I reacted to that, very apt, old post of yours. My remark was tongue-in-cheek. Sorry.

As far as I can see, there is no mention of the history of the aircraft, how it was found and how it got there. Above all, no mention of Flight Sergeant Copping. Or maybe there is some information inside the museum. Unless this aspect of the tragedy is dealt with, and spelled out, it just becomes another brightly painted “Spitfire” that visitors will not relate to time and place and circumstances. I wonder who was ultimately responsible for what has happened, at the museum end I mean. Why was the decision made and why those markings?

Very sad indeed. I agree with Tangmere1940 above that the important thing is to try to find and test those bones we discussed in such detail earlier in this thread. In spite of pestering the UK authorities, and trying to follow up what the Italians originally found and what the Egyptians did or did not do, we got essentially nowhere at the time. Now a bit more clandestinity seems to have been perpetrated concerning the aircraft. I can’t find any Facebook (or other for that matter) reference online, as Robert Edward mentioned in post 2304.

Feeling bad

Regarding Beverley formations. In 1961 I was in Oxford UAS and luckily had some good friends in 47 Squadron at Abingdon. I got several interesting trips in their Beverleys, including some nice formation stuff. On 8 September 1961 we set off with six Beverleys from Abingdon on our way to the SBAC display at Farnborough, landing at Odiham on the way. I was in XB285 with Flt Lt Lamb. We then did the short hop to Farnborough (this time I was in XB263 with Flt Lt Smith) where we landed in the middle of a mock battle with bomb bursts and smoke all around. We took off sharpish and landed back at Abingdon after a fly past and break.

I wonder if any forumites were in the audience that day!

My 3 pictures are cockpit view, in flight, and the break.

Did someone say Beverleys were noisy? Maybe, but I never noticed it as I was enjoying myself so much.

Reopening this old thread just to say to “1946” (post 8) that I took this photo of G-AIGL at Westwood airfield (former RAF Peterborough) in 1952, just before it was exported. 1946: do you still have it? As to IGM, I flew it at Marshalls, Cambridge in 1959.

An excuse for photos of Austers! Autocrat G-AIGL at Westwood (Peterborough) in 1952. There were several based there at the time and others used to fly in. I still have my spotter’s logbook if anyone is interested.

Not a surviving Aldon, but a surviving, and flying, Bf108 B-1 is HB-HEB at Lausanne. Built in 1938, wn 1988, bought by the Swiss Army in 1938 as A-201, it was on display at Zurich Airport for 30 years. It was restored starting in 2001 with its new first flight in 2011, as A-201. My photo is at Lausanne, soon after its restoration, when I was minding the flight line and was close to the action.

Great pictures and a nice report. Note, the first “Auster” in the first post is Argus KK527/G-RGUS.