Ha! I had forgotten about that Jim:). Didnt we suggest that it might not have been Mosquito related after all? I seem to remember someone saying it was probably a drop tank from a Hunsdon or Sawbridgeworths Mustang.
I would go for one of the RAF Mustangs from Hunsdon, as that type of tank was maybe too early for the Mustang 1’s of II(AC) Squadron at Sawbridgeworth. No doubt someone more knowledgable will tell us..hopefully!

Besides, that P-47 Supercharger of yours is a garden ornament now eh?

A topic close to my heart,but one that see’s the remaining remnants slowly being nibbled away by time.
It was a joy to walk the Essex airfields of the Ninth USAAF back in the early 1970’s. so many of the airfields runways and hardstands had been donors even by then for the Hardcore and crushed concrete market. but many of the buildings had survived.

I think two of the most outstanding sites were Boreham and Rivenhall, both with spectacle hardstands and runways intact up until fairly recently. Rivenhall was used from the late 1950’s by Marconi, who preserved most of the airfield right up untill the late 1980’s. Boreham was maintained to some degree, by the Ford motor company. Both sadly are now being quarried for aggregates.

At least Earles Colne, Stansted, Andrewsfield, still have links to flying, with Matching and Willingale following with Microlite clubs attached.

As a little taster, anyone local should get to see the collection of 9th USAAF and other WW2 artifacts held in the De-Coverley collection at Kelvedon. The owner was a young lad when the USAAF were at Rivenhall, and has amassed a large collection of material from the airfield after it was relinquished, along with thousands of photographs. He is open for viewing on Saturdays and Sundays but you must phone him first on 01376 571040. He welcomes any visit from clubs or individuals.

Good! Now do yourself a favour, and download and pay for a proper Anti-Virus program that actually works;) . AVG and Avast are just free programs so you should remember the old adage…. you dont get something for nothing! and That rings true:p
Stay clear of Norton and McAfee, that are immense resource hogs. Get something decent like NOD32 or Kaspersky.These will cost you, but not as much as you think. NOD32 is about £25 and was £15 to renew this year, a brilliant AV, that has a small footprint if your machine is not on the powerful side.

Keeping it in with the Naval link….
My suggestion is Bertram Ramsey.

I was told that the Air Historical Branch have stopped copying air combat reports for private individuals, due to too many applications. No doubt the Public Records office at Kew?

Terrific!
Looks miles better than when I saw her at II(AC) Squadrons 95th Birthday bash last July. Another great looking aircraft that looked right

I remember a Spitfire on it’s nose a DX, but that was 1982 or thereabouts. I dont think it is the one Peter is referring to though. This particular one was being flown by a high ranking RAF officer, or so I was told at the time. I am sure there was another mention of it on the forum somewhere. But the search produced no results.

Just a modest collection of RAF aircrew Brevets and badges here Malcolm. Thats as far as my interest goes, never got in to the vast amounts of USAAF paraphanalia as I cannot work out the genuine from the restrikes and copies. Same as Luftwaffe items, I cannot tell the good from the bad. I think so many repros are in the pipeline from years ago, that they actually get sold time and time again as originals.

With RAF badges it semms a little easier, although I have been caught twice with buying repro items from evilbay. But even in those cases I got my money back. Just had a bid fight with a Canadian collector for an original air gunners brevet last night.
I Recommend a book by Warren Carroll called ‘Eagles Recalled’ if you are an avid collector of RAF and Commonwealth flying badges ect. Expensive, but very useful, especially if you do not want to get caught out again buying a repro or restrike!