😀

Cheers Nick, for that : not really intending to take the proverbial… : my sense of humour gets me into no end of bother sometimes…not appreciated by everyone ( at times on this forum, too, I find!) You can obviously take it…;)

And another one…….

Royal Navy carrier landing ‘bats’.

Would agree with Mark 12 about the ‘cross fertilisation’ of useful kit, after all we gave them the angled deck and the mirrored landing lights, only fair they could share the bats! Would imagine the solid bats became very heavy during an intense recovery session and the fabric type would have been easier on the arms. The attached photo is of a Panther during the Korean conflict indicating they were then extant and could well have been used for the Seafires on our (FAA) carriers. Regards, Brian S.

The Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

What an excellent and comprehensive series of photos Growler : the memorial wall with the poppies is particularly moving as you slowly scroll down and the area of almost-solid coverage is revealed. Thank you for the sensitive and thought-provoking submissions.

(Seem to recall someone driving a Landrover through the wash at Kinloss…..)

Might be quite a lucrative business now Bob , they’d get a few cars through there at a time!:p Brian

The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Belgium bears a lion : the Belgian Lion, or Leo Belgicus, looks very much like that on the button, if it’s rotated right 90 degrees to have it standing upright. Mystery is why it’s attached to an RAAF uniform. There’s a great story there , methinks! Brian S.

First DSLR & Suitable lens?

Hello chaps, normally a patron of the Historic Forum, although less frequently than I was once, I have been following these posts with interest. I’m out in the sticks and the days of attending the major airshows are sadly a distant memory : but in those good old days I had (still have) a Minolta 7000 SLR and a great assortment of lenses. These are Minolta A (suitable for AF) and pre-date the Dynax. Is it correct that these lenses will suit the Sony Alpha 350? If this is true, the thought is very exciting as the need to ‘tool up’ again with a new SDLR and lenses was both daunting and financially impractical. My first venture into digital a few years ago was with a Fujifilm S5100 and it has been a neat and pleasant way to convert from film, but the limitations (or perhaps limitations of my skill) have proved the camera sadly lacking for the type of shots, approach, landing etc., that I was accustomed to get with the Minolta. I notice the deal on the 350 with the two lenses : would I be better (cheaper) to go body only or would it be best to have at least one genuine Sony lens to suit the camera? Looking forward to your input, and all being well, also a trip (or three!) down south to my old haunts for some decent shows and museums in 2010! Thank you , Brian S.