It will indeed all be in The book … together with over 270 others.

Watch this space 🙂

My apologies for dragging up an old thread but I have recently updated the entry for MH350 in “The Book” and I have come across a reference which suggests that some of No. 485 Sqdn’s Spitfires had their armament changed “just before D-Day” from the standard 2 Hispano cannon and 4 Browning .303 inch machine guns to the “e” configuration of 2 Hispano cannon and 2 .5 inch Browning M2 machine guns.

MH350 started out life as a standard L.F.IX when delivered to No 485 Sqdn in August 1943 but by the time it went to Norway in May 1945 it was sporting the “e” type armament which it still has today.

MH350 was on strength with No. 485 Sqdn during June 1944 but was transferred to No. 84 Group Support Unit, 2nd TAF, at Aston Down, Wilts, on 15 June (paperwork date?) and the remainder of the squadron is said to have converted to the L.F.IXe following their move to Coolham, Sussex, at the end of June 1944.

I’m wondering if anyone has a copy of the ORB for No. 485 Sqdn for June 1944 which may shed some light on this?

Was MH350 converted in June 1944 or later in its career?

Thanks!

That’s very interesting Cranswick – thanks. Is there any indication of how the change was to take place? I’m wondering if the aircraft were converted on site, at an RSU or exchanged for different aircraft.

ML407 also served with No. 485 from April – December 1944. It was, I believe, a “standard” L.F.IX upon delivery which became an L.F.IXe later in its career but it now has Trainer wings – with extra tankage of course! During its Irish service it had no cannon ports which would suggest a wing exchange / rebuild during the conversion.

Hold on G-ORDY for a minute as I raise my head slightly.
Vickers documents in relation to the Irish Air Corps contract used the following terms,
1/ SPITFIRE TRAINER AIRCRAFT (all capitals)
2/ SPITFIRE MARK IX TRAINER – EIRE (all capitals)
3/ Spitfire Dual Control Trainer Aircraft Mark 9 ( written in that form)
4/ And under general states….The aircraft will be converted from Mark IX Spitfires Ex RAF

HTH

darrenharbar
Spitfire 160 was CBAF 1721 ex MK721

Regards
Tony K

Thanks for the clarification Tony – I probably oversimplified my original comment, which was to say that the currently used “T.9” etc was not a term used by Vickers at the time of manufacture.

I always assumed that the Type 502 only covered MT818/G-AIDN and that all of those converted from Mk.IX Spitfires were Type 509?

Gordon

…but Ray Sturtivant in “RAF Flying Training and Support Units” 1997 edition lists ARF as ‘Aircraft Repair Flight’.

Mark

And if anyone is going to Kew they can find the relevant files at:

AIR 29: Operations Record Books Miscellaneous Units
Subseries: REPAIR AND SALVAGE UNITS

AIR 29/810 No. 405 Heston and Detling
1943 July-1944 Aug.

AA……………

Sorry I cannot help you with the provenance of the Pobjoy that powers G-LCGL. Just as a general comment, engines have a habit of surviving better than airframes: more valuable, take up less space, can be reused probably explains part of why they survive. Several hundred Pobjoy engines were built, as you know they were used to power a range of pre-war light aircraft and not so light ones: see below. Over the years several PFA ( whoops should that be LAA ) members acquired / found Pobjoy engines for just such replicas. Needless to say the expression….”hens teeth” comes to mind in the connection !!

Of course should anyone have four Pobjoys secreted away we could think about a Scion Senior replica or even a scale Stirling replica, yes one original was built………..!!!

I have no info on the projected power plants for G-ECTF or G-OBUU.

Planemike

IIRC the late Viv Bellamy had several Pobjoys down at his hangar at St Just back in the 1980’s when he was building the replicas for Leisure Sport. I don’t know what happened to them.

The Shelley Collection owned the Six R from Ruth Fontes’ Hawk Speed Six G-ADOD. The entire collection was bought by a single collector when auctioned a few years ago, the one at Old Warden is “said” to be from Henshaw’s Mew Gull, G-AEXF, if so it was originally installed in the DH88 Comet G-ACSS.

I’ve never seen numbers for either of these R engines before, the provenance of Ruth Fontes’ engine has never been explained – unless it was a spare engine that Phillips & Powis scrounged from Hatfield?

Maybe!