SPITFIRE !!!

[Mad Doug Biker]

my gran worked in the factory building Wellingtons during the war. she wasn't on the film of the record breaking attempt of building one in under 24hrs

I saw that. Lovely haunting music at the end and every time I hear it now I think of my Uncle and the rest of his crew (he was a gunner).

 

[gbb]

My stepfather was a Halifax pilot with RCAF 419 squadron based at Middleton St George, when he joined there were apparently 600 in his intake, almost all of whom were allocated places as rear gunners due to the incredible attrition rate. John was good enough to be a pilot and hence survived. I think a couple of his aircrew are still alive, he's been to Canada for a couple of reunions, but there are no flying Halifax aircraft left.

John doesn't resent the attention given to the Lanc, he knows how good they were and is happy that there's one left flying to remind folks of the sacrifice of so many young men.

Gordon

One of the most laconic and alcoholic fellas I ever worked with was a tail gunner in Lancasters. He told us of the attrition rate which was scarily high, so high you stood little chance of seeing the war through. Perhaps seeing so many friends lost made him into what he became... scary thought. He talked of the missions you were expected to survive... it wasnt that many. Absolute respect to him.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Regarding my Great Uncle Hugh, nobody had visited the grave in Berlin for many years which was kind of sad. I have visited twice since then so far, and personally, it is more than high time that the men and woman of Bomber Command finally get their Campaign Medals. It wasn't their fault, they were just following orders, and Uncle Hugh was killed a good 4 or 5 years before Dresden et al!

I agree the aircrew of Bomber Command should have got their campaign medals. They suffered a 50% casualty rate; 10% were killed in training (I believe) and most of the rest spent time in German POW camps. Bombing German cities was morally dubious, but it was not them who decided on that strategy. Once involved, they couldn't really question it without being branded a coward, and most crews lasted less than a couple of months before being shot down. Initially Bomber Command tried to bomb military targets by day only to be shot down in high numbers. By night they were lucky to come within five miles of their target, so they started to resort to area bombing. After the war, we saw the destruction of the German cities and felt ashamed of them. OTOH, there should never have been a statue erected of Bomber Harris. That should be melted down for scrap.

 

[skudupnorth]

if you're comparing aircraft noises, then I'll raise you the Antonov 22 - extraordinary sound...

Totally agree at the weird noise those things make,we had one fly into Manchester and it was amazing !
The Vulcan take off noise does it for me,just gut churning when the throttles are opened up !

 

[black'n'yellow]

Very rare to hear one though. 'Black Six' has been grounded for many years. Might be the odd genuine 109 in Germany but most over here, including those used in the BoB film, were licence built by Hispano in Spain.

ironically, the Buchons used Merlin engines...

There's a handful of original 109s still around in flying condition, mostly in Germany and the USA I think...

 

[swee'pea99]

My best friend's dad became a pilot at the start of the war. Every week, his mum would prepare a meal for him and half a dozen of his mates. Every week, one or more of the faces would be new. Every week she remained welcoming and cheerful. How she managed not to lose her mind, over five years, is almost inconceivable.

He didn't like to talk about it after the war, but he did once show my friend a group photo of his squadron, taken at the beginning. He picked out two faces - his and one other. They had survived the war.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Totally agree at the weird noise those things make,we had one fly into Manchester and it was amazing !
The Vulcan take off noise does it for me,just gut churning when the throttles are opened up !

When I was a kid we used to cycle to the public footpath at the end if the Bentwaters runway, I remember a Vulcan coming into land being the loudest noise I had ever heard, at least until last week when I saw Slayer play at Ally Pally!

 

[gbb]

So i'm at work today and heard something above....DAKOTA !!!!, maybe 200ft up, lumbering along. I assumed he was headed to Mildenhall or Lakenheath (there's a lot of military air traffic heads overhead that way). Wow ?

Then two minutes later...that unmistakable sound....LANCASTER !!! maybe 500 ft up, headed in the same direction (probably Cambridge way)...then of course it dawns on you...its the flypast today.

Then two minutes later...SPITFIRES !!! ooer, and HURRICANES !!!, 5 in total flying in a shallow V formation, a bit too high and fast to break down exactly what they were. It actually sent a little shiver down my back !!

I didnt realise the Battle of britain flight had an assortment of 5 spits and hurricanes.

 

[black'n'yellow]

The BoB flight has a Dakota as well - quite possibly the one you saw...

 

[Saddle bum]

The Spit already had a float carb - the long term fix was to use a pressurised carb, but the interim fix was to use the 'Shilling' mod....

Known as "Miss Shilling's orifice."

Beatrice Shilling's husband flew with 625 Squadron. My late uncle was a Lancaster pilot with them. We only found out the day before his funeral (2 years ago) that he won a DFC for bring back a fully loaded aircraft with two engines on the blink.

 

[Hover Fly]

Fab!...I like it when they do a bow to the crowd.

Back in 1977 when Her Maj. launched (not yet her's) Invincible one of the highlights (apart from the HUGE wave) was a Harrier bowing in front of the platform and choppers doing their "show off" bits.

 

[calibanzwei]

Just mirroring the feelings of others when a PROPER (pun intended ) aircraft goes overhead - we had a twin engined medium bomber go over on Friday. Goosebumps.

 

[sunnyjim]

"The peoples" long range nuclear bomber...I like it.

I walked into that one. Wallet duly opened

Well I tried. Google pay-wotsits aparently didn't quite work, but a nice gentleman just phoned & sucked up my credit card details, I'm now a paid up member.
Let there be NOISE.

 

[gbb]

Funny how military hardware turns grown men into kids again...
So i'm at work talking to a guy, we looked up to see where a heavy thump thump noise was coming from...APACHE helicopter ....he flew across the edge of fields over the end of the site, maybe 200ft up.

We watched him go past....the other guy turned to me and said
'i just imagined him straffing the carpark, preferably hitting Richards car '

Funnily enough, i 'd been watching him, imagining something remarkably similar...

 

[MisterStan]

Funny how military hardware turns grown men into kids again...
So i'm at work talking to a guy, we looked up to see where a heavy thump thump noise was coming from...APACHE helicopter ....he flew across the edge of fields over the end of the site, maybe 200ft up.

We watched him go past....the other guy turned to me and said
'i just imagined him straffing the carpark, preferably hitting Richards car '

Funnily enough, i 'd been watching him, imagining something remarkably similar...

Could have been Prince Harry!