Out of sheer boredom I decided to magnify the image. I then was able to read ‘Misil Sea Cat Fragata Yarmouth’. Which of course means Missile Sea Cat Frigate Yarmouth. The old missile impact plot opens again…

Not that I am disputing your third point, but if this was the case, why then did she earn herself the ‘Meatbox’ nickname? Typically British gallows humour?

That was indeed the pic, a brilliant shot. I have to agree with Badger; you can scour away at the pic, but there’s no sign of visible damage. The plot thickens.

I was wondering the same thing myself about the pilots, wouldn’t that be great to hear from them or better yet, arrange some kind of chat or webcam session for them. Rob, I think your theory about McCarthy possibly not knowing the source of his damage is interesting. Never having experienced air combat I couldn’t say if there is a different sensation between flak and gunfire hitting your plane.

Definitely agree on the painting.

Fascinating thread here, Wyvernfan. I’ve read Wings Over Suez a few times myself and to hear about this possiblity is really interesting. Acig.org is usually pretty authorative as well- it’d be worth doing some more research on this. The question that comes to mind is – what would have been the worth of covering this up at the time? Considering the success of air operations and the very low casualties, would it have been such a crime to admit a few MiGs have slipped through the net to claim one of ours?