Thanks for that, Andy. I guess the date is not the date it was taken but the date it was released…?

Yeah, assuming it’s taken on the southern boundary, it does look a lot like Redhill even today.

Excellent! Well done and congratulations to all!

How many Mk. IX and XVIs is that now?

There were 16 Lightnings F1/1a from 56, 92, 111 and 19 Squadrons (19’s might have been F2s). I don’t recall exact serials from the top of my head but can tell you they’ll begin XM- or XN-

HTH

The problem is the expense not just of recovery but of preservation. That pretty much screws both commercial recovery, (it won’t be profitable) and museum recovery, (they can’t afford it). Throw in the fact some of these wrecks are wargraves….

Anon it suggests they have the proper facilities at DX to spruce it up and take it back to London in tip top shape.

Any gen on the airframe history?

I shall leave the details to more learned types but a precis would be;

R6915: Flew with 609 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, notable pilots included Noel Agazarian and John Dundas. Scored several ‘kills’ and was damaged in combat on a couple of occasions. Sent on to a maintenance unit for extensive repairs and eventually ended it’s operational days at a OTU, where it was pranged several more times. Finally presented to the IWM at the end of the war, still in it’s contemporary late wartime paint.

If you’re wondering why it looks rather shabby, it’s because it entered preservation that way. Unlike the Science Museum and Hendon examples, R6915 and P9306 in Chicago, were never repainted and neither have received any restoration work in the last 70 years.

Unless someone happens to know a few crash sites that might yield something, I don’t believe any authentic Rotol RX units survive.

I am sorry to hear this. Unfortunately we all know just the threat of legal action is enough to make any publisher nervous. I can’t say I’m glad that it has happened but I can understand Key’s desire to stay out of it.

Hopefully this is resolved quickly and normal service is resumed.