Aircraft had the 19 painted in yellow or red – probably depending upon the flight. There is also a suggestion that one aircraft had the 19 painted in white. Fin flashes were not applied.

As you probably know, the first Spitfire was allocated to 19 Sqn in July 1938. Their first public debut was at the opening of Cambridge airport in October, by which time the squadron had applied the yellow 19 to the fins. During the winter, several appeared with red 19’s. By March 1939 all traces of 19 had gone from the tails.

Hi Rob

OK a few things…………..:)

First of all, understand that your pics will always be poorer when taken on a dark or overcast day. Pics taken in bright sunshine will always be better. BTW, I am talking here about the detail/noise etc of the pic. You can take some great atmospheric shots in poor weather – eg water spinning off the tyres as the aircraft lands and so on. Just dont expect the clearest of pics in poor weather.

Next, just make sure that you are taking your pics at the highest resolution and detail that your camera will allow. Sometimes people use a medium setting to save on card space and that will always produce a lower quality pic.

Now, my probably poor attempt at trying to explain how cameras work! There are four things that you can play with – and they all interact with each other!

Shutter speed, f stop, zoom and ISO.

Lets start by assuming that the camera is being used in automatic setting. The only thing that the user chooses is the amount of zoom used – basically to frame the shot. Now the camera is being asked to automatically find the best balance between the other three items ie shutter speed, f stop and zoom!

If the light is good ie a very sunny day, then the camera can probably find a decent balance between all three. But if the light is less than good (overcast etc) then the camera will have a problem!

Let me explain why –
First of all zoom – the more that you zoom in, then the more likely that you are to have camera shake when hand held. Its a bit like binoculars – zoom in and they seem to shake around a lot! So if you zoom in you need a faster shutter speed to avoid any shake/blur. As already said use the 1/1 rule. If your zoom is 500mm then use a shutter speed of 1/500th. If your zoom is 100mm use a shutter speed of 1/100th.

So, lets assume that you are using a zoom of 500mm. Now the problems start! You set your shutter speed to 1/500th to avoid shake and blur. But the faster shutter speed means that less light is entering the camera (less time equals less light, makes sense?)

The camera now has two things to play with – f stop and ISO.

A low f stop allows more light into the camera, but there is a limit with a compact. Also. the lower the f stop then the lower the depth of field. What does that mean? Depth of field is the distance over which the camera is in focus. A short/low depth of field means that the camera is in focus ie sharp over a shorter distance than when a higher f stop ie longer depth of field is used. Once again, good light is king! In good light the higher f stop increases the depth of field ie the distance over which the pic is in focus. Imagine a big airliner pic taken a 3/4 front view. The airliner is 150 feet long – you need a good depth of field to keep both the front and tail of the airliner in focus.

A low ISO eg 80 or 100 will usually avoid noise in a pic. A high ISO eg 800 will create a lot of noise in a pic. So you want a low ISO. But a low ISO lets in little light and a high ISO lets in a lot of light! So your camera will usually try to push the ISO higher when you are using it in demanding situations (ie low light) and will give you more noise in the pic.

I hope that I am explaining the compromises OK? The issue all of the time is light! Plus remember that the four bits above (zoom,shutter speed, f stop and ISO all interact with each other!)

Ideally, assuming that you are using your zoom at 500mm, then you want to set your shutter speed at 1/500th of a second. If you have a really good image stabilisation system and you can hold your camera very steady, then you might get away with half that number ie 1/250th of a second. You want to keep your ISO at 80 or 100 ideally. Plus your f stop would be best at around f8 to give you a decent depth of field. You can do this in bright weather, but not in bad weather.

So you really need to play around with your mix in bad weather and see what works best for you.

Look at the different modes on your camera. They will allow you to set shutter priority, or aperture priority (f stop) or set ISO. Do a few tests. See which ones that you like best.

Most importantly…..Have fun!!!!!

Hope this helps you.

Cheers

Paul

Hi

I just had a quick look. I think that the main problem is shooting in poor light. Basically, the better the light, then the better the picture.

Looking at the last pic, 1/60th sec, 180 f length and 320 iso – will always give you a ‘poor’ picture.

My two rules are –
Keep the iso as low as possible – the higher the iso then the more noise there is in the picture – ie the picture is less sharp.
Try to keep the shutter speed at least as high as the f length – ie at 250 mm use 1/250th sec speed, at 100mm use 1/100th sec speed and so on. Otherwise you are likely to lose sharpness, even with IS.

So for a sharp picture, you really needed something like 1/250th sec, 180 f length and 100 iso. You will usually be able to do this in good light, but not in poor light.

If you have to compromise, then at least keep your shutter speed at 1/250th and use a high iso – but recognise that you will not be getting a great picture.

As I say, you really need good light conditions. Especially as you are using a long zoom with a highish f stop. I find that dslrs are more demanding than film slrs in this respect.

Regards

Paul

My understanding is that the BAe P120 was evolved in parallel to the EAP. Whilst the EAP was always funded as a technology demonstrator, it can be argued that the Eurofighter would not have progressed had it not been for the EAP.

The UK government seemed 100% committed to an international programme for its next fighter. So I dont think that the P120 ever had a chance of being developed. But, as you say, it was the BAe study for a next generation production combat aircraft for the RAF

Can anyone shed light on this mystery?

The ‘Speed Spitfire’ – N.17/K9834 (A highly streamlined Mk.1 modification for an attempt on the world airspeed record).

The question is this: Was it Blue and Silver or was it Blue and Gold?

I see references to both. Blue and Silver were Supermarines house racing colours in the 1930’s, so that would be logical. However, some sources state that it was Blue and Gold. Certainly, some photographs of this fascinating aircraft (although in monochrome) do appear to support the Blue and Gold version.

Does anyone have anything conclusive on this?

The ‘main’ Spitfire book (Morgan & Shacklady) says Blue and Silver 🙂

Hi Paul, I have seen your thread before, and they are a remarkable set of pictures showing our services and airshows history. Well done for showing, your scanner must be smoking!
Working at St Mawgan and Saints I am most interested in the pics you got there, especially as you dont often see pics at St Athan.
Dont suppose you have any picture which show St Athans tower?

Many thanks! 🙂

Re the St Athan tower, I am not sure really. But I will have a look and see if I have anything useful!

Cheers

Paul

Thanks Peter! 🙂

Glad that you are enjoying them.

BTW, I can confirm that the bombs are under XL444.

Regards

Paul