The Spitfire

[romft1945]

Didnt know where to put these but thought they were well worth looking at seeing as what they and the men who flew them did for us during the war,
ROM:)

[herakles]

The Spitfire is the one word we will always associate with WW2. What a wonderful plane - in all its versions. There were probably better planes but this one was so good.

I remember when I first saw a REAL one! Flying over Duxford it was. And later when I visited the museum, there it was!!

[romft1945]

It was Herks have more photos of US carriers,the Spit and WW11 posters which I will post on a regular basis,
ROM

[Maritime Michael Ian]

I believe there was a later carrier version, but I think it was just after the war...I think it was called the 'Seafire' ?? anyone have any knowledge or recollection??

Ian

[astraltrader]

The Seafire was a great development from the Spitfire, Ian.
The first Seafire landed on HMS illustrious on Feb 10th 1942 and the last Seafire was withdrawn from Fleet Air Arm front-line service in 1951 and continued to serve with the RNVR until late 1954.

This link provides all you could want on this classic peice of Navy Air Arm history...

http://www.supermarine-spitfire.co.uk/supermarine_seafire.html

[Maritime Michael Ian]

Thanks Terry,

Had a look at it, as you say it's definitive and a few nice photos shown too.

Regards,

Ian

[romft1945]

Just to let you all know the spitfire in question was rebuilt from an original frame Iam trying to locate the where abouts but all I know it was somewhere in Australia,
ROM

[herakles]

It is in Australia but I'm not sure where.

[romft1945]

This is the last of them,
ROM

[herakles]

Every picture a gem Rom!

[John Brown]

Ian

You may have missed my question under 'Riddle of the Sands' so here it is again...

Incidentally, do you have any pictures from the days when the old flying boat base was operating down near Hythe? Perhaps you even have some from the days when Mitchell was chasing and then winning the Schneider Trophy?




Regards...John

[Maritime Michael Ian]

John

Sorry Chum... I must have missed your question... I seem to remember that I've seen some photos around, I think they were in a book but not sure exactly where at this moment.... was mainly Schneider Trophy I think... I'll get back to you.

Ian

[romft1945]

Ian

You may have missed my question under 'Riddle of the Sands' so here it is again...

Incidentally, do you have any pictures from the days when the old flying boat base was operating down near Hythe? Perhaps you even have some from the days when Mitchell was chasing and then winning the Schneider Trophy?




Regards...JohnHi I did reply but the ones I showed you,you already had but it was fun researching it,
Rom

[astraltrader]

I think you got your wires a bit crossed there Rom! I think JB was asking Ian a question - but no matter...

[astraltrader]

To compliment my shipmate Rom`s Spitfire photo`s here are a few different ones I have selected from my collection of old photographs and postcards.
All these are of WW2 vintage...

[herakles]

Lovely photos! Oh, how I wish I had flown this 'plane!

[astraltrader]

Me too Herk. The plane looked and sounded so right that I reckon every boy of our sort of age wanted to as well [unless they were German or Russian!]...

[herakles]

My metal model was my favourite toy as a boy. I spent hours with the thing above my head charging around trying to sound like one of them!

[John Brown]

Rom

Yes you are correct, we did exchange a few posts on the Schneider Trophy ...thank you. However, as Terry said, my question was directed at Ian because he has a strong connection with Hythe near where RJ Mitchell worked on the S series planes. Similarly, as there was a Sunderland flying boat base in the area, I thought he might have photos relating to that.

However, In one of your posts you mentioned that planes were not your forte so it looks as though I may have awoken an interest for you :-)


Regards...John

[romft1945]

Well there you go got it wrong (is no problem) as they say in Crete,
ROM:eek:

[Maritime Michael Ian]

John.

Sorry for the delay 'ole son but I still cannot locate a photo I am sure I have somewhere regarding the Flying Boat base at/or near Hythe on Southampton Water.

I do, however, certainly remember going with my school pal, sometime in 1951/2 to RAF Calshot ( Calshot Spit) when they had an RAF Open Day. There were two Sunderlands 'parked' nearby, one was afloat and moored a few yards away, whilst the other was sitting in a special cradle, having been hauled up the slipway. Unfortunately in those days I did not possess a camera. But I do remember how big ( 26 tons I believe) the aircraft seemed to a 12 year old boy.

Incidentally, my old school pal and I are still great pals after 58 years and still going strong. He still lives in Oz, not far from Frankston (Melbourne suburb for those who do not know the area) and we are in weekly e-mail contact.

Sorry again for the delay Joh,

Ian

[John Brown]

Ian

Thanks for trying anyway.

The wife and I try to get down to Calshot a couple of times a year. Nice part of the world and within easy distance for a day out.


Regards....John

[jbryce1437]

Some photos of a Spitfire at the Sunderland International Airshow 30th July 2011

Jim

[jainso31]

Re.#4and5-the early Seafire was virtually the Spitfire; but it was singularly unsuited to deck landings; due to it's particular design of undercarriage, which one may recall was splayed "Outwards".This was corrected to a certain extent; and losses due to deck landings were somewhat reduced.
The beauty of the Spitfire in flight was a joy to behold and I saw many as a lad in WW2.:)

jainso31

[Scurs]

But as my father (ex-RAF) was often saying, "The Hurricane did all the work, but the Spitfire got all the glory".:confused:

[astraltrader]

But as my father (ex-RAF) was often saying, "The Hurricane did all the work, but the Spitfire got all the glory".:confused:


Too true Ray. As much as I love the Spitfire, the Hurricane played the dominant part during the Battle of Britain and in many respects was the better aircraft. In particular it was more reliable, a better gun-platform,could soak up far more punishment and still get the pilot home.
In addition and this was of vital importance during the Battle, the turn-around time (re-arming, refuelling etc.) for the Spitfire was 26 minutes - whereas that of the Hurricane was only 9 minutes from landing to being ready to take-off again. Also, the Hurricane was far easier and cheaper to replace and repair.

The Spitfire proved to be a great success during the Battle of Britain because it complimented the existing Hurricane's.

[jainso31]

Terry- your piece on Spitfire v Hurricane and turnaround times-as Michael Caine would say "not a lot of people know that" -but I was astonished at the disparity
Spitfire 26 mins and Hurricane 9mins.The disposition of the .303 m/c guns- were Spitfire-1-2-1 each wing, whereas Hurricane was a 4 together each wing; and whether this affected the rearmament time I can only guess at.
Thanks for that titbit.

jainso31

[Scurs]

Terry...........some time ago I was watching a programme about the Spitfire on some Sky Channel, where they interviewed ex-pilots who had flown them.

When asked which they preferred, inspite of "prompting" from interviewer, they all said, "Hurricane".
It (the Hurricane) was all the things you quote, plus much more "pilot friendly", more robust, more reliable.........was perfectly capable of taking out German Bombers, and with a good pilot, even capable of giving the ME109 a few problems.

Btw........no my father didn't fly them! He was Bomber Command! :)

[oldsalt]

I've always been amazed by the Spitfire always being stated as the battle of Britain winner. No doubt the Spitfire was a superb aircraft but I believe more Hurricanes fought than Spitfires. I often wonder just how many Sergeant flew both of these aircraft, I know we had some Petty Officer Pilots in the Fleet Air Arm, just how many I don't know.

[RNfanDan]

I watched a TV program not long ago, with veteran RAF pilots commenting on the Spit, and to a man, they all praised it (Mk IX) to be a "pilot's plane". Not a one complained, only accolades.

I guess it's a matter of taste and abilities, and I'm sure every pilot , given enough time to accomodate himself to any fighter plane of the period, would acquire his personal preference.

I have to believe the same holds true with FW-190, P-38, Hurricane, ME-109, Mustang, and Hellcat pilots.

From the point of good looks, the Spit is a personal favorite of mine, for what little it's worth.

[astraltrader]

Dan with due respect your comment about the opinions of Pilots based on the [superb] MK9 Spitfire is totally irrelevant in our discussion over the merits of RAF fighters in the Battle of Britain, as it was originally developed as a stop-gap measure as a response to the appearance of the Focke-Wulf FW 190A and did not fly until [from memory] June or July 1942!!

Anyway as I have already said the Spitfire is by far my favourite fighter - because like the old Jaguar Car adverts it had pace, grace and was a pure racing thoroughbred but I have also gone out of my way to stress that the Hurricane played the dominant part in the Battle of Britain for the good reasons I provided above. Also I believe the Hurricane never got the praise and tributes it most certainly deserved in the same way the Spitfire received.

The truth is together they provided Fighter Command with a winning pairing back in the dark days of 1940.... ;)


For those of you interested in seeing some rare and interesting pictures of the Hurricane then look no further than to my posts #25-28 in the thread below!

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947

.

[astraltrader]

Various pictures of seafires and wildcats kindly posted by Doug Birch have been moved to their correct thread. [see below].

http://www.worldnavalships.com/forum...?t=1947&page=2 (http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1947&page=2)

Just to remind everyone this thread is meant for Spitfires.


Anyway here are three pictures of Spitfires from 602 Squadron probably taken around 1942 and finally one taken in France 1944/45 showing a pair of mk18's....

[RNfanDan]

Dan with due respect your comment about the opinions of Pilots based on the [superb] MK9 Spitfire is totally irrelevant in our discussion over the merits of RAF fighters in the Battle of Britain, as it was originally developed as a stop-gap measure as a response to the appearance of the Focke-Wulf FW 190A and did not fly until [from memory] June or July 1942!!

Very well then, I beg your pardon!

I would appreciate you deleting it and I will refrain from further opinion on the Spitfire, my apologies!

Dan

[astraltrader]

Dan - I always welcome your opinions mate!

It is worth leaving in because you are right the MK9 was universally liked by the RAF pilots and it was a vast improvement over the earlier models - as I said it had to be to cope with the advent of the very fast FW190's which shot the earlier variants of Spitfires out of the sky.

My point was purely it had no place in the Spitfire -v- Hurricane debate relating to the Battle of Britain as it arrived a couple of years later.

Anyway this thread is primarily about the Spitfire and not about the Battle of Britain so your words are appreciated. :)

Also if I removed every post I got slightly inaccurate I would probably have nearer 500 posts rather than almost 1,000!!

[Blaydon]

Two of mine.

[jainso31]

The Spitfire Mk IX was a superb aircraft which flew throughout WW2 from late 1942 to the war's end-beloved by all who flew it.
Below a few facts and figures for this Mark.:cool:-I hope??

jainso31

http://ww2total.com/WW2/Weapons/War-Planes/Fighter-Planes/British/Spitfire/Spitfire-IX.htm

[astraltrader]

The Spitfire Mk IX was a superb aircraft which flew throughout WW2 from late 1942 to the war's end-beloved by all who flew it.
Below a few facts and figures for this Mark.:cool:-I hope??

jainso31

http://ww2total.com/WW2/Weapons/War-Planes/Fighter-Planes/British/Spitfire/Spitfire-IX.htm


Absolutely Jim - as both Dan and I mentioned in earlier posts. ;)

[astraltrader]

Has long time been one of my favourite Spitfire photographs.

[tim lewin]

here are a few small pics of spitfires, the one in mufti is i think a survivor of the israeli airforce. I particularly like the one of the spitfire flying off USS Wasp, there seem to be very few pictures of this dramatic effort, duplicated, to save Malta in the spring of 1942.
tim

[derek s.langsdon]

Think it was only last weekl that a TV presenter was given a flight in a Spitfire,
and said he enjoyed the "wonderful engine noise ! . Would loved to have been so fortunate a few years back but I am not now as mobile as the recent 91-years old "wing-walker" !.

Like some others, wish I had had a good (long lens) camera as a schoolboytwhen I watched from the back garden ,Spits' and Hurricanes diving amongst the largest ever mass of German bombers flying high over north London in daylight,but did pick up several machine gun belt "clips" that fell onto our back path.

I assume the surviving/flying "Battle of Britain Flight" planes are based at
Duxford ? I never visited but passed it regularly back and forth to London some years ago when, at that time The Concorde could be seen from the roadway.

derek-L

[jainso31]

Derek all BBMF aircraft are at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and these include quite a number of airworthy Spitfires-the main problem for keeping them flying is engines.Coningsby has two or three Hurricanes, which are also powered by the RR Merlin-so they are swapped around after major services.
PS When I was a boy during WW2-I too hunted for cartridge cases and clips from various firing ranges-but DON'T tell my mum!!:eek::eek::cool:

jainso31

[derek s.langsdon]

Thanks so much for the info on where the remaining Spits & Hurricanes now based .Long lost my fighter gun clips but retain small shell cases from Beirut (6-day war) when, although adult could'nt resist picking up as scrambled back to hotel bar to recover !

derek-L

[emason]

For all you other Spitfire affecionados, I don't know if you have read it, but there is a book called "Sigh for a Merlin" by Alex Henshaw who was the chief Spitfire test pilot at Castle Bromwich. It is estimated that he flew 10% of all Spitfires and Seafires ever made. Probably the best book ever written on the Spitfire. Highly recommended.

He wrote another called "Flight of the Mew Gull", an account of his record breaking flight to South Africa and back in the 1930s, a record which stood for over 70 years.

He won the King's Cup, and is the only officially known pilot to have barrel rolled a Lancaster.

[Hank]

The fellows I consider, as well as the daily operators, were the fellows who beat a lasting symbol of national soverignty out of Aluminium. Regards

[astraltrader]

For all you other Spitfire affecionados, I don't know if you have read it, but there is a book called "Sigh for a Merlin" by Alex Henshaw who was the chief Spitfire test pilot at Castle Bromwich. It is estimated that he flew 10% of all Spitfires and Seafires ever made. Probably the best book ever written on the Spitfire. Highly recommended.

He wrote another called "Flight of the Mew Gull", an account of his record breaking flight to South Africa and back in the 1930s, a record which stood for over 70 years.

He won the King's Cup, and is the only officially known pilot to have barrel rolled a Lancaster.


I agree with Bill that Alex Henshaw's "Sigh for a Merlin" is a fine book which I wholeheartedly recommend. :)

[chris westwood]

Me too Herk. The plane looked and sounded so right that I reckon every boy of our sort of age wanted to as well [unless they were German or Russian!]...

Terry, I was walking up Garforth Main Street the other day on my way to the hardware shop, when this almighty roaring sound envelopped the entire street. Everybody looked up to see a lancaster bomber sweep over. Awesome: the sound, in effect, of four spitfires

[astraltrader]

What a wonderful treat Chris - always fantastic to hear such a magnificent sound. :)

[emason]

There was a programme on BBC2 tonight, called "The Spitfire: Britain's Flying Past" to celebrate its 75th anniversary. Some lovely shots of it flying, plus historical footage. It will be available shortly on iplayer.

[astraltrader]

Yes I taped it and will get around to watching it in the next few days. ;)

[Channel Hopper]

Yes I taped it and will get around to watching it in the next few days. ;)

A great night in, especially the last programme in the evening, detailing one pilot and his early career through the air struggle over Britain, (my only gripe being the Merlin powered Heinkel 111 from the film, but hey-ho).

Anyow, enjoy this clip, courtesy of Sqn Ldr Raynham Hanna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmR-A-yJknw

[derek s.langsdon]

Watched the ITV3 repeat last night of "Pa Larkin" enjoying his Spitfire flip -with lady pilot allowing him brief control , would've liked the chance !

derek-L

[jainso31]

Obviously the two seat version-which I see often in FLYPAST magazine.I too would very much like a spin in that aeroplane.:cool:
When young in the ATC had flights in a Tiger Moth and a Lancaster at RAF Leconfield near Hull.:cool::):cool:

jainso31

[astraltrader]

I think you mean this little beauty, Jim. ;)

[Canada Para]

If my lottery numbers ever came up on a significant rollover I would buy & maintain one of those magnificent aircraft.

In between, I'd learn to fly and enjoy showing the plane as much as possible.

[jainso31]

Yes Terry- I do mean SM 520 an ex Mk IX, now Mk Tr-9; which is being sold at Bonham's for £1.5m. See link Daily Mail link below.

jainso31

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1165333/The-battle-Bonhams-How-pick-spitfire-1-5m.html