WIN!

A FLIGHT IN A HURRICANE
The Heart Of
Aviation Heritage

LOCH NESS CLASSICS: THE

W E L L I N G TO N GLOSTER METEOR
The crash, the recover y and T h e R A F ’s f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n
full story from issue one jet fighter in profile

C I R C U S E S , R A M RO D S B -1 7 S A N D A
A N D RO D E O S H O L LY W O O D I C O N
Into battle with the Making Steve McQueen's
Ta n g m e r e W i n g T h e Wa r L o v e r

50 0 CELEBRATING
ISSUES
UK £5.60

03

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The latest
av i a t i o n n ew s ,
views, reviews
and more
MARCH 2023
Gaijin_FP.indd 1 13/12/2022 14:07:53

Editor
James Peene
james.peene@keypublishing.com
Celebrating in style
aving read FlyPast as a
H youngster, I never envisaged
I would be sitting in the
editor’s chair for the 500th
issue. And yet here we
are, precisely 500 issues on from the
magazine’s launch in 1981, when 95p
bought you 70 pages of black and white
historical features, aviation news and a
Michael Turner painting in the centrefold.
As the 500th issue approached I found
myself drawing ever more inspiration
from that first issue. Hence, I have upped
the amount of current preservation
features in line with our original
manifesto ‘to present the reader with
pioneering coverage of this fascinating
world of living history’. And this issue
sees the return of something many have
asked for, a centre-spread image.
I also felt it was important to give a nod
back to our first issue and revisit one of
the original features, hence the ten pages
on recovering Wellington N2980 from
W E LCO M E
George Romain
Loch Ness. The original feature described
it as ‘the most ambitious aviation
archaeological project ever undertaken’,
and seeing how it looked when it was
raised from the loch illustrates how much
time, money and effort has been invested
in it over the intervening years.
If we had said to a reader in issue one
that 42 years later they’d be able to
fly as a passenger in a Hurricane they
wouldn’t have believed us. The world
had never known a two-seater Hurricane
back then and yet, thanks to continued
interest in historic aviation, such a thing
is now possible. Thanks of course, in no
small part to Hurricane Heritage, who
are providing just such an opportunity to
one lucky winner of our competition (see
page 25, closing date May 12, 2023). As
the saying goes, you have to be in it
to win it, and what a prize!
Who knows what will be flying in
another four decades, but one thing is for
sure, FlyPast will be there to cover it.
M a rch 2 023 / F LY PA S T / 3
C O N T E N T S / N o. 5 0 0

Marking our 500th cover in

spectacular style is Lewis Air
Legends’ Supermarine Spitfire
Mk.Vb BL628 Bradley Wentzel

6
Gallery

Tony Agar's remarkable

de Havilland Mosquito
NF.II makes a nocturnal
appearance at East
Kirkby in Lincolnshire

10
Lewis Air Legends

Steve Beebee chats to US

warbird operator Rod Lewis
about his Spitfire Mk.Vb
and the rest of his incredible
Texas-based aircraft
collection

20 40 50 70
News and reviews Loch Ness Gloster Meteor Scampton
Wellington memories

The latest historic aircraft F LYPAST CL ASSI CS

and restoration news, plus
reviews and your letters.
This month we include
an update on Biggin Hill
Heritage Hangar’s Spitfire
Mk.I, a salute to the last
Dambuster, and much more
Revisiting a bomber Malcolm V Lowe tells the With the recent, final
featured in our very story of the Gloster Meteor closure of RAF Scampton
first issue, Jamie Ewan day fighters, Britain’s in Lincolnshire, Chris Frear
recounts the remarkable first operational jet type, looks back at some of the
story of R-for-Robert – the supported by rarely seen people, squadrons and
Vickers Wellington that images and Andy Hay’s aircraft once based at the
came home colour profile artwork famous, historic base

4 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3

WIN!
A flight in a
Hurricane
See page 25
for entry details
Competition closing date
May 12, 2023
78
‘The War Lover’
Sixty years ago a trio of
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
bombers took part in a Steve
McQueen movie that was from two famous airmen
not well received at the time – JE ‘Johnnie’ Johnson
but came to be regarded as and Hugh Dundas – who
a gem. Ken Ellis reflects on flew with the legendary
the film’s production
94
Lancaster rebuild
A few years ago, Luke
Campion and Jamie
Sneddon embarked on a
Lancaster cockpit project
that changed their lives
96
Still of the night
With the current boom
in aviation night shoots,
professional photographer
Darren Harbar reveals
tricks of the trade
102
Glory Days
A haunting image of TSR2
XR219 – the sole example of
the unmistakable jet to fly –
sitting forlorn on an MOD
firing range
106
American Moth
Darren Harbar goes air-
to-air with Clive Denney’s
immaculate USAAF-
marked de Havilland
Tiger Moth
86
Bader’s Bus Subscribe and Save
Company
Make great savings when you take
Author John Starkey out a subscription to FlyPast.
draws on biographies
See pages 32 and 33 for details or
visit www.flypast.com to find out
more about our digital packages
Douglas Bader
M a rch 2 023 / F LY PA S T / 5
 G A L L E R Y

Tony Agar's incredible de Havilland

Mosquito NF.II (HJ711) disappears into
the night at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire,
on November 5, 2022 Key – Jamie Ewan

6 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
M a rch 2 023 / F LY PA S T / 7
Tynhams_DPS.indd 1 04/01/2023 14:18:35
Tynhams_DPS.indd 2 04/01/2023 14:18:56
LEWIS AIR LEGENDS

SPIT
LONE STAR

Among the dazzling array of US warbirds

flying from Lewis Air Legends’ Texas base is
a British icon – a Spitfire Mk.V. FlyPast chats
to owner Rod Lewis about this remarkable
machine and its many stablemates

Words: Steve Beebee

1 0 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3

FIRE
hen you go through
“W something that you
barely live through,
there’s an awakening.
You think about the
things you really want to do…”
Speaking to FlyPast just before
Christmas from his home in San
Antonio, Texas, Rodney Lewis is taking
a moment to reflect on the journey that
has brought him here. To put it mildly,
it’s been quite a ride. The son of a
USAF jet pilot, aviation has always been
A dramatic topside view of Lewis Air
Legends' Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb
BL628 (N628BL) All Bradley Wentzel
in Rod’s genes. It got there, he says,
“almost by osmosis”. But it doesn’t just
live there, unseen and unheard – it’s
also the thing that makes his heart beat
that little bit quicker.
This joy of flight, this abiding
fascination and respect for wartime
history, became all the more piquant
around 18 years ago, when Rod
survived a battle with cancer.
“It definitely made me more
determined to explore this passion for
flying and for history,” he says. “After
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 1 1
LEWIS AIR LEGENDS

ABOVE, CLOCKWISE:
The Spitfire flew with
four squadrons and
one maintenance unit
during World War Two. It
currently flies in RCAF
401 Squadron colours

Lewis Air Legends

operates the world
famous P-38F Lightning
Glacier Girl

Speed, beauty and

precision – the Spitfire in
its natural element

1 2 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
my bout with cancer, I didn’t know
how much longer I had to live.
”I am now 18 years out, but back at
that time life expectancy was said to
be about five years… so I just started
buying aircraft.”
Present and future
It’s easy to forget that life is special.
No day or week is guaranteed. Rod is
good company, a genial, witty man who
speaks in calm, considered sentences.
His work in the oil industry has
brought him great financial success, but
more importantly, he’s an example of a
man who has taken every opportunity
to make the best of his days on Earth.
It is a drive that has seen him acquire
more than 40 historic, mostly World
War Two-era aircraft – including
the subject of Bradley Wentzel’s
“I am now 18 years
out but back at that
time life expectancy
was said to be about
five years… so I
just started buying
aircraft”
superb photo shoot on these pages
and our special 500th edition cover,
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb BL628.
Like the famous British fighter, all
Rod’s aircraft are kept in pristine,
airworthy condition – or are on their
way to that status. His Texas-based
collection, Lewis Air Legends, is not
a museum but a living, roaring, flying
tribute to aviators and designers
gone by.
Rod’s also very keen to stress that it’s
not just about the past, as important
as that is. It’s also about the future –
ensuring these aircraft survive, and
that future generations get to both
understand and appreciate them.
“I’ve started up the Air Legends
Foundation, currently with five
aircraft,” he explains. “It is being set
up to pass this aircraft collection down
to my kids and their kids. And future
generations. And to allow others to
view and see these aircraft flying so
we can honour those that flew them,
those that fought for the freedom we
enjoy today.”
Love blossoms
The word ‘iconic’ is massively
overused – editors often advise
journalists to find different descriptors
– but happily the Supermarine Spitfire
is one aeroplane that we can justifiably
define as such. In Britain at least,
it’s more than just an aircraft. It’s a
symbol of victory, of our freedom itself.
I’m curious to know whether Rod,
an American and a pilot of so many
different types, feels similarly about it.
It’s interesting – and rather touching –
to hear that he does.
“It has ended up being one of my
favourite aircraft,” he smiles. “My love
for it soon grew because I enjoy flying
it so much. It is very, very British –
but there’s nothing wrong with that.
They did an excellent job. You open the
cowling and it’s British. The wing is
British. I find the flight characteristics
of British aircraft to be very pleasant,
especially the Mk.V.
“I sometimes describe it as a Super
Cub with a V-12 in it – that’s the kind
of power-to-weight ratio we’re talking
about. It has a great many peculiarities,
but it’s very manoeuvrable. In common
with other British aircraft like the
Mosquito and Sea Fury, it is very
distinct, and quite unlike any US
aircraft that you might sit in.”
Rod’s appreciation of the Spitfire is
something that came with time – it
wasn’t love at first sight. Initially he
was sceptical about acquiring it, and its
arrival in his collection was connected
to his desire to land perhaps the biggest
fish of all, the famous Lockheed P-38
Lightning Glacier Girl.
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 1 3
LEWIS AIR LEGENDS
“At the time, I didn’t want to
purchase anything except US-built or
US-utilised World War Two aircraft,
and I was trying to buy Glacier Girl.
I’d just bought a Corsair and a Bearcat
from the same individual – and in
order to get Glacier Girl they required
me to purchase five aircraft. The
Spitfire was one that I was initially
hesitant to accept. I hadn’t been in the
market for one.”
That hesitancy vanished when
Rod started flying his new charge,
overseen by none other than Fighter
Collection leader Stephen Grey. “He
and Stewart Dawson have checked me
out in most of my aircraft, so I’ve had
really good instruction,” Rod notes.
“Stephen explained how everything
worked and what I should be cautious
of. His love of the airplane quickly
transferred to me. He can do amazing
things – he took my Spitfire up and
did some amazing aerobatics. It grew
on me, it really did, and now it’s one
of my go-to aircraft. When I go to the
hangar, I often find myself saying ‘pull
that one out!’”
In praise of ‘Marion’
Like so many of its ‘breed’, Spitfire
Mk.Vb BL628 was built at Castle
Bromwich in the West Midlands.
It was first delivered to 12 MU in
January 1942 before reaching its first
ABOVE: Marion in flight – the Mk.Vb flies in the
markings of 401 Squadron, the Royal Canadian Air
Force unit it served with in 1942
RIGHT: The 1942-built machine is kept in
immaculate condition at its Texan home
1 4 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
term rebuild, mostly in Australia. Most
of the work, however, was completed
in more recent years at Ardmore,
New Zealand, by the highly regarded
Avspecs team. They returned it to the
air on September 29, 2007.
“They did a wonderful job,” says Rod.
“They’ve done many aircraft for me and
they’re doing another one – a Mosquito
– at present. I think the world of those
guys; they do an excellent job, and
especially with British aircraft – think
of all the Mosquitos they’ve done. I did
have one [FB.VI PZ474], but my friend
is now taking care of that, and we’re
building another one in New Zealand.
It’s probably about two years away.”
The Spitfire’s return to the air was
timely for Rod; not only did it fill a
notable gap in his collection, helping
him incidentally with his desire to buy
Glacier Girl, but it was the next step in a
“It is very British – series of aircraft acquisitions following
his recovery from illness.
but there’s nothing “My first real tailwheel aeroplane
was a [CAC] Wirraway, and my
wrong with that. They business was growing which meant I
did an excellent job. could afford these types of aircraft,”
he recalls. “The first really expensive
You open the cowling aeroplane I bought was the TF-51
Mustang. I bought that from [legendary
and it’s British. The pilot and astronaut] Frank Borman. He
wing is British…” gave me a ride in it – my second flight
in it came the following morning, this
time with Chuck Yeager at the controls.
operational unit, the Royal Canadian
Air Force’s 401 Squadron, then based
at Gravesend, the following month.
It soon became a regular mount for
George Bremner ‘Scotty’ Murray
DFC who named it Marion after his
girlfriend. Flying this fighter, ‘Scotty’
frequently tangled with Luftwaffe
Focke-Wulf Fw 190s over France and
Holland. He was credited with two
Fw 190s damaged and one destroyed.
Lewis Air Legends continue to operate
the Spitfire in the markings it wore
with 401 Squadron, with the name
Marion proudly displayed.
BL628 was despatched to 167 and
then 601 Squadron before the end of
1942; it was transferred to the Royal
Navy the following year and converted
to hooked configuration. After a stint
with 899 Squadron at Belfast it appears
to have suffered an undercarriage
failure with another unit serving at St
Merryn in Cornwall.
Eventually struck off charge, its
derelict remains were acquired in 1977
and it became the subject of a long-
 Lewis Air Legends
boss Rod Lewis in
the Spitfire's cockpit

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 1 5
LEWIS AIR LEGENDS
When you’re flying with these guys,
you just get enamoured with what
they’ve done, and with the aircraft.
“Before that I bought a North
American NA-50. I flew over to Grass
Valley [California] and was met there
by Chuck who lived there, and we
went to take a look at it together. He
liked it and I liked it, so I bought it,
and it wasn’t a particularly expensive
aeroplane. The next one was the
Mustang, and after that I added a
Bearcat and a Corsair.”
Greatest generation
Imagine being able to call on the advice
of legends like Chuck Yeager and Frank
Borman – it was talking to men like
these and of course his father who
flew F-100 Super Sabres in the war in
Vietnam, that inspired Rod to establish
his magnificent fleet and, equally
importantly, understand the foibles of
each machine.
“Through my links to people in the
airshow community, especially Planes
of Fame, I met a lot of legends and
became friends with people like Tex
Hill, Bud Anderson and Chuck Yeager.
This was at a time when they were still
flying – that really impressed me.
“I bought my first airplane, a T-28, in
1994 and took it to [Wisconsin’s annual
aviation extravaganza] Oshkosh the
following year where it won Best T-28
ABOVE RIGHT: Those distinctive elliptical wings
are easily identifiable at any distance
BELOW: Safe within its hanger, Marion is
constantly maintained by the Lewis Air Legends
crew to exacting standards
1 6 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
category. Chuck gave me the award,
so I met him through that. He and I
ended up flying together a lot, and I’d
often accompany him to the shows at
Edwards Air Force Base. Being around
the guys who actually flew and fought
in the war, along with my dad who had
been stationed in Korea during the
Vietnam War on F-100s, my love for
these aircraft grew through them. It’s
partly about wanting to honour what
they did.”
Inevitably, most of those great men
have since left us, sadly including Lt Col
Duane Lewis, Rod’s father, who passed
away in April 2022. Of the names
mentioned above, only Frank Borman,
now 94, and centenarian Mustang
legend Bud Anderson, are still living.
The Lewis Air Legends boss continues
to feel a great kinship with that
generation of airmen, perhaps cemented
by a determination to honour their
legacy and ensure their contribution
to our freedom is never forgotten. “It’s
one of the main reasons we fly these
aircraft,” he nods.
Rod tells FlyPast about a trip he took
to the Pacific islands a few years ago.
At the controls of a Carbon Cub those pilots who flew these machines
floatplane he was able to leave his boat first time around.”
and fly over many of the locations
where intense fighting had taken place Ice maiden
during World War Two. While things Keeping all the aeroplanes in the vast
are thankfully very different today, Lewis Air Legends fleet in flyable
the islands look little changed from condition might seem a daunting
the air. “That’s when I felt I could proposition, and certainly it involves
really relate to what those guys did,” the expertise of a great many
he observes. “Certainly, when we’re individuals – but in another way, it’s
flying cross country to Oshkosh or any disarmingly simple. Make sure the
airshow, we do think constantly about aircraft fly regularly, inspect them,
service them and, in general terms,
they continue to be reliable.
“The Spitfire is like any of them – if
you don’t fly them they’re not going to
be reliable,” Rod affirms. “If something
just sits, it’s not going to be ready to
go. But if you keep them running,
keep them in the air and keep all the
systems working, it’s good.
“The Spitfire is a very reliable
aircraft. We do have to operate it
differently in Texas to what you might
do at Duxford, because it was built for
a British climate, not ours. We can’t
afford to get into a long line of aircraft
waiting to take off, for example – we’ve
got to get up to the runway and get
going. A lot of times we see the water
temperature climbing faster than the
oil temperature. That means you start
it, shut it down, let the temperatures
equalise, then start it again and get

“The Spitfire is a very
reliable aircraft, but
we do have to operate
it differently in Texas
to what you might do
at Duxford”
up in the air. As soon as you’re up, the
airflow cools the engine.”
One of the more recent additions
to the collection is Grumman F4F-3
Wildcat 12260, a remarkable time
capsule of an aeroplane. It spent around
50 years submerged in Lake Michigan
before being recovered. Restored to
fly over ten years, it’s now on the US
civil register as N12260 and is the
world’s only airworthy Grumman-built
example of the type. It’s one of the few
in the fleet that Rod doesn’t fly – that
honour belongs to Conrad Huffstutler, a
noted exponent of the breed.
The Wildcat’s back-from-the-dead
story is second only to that of Glacier
Girl, also of course part of the Lewis
collection. The P-38F’s history is well
documented, but is so remarkable
that it’s always worth recounting.
The Lockheed, 41-7630, was buried
underneath a Greenland ice sheet for
half a century. It had made a forced
landing there in 1942, along with
several other fighters and two B-17s.
The crews were rescued but the aircraft
were left to their fate – they were
ultimately entombed beneath hundreds
of feet of ice.
Using a variety of innovative and
painstaking methods, the Lightning
was successfully extracted in 1992 and
following an epic restoration flew
again in October 2002 before a crowd
of 20,000. Incredibly, around 80%
of the fighter’s original parts were
used in its resurrection. Rod acquired
this most remarkable of ‘birds’ in
2006 and has been operating it ever
since – he regards it as his signature
aircraft. Charged by FlyPast to pick
a favourite aeroplane, Rod chooses
Glacier Girl, with the Spitfire coming a
close second. “The P-38 is a fabulous
aircraft, but I have to say that the
Spitfire would be number two. It’s
certainly right up there.”
He laughs: “I was actually scared
to death when Steve Hinton flew the
P-38 to the hangar that day. I feel
a great responsibility to it – but I
couldn’t wait to fly it. Since it is such
a very special aircraft, we are just
very, very careful with it, in everything
that we do.”
Keep ‘em flying
In 2022, Lewis Air Legends took
five aircraft to Oshkosh, one of
which was the Wildcat and another
of which was North American B-25J
Mitchell N747AF. “The trouble was,
I had that in Russian markings, and
the war in Ukraine was kicking off,”
Rod ponders. “I thought ‘there’s no
way I can fly an aircraft in Russian
markings’, so we had them all covered
over, graffiti style, with yellow and
blue Ukrainian colours. So now
BELOW: The Spitfire's interior is classic 1940s
design; a detail from the throttle controls within
BL628 demonstrates the style of the era
M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 7
LEWIS AIR LEGEND

“I am not starting a museum, but we

do fly them all over, and everyone that
wants to see them gets to see them”

the aircraft has graffiti-style Ukraine
Air Force livery!”
The Lewis team has also spent
eight years reviving another very
famous aircraft – Lockheed C-121A
Constellation Bataan, the very
machine used by Gen Douglas
MacArthur who led US forces in the
Far East. The aircraft is currently at
Chino in California, and if all goes
to plan, it’ll be back in the air this
year: “We’re a few months away from
starting the engines.”
“I’m adding more aircraft this year,”
he reveals, with a grin. “I have no
particular reason – I am not starting a
museum, but we do fly them all over,
and everyone that wants to see them
gets to see them. We will have an F6F
Hellcat coming out of what’s been
ABOVE: The lowering sun gleams from
the immaculately polished surfaces of
our subject's wings
almost eight years of restoration.
We really hope that the Connie will
be ready for Oshkosh [late July] – it
won’t be completed, but hopefully
it will be flying. The Mosquito
is a few years away and that’ll
probably be the last of the long-term
restorations.”
Rod smiles, reflecting perhaps
on both the journey and its satisfying
destination. “I’ve got over 40 aircraft
now – every one of them flies and
every one of them is kept in perfect
condition,” he says. “I feel like I’m
pretty set. I don’t think I really want
anything else.”

1 8 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
 The entire collection to be sold at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on
Thursday 18 May 2023

For further information please contact Henry Meadows on 01285 860006 or henry@dominicwinter.co.uk

Mallard House, Broadway Lane

South Cerney, Glos., GL7 5UQ
www.dominicwinter.co.uk

DominicWinterBookAuc_FP.indd 1 19/12/2022 14:19:07

N E W S / T h e l at e s t i n av i at i o n h e r i t a g e

Battle of Britain Spitfire Mk.I approaches

completion – as Mk.IX work begins
Supermarine Spitfire the Tonbridge Battle

Mk.I P9372 has
entered the final stages
of restoration with the
Biggin Hill, Kent-based
Spitfire Factory.
The Mk.I – registered
G-CLIH – was built
by Supermarine’s
Woolston factory and
first flew on February
22, 1940. Delivered
to 92 Squadron the
following month, it
was shot down on
September 9 while
being flown by P/O W
C Watling. Abandoning
the stricken fighter
close to Biggin Hill,
Watling survived, while
the aircraft crashed
near East Guildford.
The aircraft’s
remains were later
excavated from the
site and displayed at
Greg Davis
of Britain Museum,
before being acquired
by renowned Spitfire
historian and operator
Peter Monk (owner and
founder of the Biggin
Hill Heritage Hangar)
in 2016. Obtained by its
current owner in 2019,
the aircraft is expected
to fly early this year.
The Biggin Hill
company has also taken
on another Spitfire
project. Author and
Spitfire enthusiast Greg
Davis has acquired the
wreckage of Spitfire
Mk.IXe PT989 and has Seat Spitfires – The engaged in a practice excavated from frozen
registered it with the Complete Story. dogfight on May 18, tundra. See next
CAA. Greg (pictured The fighter flew 1945, it collided with month’s FlyPast for
with PT989’s control in Russia with the PT879 – both pilots more on Biggin Hill
column) is the founder Murmansk Air successfully baled out. Heritage Hangar and
of Facebook’s ‘The Defence Force’s No.767 The remains of PT989 its Spitfire Factory.
Two-Seat Spitfire Page’, Fighter Aviation were discovered in www.f lyaspitfire.
and co-author of Two- Regiment. While 2014 and successfully com/spitfire-factory

Key-Jamie Ewan

2 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 Harryt@antics.ltd.uk

anticsonline
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HURRICANE MkIIb            BATTLE OF BRITAIN 75TH ANNIVERSARY HURRICANE MkI

The Hawker Hurricane is often overshadowed by
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ZK349 GN-A, Flt. Lt. Ben Westoby-Brooks, RAFNo.29 (R)
Squadron, Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary commemorative
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Summer 2015 As Britain prepared to mark the 75th Anniversary
of the Battle of Britain in the early summer of 2015, the RAF
When the Hawker Hurricane entered squadron
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a new era of aviation for a Royal Air Force which
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RRP: £57.75
Although often overshadowed by the more
famous B-17, the indestructible B-24 has been
involved in more frontline missions than any other
American bomber. The most famous use of B-24
bombers was against the oil refineries in Ploiesti,
Romania.

£49.99 £78.99

025_FP_Mar23_ad.indd 1 06/01/2023 11:04:34

 N E W S / T h e l at e s t i n av i at i o n h e r i t a g e

Meteor and Sycamore

South African Air Force

join Ulster Aviation

Society
Ulster Aviation Society The former Aeroplane
(UAS) took delivery and Armament
of a Gloster Meteor Experimental
T.7 (mod) WA634 Establishment and
and ex-RAF Bristol Martin-Baker Meteor
Sycamore HR.14 XJ918 represents virtually
from the RAF Museum the complete timeline
on December 10. for the Martin-
UAS chairman Ray Baker ejection seat
Burrows told FlyPast: development, with this
“The Sycamore served particular airframe
in Northern Ireland having some 500
South African Vampire during the 1950s and ejections to its credit.
60s with both 275 and The company has a
to be restored 118 Squadrons, initially test facility close by
in the search and rescue and the society has a
Personnel from the In a statement issued During 235’s previous role, then later in the display dedicated to
South African Air on December 5, the restoration, the jet’s security role.” aircrew survival.
Force removed de unit noted: “The wooden nose structure
Havilland Vampire Vampire ‘gate guard’ was replaced using

Ulster Aviation Society

FB.52 235 from its pole has been steadily aluminium to help
at AFB Langebaanweg deteriorating over it withstand the
recently. The jet – the past few years. elements. With much
one of 56 examples It was decided to of the effort expected
operated by the nation remove it in order to to focus on the
between 1950 and restore it. This in itself airframe’s weather-
1978 – is to undergo poses its own very beaten fuselage, it will
refurbishment with unique and difficult be rebuilt using more
the resident 2 Air challenges given the robust materials to
Servicing Unit. airframe’s fragility.” ensure its longevity.

Pima receives former NASA Boeing 747SP

NASA’s now- Boeing 747SP-DLR will eventually be on aircraft like SOFIA are low-gravity conditions
retired Stratospheric N747NA, NASA display. prepared for display to conduct science
Observatory for followed regulations Along with six after their arrival. experiments and train
Infrared Astronomy for the disposition of hangars, 80 acres At Pima, the 747SP astronauts. Before
(SOFIA) aircraft will excess government of outdoor display will join other notable flying to Arizona,
find a permanent equipment. Pima, one grounds and more NASA aircraft, like the 747SP made a
home in the Pima Air of the world’s largest than 425 aircraft from the Super Guppy that final public flight at
& Space Museum in aerospace museums, around the world, transported Saturn V the Edwards AFB
Tucson, Arizona. is developing plans Pima also has its own rocket parts for the Open House event in
To identify a final for when and how restoration facility Apollo missions, and California on October
destination for the SOFIA aircraft where incoming the KC-135 that created 15, 2022.

Col Joseph Kittinger, whose 1960 parachute De Havilland DH.80a Puss Moth G-AEOA
jump from almost 20 miles above the Earth was delivered to the Old Warden-based
briefings

stood as a world record for more than 50 years, Shuttleworth Collection in December as the
died on December 9, aged 94. Joseph, then a subject of a possible return to flight project.
USAF fighter pilot, completed three jumps over The 1931-built machine was previously with
ten months as part of Project Excelsior which the Collection, but is now owned by Andrew
was aimed at helping design ejection systems for Woods who also has Sopwith Dove G-EAGA
military pilots flying high-altitude missions. USAF and Gipsy Moth G-ABAG at Old Warden.

2 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 Gripen prototype arrives at new home
Sweden’s Aeroseum Swedish Air Force test programme. It was

took delivery of its
latest exhibit on
November 16, 2022 –
SAAB JAS 39-2 ‘52’,
the second prototype of
what is now the hugely
successful Gripen.
The attraction is
located within a former
subterranean hangar
just to the north
of Gothenburg.
One of five prototypes
ordered, the jet took
to the air for the first
time on May 4, 1990,
and was used by SAAB
to support the Gripen
Aeroseum
withdrawn after 461
hours of flight in 1999,
and transferred to the
Swedish Air Force
Museum at Malmslätt.
Work to prepare the
jet for display at the
museum was completed
in early December.

New colours for Moody’s Warhawk

The Curtiss P-40N Warhawk resident at the President George W Bush Air Park at Moody AFB, Georgia, has been repainted. It’s been finished to replicate a P-40
Tomahawk flown by the 1st American Volunteer Group (the ‘Flying Tigers’) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The work was undertaken by Andy and Loui
Bishop, along with resident 23rd Wing historian Mark Godwin. USAF-Briana Beavers

In December 2022, the Historic Army Aircraft Flight
was in the process of dismantling de Havilland
DH.82A Tiger Moth EM840 for transfer to the
Hooton Park Trust’s Cheshire collection. The HAAF
noted: “This aircraft currently has no engine and
there was little real prospect of it being restored
by us to flying condition. In its new home it will be
viewed by aviation enthusiasts and the public.”
Folland Gnat T.1 XP514 has been placed on
temporary display at the Planes of Fame Air
Museum in Chino, California. First flown on
April 13, 1963, the Gnat was operated by the
RAF’s Red Arrows display team, 4 FTS and the
CFS until it was retired to RAF Cranwell on
September 17, 1979 for use as an instructional
airframe Frank B Mormillo

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 2 3
N E W S / T h e l at e s t i n av i at i o n h e r i t a g e

D-Day Squadron
D-Day Squadron Dakota flight
plans European return in 2024
The D-Day Squadron War Two-era DC-3s never forget what professionals is being and donors. Those
– a US-based tribute to England, France, these veterans meant established to help wishing to participate
flight comprising and Germany. It then to each of us and our manage the inevitably are asked to contact
Douglas C-47 and appeared at multiple world history.” complex logistics. the D-Day Squadron’s
DC-3 aircraft – has flyovers, aviation Planning for the The team is also executive director,
announced that it will events and warbird- journey is already seeking to enhance its Lyndse Costabile,
be returning to Europe themed airshows. underway. A volunteer list of corporate and at director@
in 2024. “In 2019, our focus committee of dedicated individual partners ddaysquadron.org
The unveiling of the was to remind people
2024 Legacy Tour how, more than 75
USAF-Devin Rumbaugh

comes as both the years ago, World War

D-Day Squadron and
Sound Off Films share
news of the DVD and
Blu-ray release of the
2019 documentary
Into Flight Once More.
The team’s return
has been organised
to coincide with the
80th anniversary of
D-Day in France and
the 75th anniversary
of the Berlin Airlift in
Germany. In 2019, the
D-Day Squadron took
a fleet of 15 World
Two veterans fought
for our freedom,
liberties and served,
where many lost their
lives so we may live,”
stated Eric Zipkin,
the mission’s chief
pilot and director of
operations. “In 2024,
with so few World
War Two veterans
with us, we will
recreate the journey to
Europe and fly each
commemoration to
protect their legacy, to

2 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 500th ISSUE ANNIVERSARY COMPETITION

WIN! HURRICANE
To celebrate our 500th issue, our friends at
hurricaneheritage.com are offering
A FLIGHT IN A

WORTH
FlyPast readers the chance to win £3875!
a flight in a Hawker Hurricane!

One lucky winner will enjoy a flight in the world’s only two-seat Hurricane,
BE505. Once airborne you will be joined by R4118, the only surviving
Hurricane to have taken part in The Battle of Britain, and one of the
most original British fighters from WWII still in airworthy condition today.  
Nothing quite prepares you for the experience of looking out over your
wing and flying in formation with this significant aircraft.

The flight will take place from the wartime airfield of White Waltham. You
will be briefed in the historic clubhouse before being taken out and shown
around the two Hurricanes. Once strapped in you will experience the sensory
onslaught of the legendary Merlin start, before being launched by 1,300hp
into the air! During your flight you will, subject to operational considerations,
get the chance to take control of our graceful warbird and undertake some
aerobatics to experience first-hand the incredible manoeuvrability that has
given the Hurricane its reputation.

To enter, visit key.aero/flypast/competitions

Closing date 12th May 2023. Travel and accommodation not included. For full terms and conditions, see website.

© Photos: Darren Harbar 003/23

003_HurricaneComp_FPMar23.indd 1 10/01/2023 14:54:49

 N E W S / T h e l at e s t i n av i at i o n h e r i t a g e

Dragon Rapide arrives in South Yorkshire

into civil ownership
SYAM

instead. Flying with

The South Yorkshire
Aircraft Museum
(SYAM) has
announced the arrival
Hunting Surveys and
Consultants Ltd from
April 1961, it was used
as an aerial survey
platform, before being
acquired by the RAF
Museum in 1969. It
arrived at SYAM on
December 14, 2022
where the fuselage is
currently displayed in
the main hangar.
Project manager James
Stables said: “The
airframe is in excellent
condition and is a great
starting point for a full
restoration project.
The volunteers are
looking forward to
getting their hands
on it when our work
schedule allows.”
of de Havilland Built under licence number RL962 for www.southyorkshire
DH.89 Dragon Rapide by Brush Coachworks the RAF, G-AHED aircraftmuseum.
G-AHED from the in early 1946, initially did not see military org.uk With thanks to
RAF Museum. under the serial service and was sold Sam Scrimshaw

We Salute You
Greek F-5A spruced up
by volunteers
Lt Ivor Faulkner – thought to be the last Former Hellenic Air The first F-5As acquired from Iran and
wartime naval Walrus pilot and founder Force Northrop F-5A were obtained by the ten more from Jordan.
member of the Royal Air Squadron – died 69-7175 has been been Hellenic Air Force in Nine of the Greek
on October 1, aged 101; Flt Lt Peter Fischer restored to its former 1965, serving with 341 machines were
DFC – air gunner who flew 55 ‘ops’ with glory by a group of Squadron and then transferred to Norway
the Pathfinder Lancasters of 35 Squadron, former F-5 personnel with 343 Squadron. in 1986, with another
the most by any Danish airman in Bomber and local residents After a delivery of an ten NF-5A/B variants
Command – on December 4, aged 99; Sqn at Paleo Faliro, near initial 55 F-5A variants, finding their way to the
Ldr George ‘Johnny’ Johnson MBE DFM Athens. The jet had a further 17 RF-5As Netherlands in 1991.
– the last Dambuster (see pages 28-29) – on been in poor condition arrived in 1970. In Greece retired its F-5
December 7, aged 101; ACM Sir Michael for some time. 1975, ten aircraft were fleet in 2001.
Knight KCB AFC – senior RAF commander
who amassed 2,500 hours on Canberras
Tony Sacketos

and went on to be AOC of No 1 (Bomber)

Group – on November 28, aged 90; AVM
John Ponsonby OBE – helicopter pilot who
had operational tours in Northern Ireland,
the Falklands and in Bosnia – on October
21, aged 67; Sqn Ldr Bill Stevens MBE DFC
AFC – flew Sycamore helicopters with 194
Squadron during the Malayan Emergency
and instructed at the Empire Test Pilot’s
School – on November 16, aged 104.

2 6 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
 Lockheed Starfighters

return to ‘action’
Florida-based
Starfighters Aerospace,
which operates a fleet
of F-104 Starfighters, is
now actively working
on a programme with
the Italian National
Research Council.
The company, which
is based at Kennedy
Space Center on
Merritt Island, Florida,
has formed a working
partnership with
Consiglio Nazionale
delle Ricerche (CNR),
Italy’s largest public
research institution.
Starfighters
Aerospace will use
its ‘vintage’ F-104s
to conduct a series of
flight tests designed
to evaluate a new,
air-launched rocket
delivery system. If
successful, the small
rockets will be able to
place micro-satellites
Starfighters Aerospace
RAFM
into near-earth orbit.
Initial flight
testing for the new
Starfighters Aerospace
rocket has begun at
Cape Canaveral. In
late November the first
full-scale, sensor-laden
prototype was attached
beneath the port
wing of TF-104G-M
(MM54258/N991SA)
which took it into the
skies. CNR’s technical
manager Pantaleone
Carlucci was in the
backseat, with pilot
Piercarlo Ciacchi at
the controls, while
Starfighter Aerospace RAF Museum announces
president Rick Svetkoff
flew a second TF-104 major development
as chase plane. CNR
expects to perform the The RAF Museum has stored collection to be work closely with
first complete launch secured investment shared with the public local communities to
of its new rocket from from The National for the first time. The develop the project,
the Starfighter within Lottery Heritage development of a new ensuring we deliver
the next year. www. Fund for an extensive woodland landscape spaces that will make
starfighters.net development will encourage outdoor a vital and positive
programme at its “learning, discovery, change to people’s
Midlands site in and contemplation”. lives across

Cosford, Shropshire. The RAFM’s Maggie the Midlands

The project is Appleton said: “I’d and beyond.”
geared towards a site like to thank The Building work
transformation. An National Lottery commences in early
immersive exhibition Heritage Fund on 2025 and is expected
will explore today’s behalf of all our to be complete by
RAF, a new Learning staff, volunteers summer 2027. The
Centre will provide and Trustees for the attraction remains
bespoke facilities, generous support they free to visit, and is
and a purpose-built have given us. Over open daily from 10am.
Collections Hub will the coming months www.rafmuseum.
enable the attraction’s we will continue to org/midlands

Retired Jaguar
being transformed
into artwork
Former French Air Force SEPECAT Jaguar A36 is now the
centrepiece of an art installation being developed by Dan
Gerbo in Dornach, within France’s Alsace region. Titled Le
Repos du Guerrier (The Warrior’s Rest), it is destined for Dan’s
museum of contemporary art at Mulhouse, which is set to
open in 2023. The jet was previously with the Savigny-les-
Beaune Museum in Burgundy Paul Bannwarth via E Janssonne

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 2 7
G E O RG E ' J O H N N Y ' J O H N S O N

The Last
Dambuster
The passing of George ‘Johnny’
Johnson, the last survivor of the
gallant 153 men who attacked the
Ruhr Dams, brings one of the RAF’s
most famous chapters to a close

2 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 qn Ldr George ‘Johnny’ Johnson

S MBE DFM passed away in his sleep

on December 7, 2022. In July 1942,
‘Johnny’ trained as an air gunner
and joined 97 Squadron, flying Avro
Lancasters. He flew on bombing operations with
different crews until completing a course as a bomb
aimer. He then joined the crew of American Flt Lt
Joe McCarthy DFC. Over the next three months,
the crew flew 19 ‘ops’ including attacks on Berlin,
Hamburg and industrial cities in the Ruhr.
Towards the end of their tour, McCarthy met Guy
Gibson, who was forming ‘X’ Squadron for a special
task, and Johnson and his colleagues joined 617
Squadron. Following six weeks of low flying and
bombing training, the pilots and navigators learned
of the target the day before the sortie, but it was not
until the following day that Johnson and the crew
discovered they were to attack the Ruhr dams.
Nineteen crews were briefed for Operation
Chastise on May 1, 1943. The modified Lancasters
were to make low-level attacks, dropping Barnes
Wallis’ revolutionary ‘bouncing bomb’ on three
major dams. McCarthy’s crew were one of five
assigned to attack the Sorpe.
As the engines of their Lancaster were started,
McCarthy’s crew discovered a technical fault and
had to switch to the reserve aircraft. Taking off
from Scampton 35 minutes late, they crossed the
Dutch island of Vlieland at very low level just
before midnight. One aircraft had been forced to
return after hitting the sea and losing its bomb, and
a second was damaged by German gunners. Two
more were shot down, leaving the McCarthy crew
as the only survivors tasked to attack the Sorpe.
A thick mist made navigation difficult, but once
the crew had found the target, McCarthy set up
an attack along its length. Hills either side of the
dam made the bombing run awkward – McCarthy
had to dive to 60ft and level out for a few seconds
before climbing out to avoid hills on the other side
of the valley. The responsibility for a successful
attack then rested with Johnson, the bomb aimer.
The crew made repeated runs to get the speed
and height correct. On the tenth attempt, ‘Johnny’
released the bomb alongside the dam – it was a
direct hit, although the explosion was insufficient
to break its huge earth wall. The crew retraced its
steps across Germany and Holland, returning safely
to Scampton. The Mohne and Eder dams had been
breached, but eight of the 19 Lancasters failed to
return with the loss of 53 aircrew. Awards for the
crews included the VC for Wg Cdr Guy Gibson, a
DSO for McCarthy and the DFM for Johnson.
Following the raid, George flew another 19
bombing operations. After the war, he trained as a
navigator and flew with Coastal Command’s 120
George 'Johnny'
Johnson with the Squadron. He left the RAF in 1962.
BBMF's Lancaster on In June 2017, he was appointed MBE “for services
the 75th anniversary of to Second World War remembrance and the
the Dambuster raids
on May 16, 2018 GETTY
community in Bristol.” When asked about the
award, his typically modest reply was: “It is the
squadron that is being honoured with this, not me”.

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 2 9
 N E W S / T h e l at e s t i n av i at i o n h e r i t a g e

Bronco pair begin new

life as fire-bombers
Two North American
Rockwell OV-10G+
Broncos have
been obtained by
firefighting company
Cal-Fire from former
operator NASA.
The aircraft, which
have not been used
since September
2013, took part in
the experimental
Combat Dragon II
programme – focused
on counterinsurgency
missions working
in conjunction with
ground forces. Both
were originally built
as OV-10Ds.

Chilean Huey destined

Jim Dunn

for preservation
Bell UH-1H Huey H-78 has been delivered to Chile’s national aviation museum, the Museo
Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio in Los Cerrillos, Santiago. The former Chilean Air Force
helicopter will soon be joined by a second example, H-76. One of the airframes will be
repainted in white United Nations livery Álvaro Romero

for packing before

Via Robin J Brooks

Hurricane awaits restoration in Kent
The remains of
Hawker Hurricane
Mk.IIb BH238 were
recently delivered to
the Medway Aircraft
Preservation Society’s
facility at Rochester
Airport, Kent, where
the airframe is to be
restored for display.
The fighter was
manufactured by
Gloster Aircraft
Company at
Brockworth,
Gloucestershire, in
early 1942, as part
of a batch numbered
being transported
to Russia.
Leaving the UK on
January 26, 1942, it
may have travelled
to its destination via
Arctic convoy PQ9
or PQ11, arriving
at Murmansk the
following month.
Little is known
about its service in
Russia, but the skeletal
remains of the aircraft
eventually returned
to the UK, arriving at
Sandown on the Isle
of Wight in or around
2000.
It was displayed
BH215 to BH264. at the now closed
First delivered to Frontline Aviation
No.52 Maintenance Museum on the island
Unit at Pangham before arriving at its
Moors, Cardiff, it was current home. With thanks
dismantled ready to Robin J Brooks

North Carolina’s Hickory Aviation Museum Aero Legends’ DC-3 Dakota KP220 was
is adding something “pretty rare and lodging at the BBMF, Coningsby, Lincolnshire,
briefings

very different” to its growing collection this winter. The BBMF noted: “While our
– a Gyrodyne Rotorcycle, serial 4013. “Ten Dakota, ZA947, is away for maintenance we
Rotorcycle prototypes were built for the will be hosting Aero Legends’ Dakota to
US Navy in the 1950s for use by the USMC help with storage. In return, our crews will
in observation, liaison and small unit tactical train in KP220 before they begin flying in the
manoeuvres,” a spokesperson said. HAM Lancaster for the 2023 season.”

3 0 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
 Courtesy Spirit Of Flight
Successful relocation for US museum
The Spirit of Flight airworthy aircraft, its Colorado to Idaho. months of construction Spirit of Flight Center
Foundation museum aim being to inspire Visitors won’t want work. “The main campus.”
recently opened its different generations to miss the Women building is 8,000sq The attraction hosted
new facility at to explore aviation in Aviation display at ft with 3,200sq ft an opening ceremony
Nampa Municipal history. Director and the new museum. It’s of office and gallery in October 2022
Airport, Idaho. co-founder Tracey incredible!” space,” featuring flypasts,
The museum Page said: “We Museum president he added. tours, music, food
features some 2,000 worked extremely Gordon Page said he “The site allows and a presentation by
aviation artefacts, hard to relocate was excited to finally for a future building the US Navy’s John
including static and the museum from open the doors after 18 to complement the Flanagan.

Tiger Moth project completed

Javier Mañana
De Havilland DH.82 Aeronautical Museum to the public
Tiger Moth ‘17’ (3619) – was undertaken by earlier this year
has been returned Asociación Amigos del by Uruguayan
to static display Museo Aeronaútico Air Force chief
condition in Uruguay. (AAMA), a volunteer Gen Luis de León
The long-running group better known as alongside museum
project – now on ‘Ratones de Hangar’. director Col Andrés
display at the Colonel The charismatic Arcauz and Wilman
Jaime Meregalli biplane was unveiled Fuentes. Ramiro Piacenza

The Lakes Flying Company’s reproduction
of the 1911 Avro ‘Waterbird’ has won this
year’s Aviation Heritage UK Robert Pleming
Memorial Award. The unique craft made its first
flight as a seaplane in June 2022 in the capable
hands of Pete Kynsey, lifting off from Lake
Windermere in a recreation of the original’s
debut on November 25, 1911. Mark Wright-AHUK
A new airshow display team comprising a pair of ex-
Portuguese Air Force Reims-Cessna FTB335G Super
Skymasters is set to operate from Cuatro Vientos, Madrid.
The pair – which are registered EC-IPL (ex-FAP3719)
and EC-MYM (ex-FAP3723) – can carry wing pylons for
simulated rockets, flares and other light ordnance, although
display flights are always performed ‘clean’, with an added
smoke system. Roberto Yáñez

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 3 1
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From the Editor
For over 40 years, FlyPast has been at the heart of historic aviation. The magazine prides itself on providing the best
coverage of the world of ‘living history’. Each issue is packed with the latest restoration news, aircraft movements,
preservation, products, events and air shows.
Our team of dedicated freelance and in-house writers also produce fascinating in-depth features on historical subjects covering the
men, women and aircraft from World War One to the Cold War.
Don’t miss out on this great subscription offer!

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To order online, or for overseas offers, please visit:

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Or call +44 (0)1780 480404 - quoting FP0323
Terms and conditions: Quoted rates are for UK subscriptions only, paying by Annual Direct Debit. Quoted savings based on those rates versus
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Closing date: 31st March, 2023.

016/23
LEGENDS

Janusz Zurakowski
orn in Ukraine to Polish parents in as an experimental test pilot, flying the later marks
1918, ‘Jan’ Zurakowski moved to of the Meteor. He made the maiden flights of the
B Poland and joined the Polish Air
Force in 1935 and trained as a pilot.
FR.9 and PR.10 marks of the aircraft. He also flew
the early Javelins. He is probably best remembered
At the outbreak of war, he was a flying for his amazing aerobatic displays, in particular his
instructor and claimed a Dornier Do 17 before ‘Zurabatic cartwheel’ in the Gloster Meteor F.8
escaping to England, where he joined the RAF. demonstrator at the 1951 Farnborough Air Show,
He flew Spitfires with 234 Squadron and was the first new aerobatic manoeuvre for 20 years.
credited with destroying three enemy aircraft and In April 1952, Zurakowski emigrated to Canada
probably a fourth. He was twice forced to make and joined Avro in Toronto as chief development
a crash landing after his aircraft was damaged test pilot on the CF-100 fighter. On March 25, 1958,
in combat. He then flew with 609 Squadron, he flew the maiden flight of the supersonic fighter,
before being rested in March 1941. In the CF-105 (later named the Arrow) at
December 1941, he joined the Polish- Flying career Malton in Ontario. He
manned 315 Squadron at Northolt, went on to fly the next two iterations,
before becoming a flight commander Dates at one point reaching Mach 1.89.
with 306 Squadron. Still flying Polish Air Force 1936- He made 21 flights in the advanced,
Spitfires, he took command of 316 1939, RAF 1940-1947 twin-engine delta aircraft before the
Squadron in June 1942, flying escort Canadian government cancelled the
missions until the end of the year. Highest Rank project in February 1959, with the five
In 1944, he completed No 2 Course Squadron Leader aircraft suffering the same fate as the
at the Empire Test Pilot’s School British TSR2.
Combat Record
before joining ‘A’ Squadron of the Zurakowski retired from test flying
3 and 1 shared destroyed,
Aeroplane & Armament Experimental 1 probable, 1 damaged in November 1958 and left the aircraft
Establishment at Boscombe Down, industry. He received many honours
where he tested the de Havilland Awards and was inducted into Canada’s
Hornet, Vampire and Meteor. In 1947, Virtuti Militari, Cross of Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973. He
he joined the Gloster Aircraft Company Valour (3), MiD (2) died on February 9, 2004, aged 89.

“He is probably best remembered for

his amazing aerobatic displays”

Further Reading:
Janusz Zurakowski:
Legend in the Skies
(2004)

3 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 Recipient of Poland's highest
military decoration for
heroism and courage, the
Virtuti Militari, Zurakowski
became a household name
for his later test flying career
VIA GRAHAM PITCHFORK

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 3 5
F LY P O S T / Re ad e r s c o m m e n t , eve n t s a n d m o re

S T A R L E T T E R

Dad’s sketch

Freeman collection/USAF Official

mystery solved
While reading the drew during the war
article on the US years. The drawing
Eighth Air Force in shows almost the very
the September issue, same image!
I suddenly realised I can only assume
why one of the that he had seen the
photos looked photo in a newspaper or
so familiar. magazine, and decided
The photograph to draw it. Strangely,
on page 51 stopped my father never showed
me in my tracks! any interest in aviation,
Although I had and never drew
never seen that anything else during my
image of General Ira childhood. Until I saw
Eaker before, it was the photograph, I had
nevertheless very no idea who the subject
familiar to me. of his sketch was. Now
I have had in my I have a treasured
possession, for over memory of my Dad!
60 years, a drawing
that my late father George Nixon
Thomas Nixon Alberta, Canada

“Until I saw the photograph

I had no idea who the subject
of his sketch was”

Aviation in art and a joyride memory

You asked for readers’
feedback on the
magazine. Thank
you for all your hard
work. The results seem
consistently excellent;
the best it’s ever been
I think, and I’ve read
FlyPast since the start.
I like classic cars,
past owner of a Riley
RM (I think John
Cunningham ran one)
and three Triumph
Spitfires – so the
feature about the belly
tank racers (December
issue) was great.
As a retired illustrator
– I worked for the
Yorkshire Post for 37
years – part of my job
being the production
of artwork for the
air displays that we
sponsored. So
I suppose it’s natural six or seven. There pilot said OK, if we
that I’d like to see more was a duck egg blue could round up a party
paintings featured. Not Dragon Rapide there, of six for half a crown
digital illustrations but doing an engine run, each, which we did.
a decent spread of, say, and to me it was the And so there began my
Anthony Saunders and most sublime thing love affair. I’m now 80
the like, would I’d ever clapped eyes – you couldn’t go up to
be wonderful. on. Finally the pilot Leeds Bradford Airport
My love of all things appeared and Dad today and charter a
aviation can be blamed asked if there was quick joyride like that!
entirely on Dad who any chance of a quick
took me to Yeadon in flight “for the lad and John Broadley
the 1950s when I was me?” Amazingly, the Via Email

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3 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 authority during picture’ and took bold decisions. I also
Eye in the sky several of my Quick the necessary fighter remember her being
Reaction Alert sorties control action to ensure a very approachable
In the January 2023 OC Operations Wing) intercepting Russian that the interception person. We left the
issue, the article at RAF Buchan near aircraft up in the was achieved. I didn’t RAF within a few
about the Women’s Peterhead in Scotland. Iceland/Faroes gap. actually know that months of one another.
Auxiliary Air Force I was, by this time, Had it not been for she had made this
titled Delivering Air flying F-4 Phantoms her positive and timely authoritative decision John Forbes
Power briefly discussed out of RAF Leuchars operational decision- until speaking to her Via Email
the career of Joan and Buchan was our making, at least one after the event. My
Hopkins. I knew Wg Sector Operations of these interceptions lasting impression is Editor’s note –
Cdr Hopkins (as she Centre. I recall meeting would not have taken of a highly competent John’s letter was one of a few
was then) during the Joan on several place because there was operator, very much we received singing the praises
late 1970s when she occasions during liaison effectively a no-fly zone in-tune with the bigger of Joan Hopkins.Thank you to
all who took the trouble to write
was the senior Fighter visits to Buchan and in the way. picture and who was in, paying tribute to a clearly
Controller (I believe she was the controlling Joan had the ‘big not afraid to make remarkable woman.

Testing times
Via T Cleaver

I found the two-part take off from the grass

Pilots identified
The photo on page 61 equipped unit to Gilze-
of the December issue Rijen in Holland where
(Hawker Tempest it joined 135 Wing
feature) was one of as part of the 2nd
a number taken at Tactical Air Force. The
Predannack, Cornwall, Wing supported the
in January 1945 drive of the 21st Army
when 222 Squadron Group into north-west
was converting from Germany. Lyons led
Spitfires to Tempests. many low-level sweeps
It was captured to mark but during a strafing
the handover attack on Fassburg
of command from airfield on April 11,
Sqn Ldr J B Rigby when flying Tempest
DFC* (on the left) to Mk.V SN185/ZD-V, he
his successor, was hit by flak.
Sqn Ldr E B Lyons. Shells damaged the
Soon afterwards, tailplane and shattered
Lyons led his newly- the cockpit canopy.
story of Rolls-Royce strip at one side of the
at Hucknall (August aerodrome and we used
and September to lay down behind
2022 issues) most the wire fence to feel
interesting. I only live the hot blast from the
about a mile from the engines, and to smell
old airfield and as the aviation fuel.
a child spent many Also remembered on
days on the perimeter that plaque is a Vulcan
fence watching the crew. They were sadly
test aircraft taking off killed when that aircraft
and landing. came down during a
I vividly remember display flight over RAF
one of the names Syerston near Newark
now listed on the [VX770 crashed on
memorial plaque. September 20, 1958
Richard Peach was – all four crew and
the test pilot of the three on the ground
Canberra that came died – ED]. My father
down on the railway had been stationed
sidings at Bulwell at that base during
The armoured Common. The site World War Two and,
headrest was forced was only a short incidentally, was there
forward, striking Lyons distance from the when the Dambuster
on the back of the head, school I attended. squadron [No.617]
rendering him semi- When we came was forming prior to
conscious. Despite his out in the afternoon going to Scampton in
condition, he managed all the kids ran up Lincolnshire.
to pull up safely and, St Albans Road to
shepherded by the rest view the scene. That Terry Birch
of the formation, flew Canberra used to Bulwell, Nottinghamshire
200 miles back to base.
Although taken off
flying for a few weeks, “They were sadly killed when
he made a full recovery
and was awarded the
that aircraft came down
DFC soon afterwards. during a display flight over
RAF Syerston near Newark ”
Andrew Thomas
Via Email

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 3 7
REVIEWS / Books
Sky Stories 2 –
From Jodels to Jets
Dave Unwin
www.pigsmightflypublishing.com
229pp, £9.99 Amazon £3.99 Kindle
After the success of 2021’s
first volume, it’s only natural
that writer, pilot and ace
raconteur Dave Unwin
should deliver a sequel.
Comprising 25 chapters,
each recounting a different
experience, it’s the sort of
book you can devour in
days and probably return
to numerous times. You
might come for the flight
tests, in which Dave couples
the precise challenges of
flying disparate types with
evocative descriptions
of being at one with the
machine, but you’ll stay for
the anecdotes – the times
when it’s all about the joy of
flying. You might even hear
Pink Floyd’s Learning To Fly
playing in your head, such
is the author’s wondrous
wordplay. From taking the
controls of a lumbering B-24
Liberator to dancing aloft on
the thermals in sailplanes,
Dave is a writer who knows
how to place the reader in
the cockpit – regardless of
whether you’re a fellow pilot
or just a gormless enthusiast
like this reviewer! And it’s a
nice touch that he concludes
with a trip in his beloved
Jodel, celebrating life
through flight and words.
STEVE BEEBEE
3 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
The Mosquito
in the USAAF
Tony Fairbairn
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
HBK, ILLUS, 256pp, £25
The de Havilland Mosquito,
generally regarded as one of
history’s finest warplanes,
not surprisingly flew with
several air arms during its
relatively short period of
service. In this volume, Tony
Fairbairn does a superb job
of detailing both the type’s
genesis and operations with
the USAAF – not a subject
frequently explored. The
‘Mossie’ certainly looked
distinctive in US markings,
and its arrival was largely
the result of enthusiasm
shown by Elliott Roosevelt,
son of President Franklin D
Roosevelt. Serving in World
War Two, Elliott flew (with
a pilot) on a reconnaissance
mission in a Mosquito, and
began to campaign for the
aeroplanes to be adopted
by the USAAF. The author
documents this, and the use
of the machine in American
hands. This began in some
secrecy with the 25th BG
in 1944, the operation
being subsequently taken
over by the 492nd BG at
Harrington, Northants.
The book concludes with
useful appendices, listing
serial numbers of all USAAF
Mossies, operational losses
and a chronology.
STEVE BEEBEE
FLAK-BAIT
Alan F Crouchman
www.schifferbooks.com
HBK, ILLUS, 352pp, £37.99
Those USAAF airmen
assigned to Martin B-26
Marauder bomber 41-31773
Flak-Bait must have
wondered how the aeroplane
managed to take to the skies,
day after day under the
darkness of war between
1943-1945. By the end of
the hostilities, not only did
it carry more than 1,000
repair patches across its
slender, yet bulky, fuselage,
covering the scars of battle
thrown at it by enemy flak
and fighters, it boasted
the highest tally of combat
missions of any Allied
medium or heavy bomber
– 201! This compendium
of day-to-day accounts,
personal recollections, flight
logs and crew lists, as well as
weapons dropped, across 10
chapters and 15 appendices
takes the reader into the
heart of Flak-Bait’s journey
from Martin’s factory in
Baltimore, Maryland to its
current restoration at the
National Air and Space
Museum’s Steven F Udvar-
Hazy Center in Washington,
DC. Splendidly written and
illustrated, this is surely the
most definitive account of
any single World War Two
aircraft’s combat career ever
published. A must have!
JAMIE EWAN
God Gave
Them Wings
Simon Hepworth
www.aviationbooks.org
HBK, ILLUS, 234pp, £20
Published by Mention the
War and also available in
softback format for £15,
this is the first in a series of
volumes. While the subject
matter seems a little grim, it
was early mishaps such as
those covered in detail here
by author Simon Hepworth
that have of course enhanced
humankind’s understanding
of flight. Accidents in the
early days of flight, whether
tragic or not, have certainly
contributed to make the
skies safer today. The
earliest accident covered in
this chronological history
took place in July 1786 – a
balloon owned by Vincent
Lunardi of Newcastle
unexpectedly became
airborne while still being
filled. One of its handlers,
Ralph Heron, held on too
long and sadly fell to his
death. When the role of
balloons was taken over
by powered aeroplanes,
unsurprisingly accidents
began to occur more
frequently. Covering no
fewer than 137 incidents
with some 200 images
(of varying quality,
understandably), this book
is probably its subject’s most
comprehensive work to date.
STEVE BEEBEE
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T H E LO C H N E S S W E L L I N G TO N

och Ness is one of the

R-for-Robert is the sole example of a combat-

L most avidly watched

bodies of water in the
world as people scour it,
hardened Wellington anywhere in the world
Key-Jamie Ewan

looking for signs of the

legendary ‘monster’. Today, the allure
of spotting the creature known the
world over as ‘Nessie’ is just as strong,
as yells of “There!” echo around the
water’s edge as the light catching the
wake of a boat, or a shadow drifting
across the surface gets fingers pointing
and adrenaline pumping. And while
that creature may well be mythical, how
many people know of the other Loch
Ness monster – one that lay dying on
the surface of the murky waters on New
Year’s Eve 1940?
Sinking to the peaty bottom some
200ft below, its body lay undisturbed
for nearly 40 years. Discovered by
chance by Americans hunting ‘Nessie’
in 1976, investigations revealed its skin
had rotted away to reveal its shiny
bones formed a geodetic pattern, while
its life blood had long since drained into
the silt it then called home. But it wasn’t
the creature, it was something else – its
skin was fabric, its bones duralumin,
and its blood hydraulic fluid. Its name
was R-for-Robert.

War is hell
New Year’s Eve 1940 was just another
day in the ‘office’ for Sqn Ldr David
Marwood-Elton as he pointed Vickers
Wellington Mk.Ia N2980/R R-for-
Robert down the runway at RAF
Lossiemouth on Scotland’s Moray Firth
– after all, there was a war on. With
his usual co-pilot, Plt Off J F Slatter,
alongside him, the 20 Operational
Training Unit (OTU) ‘regulars’
opened the throttles of their war weary
‘Wimpy’ and powered into the snow
laden skies of Morayshire. As he did,
the aeroplane’s two Bristol Pegasus
XVIII’s engines filled the cold air
with their raspy snarl. It was just after
1500hrs.
Tasked with a navigation exercise
across to the west coast, the pilot turned
to the southwest as the six airmen
‘down the back’ – wireless operator/
air gunner (WOP/AG) W Wright,
navigators C Chandler, E Ford, R E

R- FOR- ROB ERT

4 0 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
 In the very first issue of FlyPast, it was described as the “most ambitious
aviation archaeological project ever undertaken”. Jamie Ewan recounts the
quite incredible story of R-for-Robert – the bomber that finally came home

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 4 1
T H E LO C H N E S S W E L L I N G TO N
Little and Lucton,along with rear
gunner J S Fensome, all sergeants –
hunkered down as they continued
to get to grips with their respective
‘trades’. With the crew plotting ‘Route
W.2’ (Lossiemouth – Fort Augustus –
Point of Sleat – Isle of Canna – Golspie
– Lossiemouth), Marwood-Elton
pushed the Wellington up to around
8,000ft, a safe enough height for the
peaks that lay all around them – none
of which lent themselves to a successful
forced landing.
While it might have been a day like
any other for both Marwood-Elton
and Slatter, the Bomber Command
novices had every reason to be nervous
– it was a pig of day, and it was only
getting worse. With a dark layer of
clouds hiding the ruthless peaks and
ABOVE CLOCKWISE: “That looks like a
Wellington bomber!” – the tell-tale side scan sonar
trace captured by Martin Klein and his team in
1978 Brooklands Museum.
This submersible eye’s view from the depths of
Loch Ness in 1981 reveals the remains of N2980’s
code letter Key Collection.
It was this grainy black and white image of part of
the exposed geodetic structure on the aircraft’s
port side that proved the Catalina was in fact a
Wellington Key Collection
4 2 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
“Marwood-Elton
knew nothing more
could be done for
the dying bomber
and ordered his
crew to bale out…”
ancient pine forests of the Monadhliath
Mountains below them, one can only
imagine what was going through the
minds of the sprog crew as the airframe
was battered by vicious squall after
vicious squall.
With Fort Augustus approaching,
the already seemingly grim situation
turned dire as the aeroplane’s starboard
engine began to run rough, before
packing up altogether.
Some years later Marwood-Elton
recalled: “[Although it] meant we
couldn’t fly back to Lossiemouth, it
didn’t mean we had to bale out or force
land immediately because we were at
8,000ft and had some time – but we
had to do something. The first thing we
did was to look round for somewhere
to land… but all we could we see was
the tops of mountains through the
snowstorms. There was nowhere the
[Wellington] would have come down
without crashing.”
A solemn descent
Losing height through the clag towards
the unsighted peaks below, Marwood-
Elton knew nothing more could be
done for the dying bomber and ordered
his crew to bale out.
Fighting to keep the stricken
Wellington airborne as the chaps
‘down the back’ struggled through its
tight confines to get out, the pilot had
no choice but to stay at the controls. As
they did, Slatter began counting them
off as they jumped… “one, two, three,
four, five” – all while hoping Fensome,
isolated in the rear turret, had managed
to get out.
Suddenly, Marwood-Elton spotted a
gap in the cloud and saw a stretch of
intense blackness. It was Loch Ness.
He recounted: “The trainee crew took
longer to abandon the aircraft than
I had foreseen and when Slatter’s turn
came, we were dangerously close to
the mountain tops. I looked around
again to see if there was any chance of
a landing. As luck would have it, Loch
Ness came into sight. So, I cancelled
the order to bale out and said we would
land on the water.”
He aimed for it – after all, ditching
was far more preferable than jumping
out into the gloom. By then just
Marwood-Elton and Slatter remained
on board N2980.
Unbeknown to them, Fensome,
having managed to escape from his
turret, pulled his ripcord too soon and
snagged his parachute on the tailplane.
As a result, he fell to his death. No one
will ever know if he heard Marwood-
Elton’s second order. He was just 20
years old.
Meanwhile, R-for-Robert continued
towards the unforgiving waters.
Marwood-Elton remarked: “Landing
on Loch Ness was a very easy thing
because [it] stretched out in front of us
like a runway. The only difference was
it was water, and of course, below those
waters was the monster… we weren’t
quite certain what he would think
about it!”
Ordering Slatter to open the escape
hatch above them as he brought the
Wellington down, Marwood-Elton
pulled off a textbook ditching. “We
landed quite gently,” remembered
Marwood-Elton. “A certain amount
of spray came up [and] in through our
escape hatch… so we got a nice dose of
cold water over us!”
With water cascading through
the now dead bomber, Marwood-
Elton and Slatter scrambled out onto
the starboard wing to release the
Wellington’s inflatable dingy stowed –
ironically – behind the Pegasus engine
which had failed. Clambering on board,
the pair paddled towards the shore
some 200 yards away while watching
the Wellington surrender to the waters
of Loch Ness. As it did, Marwood-
Elton thought to himself ‘that’s the last
time anyone will see that!’
An ordinary ‘Wimpy’
The Wellington destined to become
R-for-Robert rolled out of Vickers
Armstrong’s Brooklands factory near
Weybridge in Surrey on November 16,
1939 – just 74 days after then British
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s
declaration of war against Germany.
Assigned the serial number N2980, the
airframe was the 81st of 187 Wellington
Mk.Ias bound for the war-torn skies of
Europe with the Royal Air Force. On a
typical November day at Brooklands,
there was nothing to suggest N2980
was anything other than a normal
Wellington when noted Vickers test
pilot Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers guided the
aeroplane into the air that same day to
begin its pre-delivery testing. Airborne
for just ten minutes, Summers quickly
landed for adjustments to be made,
before climbing the new machine into
the afternoon skies once again.
With testing complete, N2980 was
delivered to 149 Squadron at RAF
Mildenhall, Suffolk, four days later
where it was assigned the code ‘OJ-
R’ and dubbed R-for-Robert. Pressed
into service almost immediately,
N2980 opened its combat account on
December 3, 1939, with Canadian Flt Lt
J B Stewart.
One of 24 Wellingtons tasked with
striking German shipping across the
Heligoland Bight, R-for-Robert returned
safely to Mildenhall after more than
five hours in the air.
With a two-week pause in operations
following, N2980 spent countless hours
crisscrossing the skies of southern
England as 149 Squadron practiced
its formation flying. At that time, it
was believed that a “well-armed”
flight of Wellingtons boasting six .303
Browning machine guns each, flying
in tight formation, would be able to
“adequately” defend themselves against
enemy fighters – even during daylight
operations.
BELOW: R-for-Robert’s starboard wing
reaches for the skies on September 21,
1985 Key Collection
And while this proved somewhat
true during the opening actions of
the hostilities, losses soon began to
mount as the Luftwaffe probed the
Wellington’s weakness.
Not only did the German pilots boast
far superior firepower, and the ability
to comfortably fire outside the range of
the Wimpy’s .303s, they soon realised
the early type’s ‘dustbin’ style ventral
turret could not defend them properly
against attacks from the side. This
wasn’t helped by the fact that many of
the often volunteer groundcrew acting
as gunners had very little training.
To make matters worse, the Vickers
machine lacked self-sealing tanks,
meaning most that were hit were
engulfed in flames within seconds or
simply ran out of fuel. Confidence in
the once believed in ‘strongbox’ tactic
was soon battered.
Hell over Heligoland
On December 18, assigned to Sqn Ldr
Paul Harris, N2980 was one of 24
Wellingtons destined to take part in
the fateful ‘Battle of Heligoland Bight’.
Of the 24, just ten made it home – and
most of them were damaged.
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 4 3
T H E LO C H N E S S W E L L I N G TO N
The sheer size of the
Wellington is apparent in
this view of R-for-Robert as
the aeroplane breaks free
from the clutches of Loch
Ness after more than 45
years Key Collection
Tasked with a sweep searching
for the German fleet between
Wilhelmshaven and Heligoland,
Harris opened R-for-Robert’s throttle
and hauled the aeroplane into the
chilly and cloud-littered Suffolk
skies at 0927hrs. With 149 Squadron
assigning nine aeroplanes, 9 Squadron
out of nearby Honington provided
another nine, while 37 Squadron
at Feltwell in Norfolk made up the
numbers. It wasn’t long before the
24-strong armada was streaming out
across the North Sea in a formation
dubbed ‘The Big Diamond’ under
cloudy skies.
4 4 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
Harris later recalled: “Our 24
Wellingtons were divided into four
flights of six aircraft each. I was leading
the six on the starboard side, with
three of my own flight and three from
9 Squadron. We were in boxes of six
stepped up in order to not mask
our guns.”
With an earlier weather ship
reporting enough cloud over the target
to provide the bombers with sufficient
coverage, they soon ran into clear
blue skies with just 55 miles to run
to Wilhelmshaven. To make matters
worse, German fighters were waiting.
Harris remembered: “On running in at
15,000ft, there was heavy flak accurate
for our height but fortunately trailing
behind us. [But] as it kept catching up
my rear gunner kept saying “Hurry up
sir! It’s catching up on us!”. Meanwhile
the fighters were collecting above us
like flies – they were waiting for us to
clear the flak.”
With few suitable targets found, the
armada turned for home. Emerging
from the flak as they did, the fighters
dropped on the Wimpys.
During the subsequent skirmish,
ten Wellingtons were shot down, two
were forced to ditch as they fought to
get home, while another three were

destroyed in crash landings. One of
those ditching was 149 Squadron
stablemate N2961/OJ-P in the hands
of 22-year-old Fg Off M F Briden.
Seeing this, Harris’ crew attempted to
drop a rescue dinghy, but it got tangled
in N2980’s tail; Briden and his crew
were lost. With battle-scarred fabric
revealing damaged geodetics, little
fuel in the tanks, a severely damaged
elevator and starboard engine feathered
to “cut down the awful juddering on the
controls”, Harris managed to land R-for-
Robert at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk just
after 1600hrs. It had been a close call.
Several years later Harris, who was
awarded the DFC for his actions that
December day, recalled: “The events
inside N2980 were exciting – I, of
course, saw almost nothing, my eyes
being fixed on the aeroplane ahead,
our survival depending on maintaining
formation. Two of our formation’s losses
were almost certainly due to not having
self-sealing tanks. N2980 behaved
immaculately… as did my crew!”
It was obvious that such a rate of
loss was unsupportable. The ‘Battle of
Heligoland Bight’ convinced the RAF
to abandon daylight attacks in favour
of night bombing – however, that’s
another story.
“The average life
expectancy of a
‘Wimpy’ during those
early years of the war
was just six missions”
The road to Loch Ness
Having survived the hell over
Heligoland Bight, R-for-Robert, went
on to fly another five missions over
Germany between March and May
that year – including a ‘Nickel Raid’
over Hanover dropping leaflets urging
the population to abandon the war on
March 15/16, in the hands of Fg Off G
P Miers. It also flew a security patrol
over the northern German islands
of Sylt and Borkum on May 5/6 and
a raid on the westernmost German
city of Aachen on May 14/15 with
then regular pilot Fg Off J S Douglas-
Cooper at the controls. Of note,
Douglas-Cooper and his crew failed to
return from a strike on the northern
French commune of Soissons just three
weeks later on June 11; still to this day
no trace of the crew or their aircraft –
Wellington Mk.Ic L7800/OJ-K – has
ever been found.
However, by then, R-for-Robert
had joined 37 Squadron at Feltwell.
Taken on charge by the unit on May
30, N2980 was once again growling
through the war-torn skies of Europe
just five days later, having been
assigned to Fg Off W N Perioli for
a strike on the railway marshalling
yards at Cambrai in France and
Mönchengladbach in Germany.
While exact details about R-for-
Robert’s operations with 37 Squadron
remain scarce, it’s known that it added
a further seven raids to its mission
count – including strikes against the
synthetic oil plant at Moers, Germany,
with Plt Off Watt on August 6/7, the
marshalling yards across the Ruhr
city of Hamm on July 14/15 and
August 15/16 in the hands of Wg Cdr
W Merton and Plt Off A C Dingle,
respectively, and Frankfurt on August
26/27 with Plt Off Griffiths. As it
turned out, the latter was the final time
R-for-Robert took the war to the enemy.
With 37 Squadron already operating
new Wellington Mk.Ics delivered
direct from Vickers with waist guns
in place of the ‘dustbin’ ventral turret
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 4 5
T H E LO C H N E S S W E L L I N G TO N
and self-sealing tanks and N2980
wearing the scars of battle, the airframe
was withdrawn from operations. Used
briefly for training and as a ‘hack’,
37 Squadron gave R-for-Robert up on
October 6 that year and allocated a
crew to ferry it to 20 OTU, where it
kept its individual code letter ‘R’.
When Marwood-Elton eased R-for-
Robert down onto the surface of Loch
Ness just 86 days later, the bomber
had chalked up more than 330 hours
of flying time. And while that may not
seem a lot for an operational aeroplane,
the average life expectancy of a
‘Wimpy’ during those early years of
war was just six missions. R-for-Robert
had 14 to its name.
Fortunes of war
Having successfully negotiated the
waters of Loch Ness, Marwood-Elton
and Slatter hitched a lift into nearby
Inverness – just in time for both to join
in the Hogmanay celebrations. Soon
after, word came that while Fensome
had been killed, Chandler, Ford, Little,
Lucton and Wright had all baled
out successfully. Shocked, cold and
battered, the OTU students were
soon posted to operational squadrons.
Their subsequent fortunes underline
the huge sacrifice made by the men
of Bomber Command – by the end of
the war, three of the quintet had been
ABOVE: The sombre remains of R-for-Robert’s
rear turret arrive at Brooklands on September
27, 1985. It is still swung to starboard from when
Sgt J S Fensome abandoned the aeroplane on
December 31, 1940 Key Collection
RI G H T: Volunteers at Brooklands (many of
whom had worked for Vickers Armstrong on
the Wellington) were instrumental in N2980’s
transformation Key Collection
4 6 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
“Its only value lay
in its uniqueness as
the sole survivor of
a breed that fought
back against Nazi
tyranny”
killed in action, while there is no record
of Lucton. Only Wright is known to
have survived.
Chandler was killed during a raid on
the Baltic port town of Kiel on August
2, 1941 with 9 Squadron. He was just
20 years old. Ford died the following
year on May 31 – it is thought his
Wimpy fell to the guns of a Luftwaffe
night-fighter.
Twenty-four-year-old Flt Sgt Little
suffered a similar fate. The navigator
on board Short Stirling Mk.I
N3754/MG-O on strength with the
Oakington, Cambridgeshire-based
7 Squadron, it was part of the last
‘Thousand Bomber Raid’ bound for
the German industrial city of Bremen
on the night of June 25/26, 1942. It
never made it. The lumbering giant
was shot down by a prowling night-
fighter and crashed close to Lugthoek
in Germany’s Lower Saxony. Four of
the crew, including Little, perished.
The other three became prisoners of
war (PoWs).
By 1944, R-for-Robert’s co-pilot,
Slatter – then an ‘old man’ at 34 – had
been promoted to Flight Lieutenant,
and was flying de Havilland Mosquito
Mk.IVs with 105 Squadron out of
Marham in Norfolk. Taking off for
a night flying test on February 5,
1944, with navigator Plt Off P Hedges
in DZ548/GB-J, they collided with
a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress of
the 96th Bomb Group out of nearby
Snetterton Heath. While the B-17
limped back home, the Mosquito
crashed near St. Ives in Cambridgeshire
– killing both Slatter and Hedges.
Forty-seven days after Slatter died,
Marwood-Elton, took to the silk over
Germany, baling out of a stricken
Handley Page Halifax. By then a
Group Captain, Marwood-Elton was
the officer commanding at RAF Burn
in Yorkshire – home to 578 Squadron.
Although the RAF top brass ruled
that senior officers should not fly on
operations, many did. And on March
22 that year he joined the experienced
crew of Plt Off R Atkins on board
LW540 (ironically another R-for-
Robert) for an ‘op’ to Frankfurt. One
of 16 aircraft dispatched, ‘540 was
 For a few brief moments on
September 21,1985, R-for-
Robert was airborne once
again Key Collection

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 4 7
T H E LO C H N E S S W E L L I N G TO N
BELOW CLOCKWISE: Engineers at British
Airways discovered the Bristol Pegasus XVIII
engine had cracks in the rotors. It is likely these
resulted in the engine stopping on its fateful
last flight. N2980 – the bomber that came
home! Incredibly, in 1939, the aeroplane spent
time in the very hangar where it’s now housed
prior to being delivered to 149 squadron
All Key-Jamie Ewan
shot down by a Junkers Ju 88 before
reaching the target. With the eight-man
crew escaping relatively unscathed,
they became PoWs. Sent to Stalag Luft
I near Barth in Germany’s Western
Pomerania, Marwood-Elton became
the camp’s senior British officer where
it was said he “remained a thorn in the
Germans’ side for the rest of the war”.
David Marwood-Elton died in 1995,
aged 84. A decade before though, he
had been on the shores of Loch Ness to
re-acquaint himself with the aeroplane
he thought was ‘hidden away for all
time’.
A little help from FlyPast
“That looks like a Wellington bomber!”
were the words of Thomas Cummings
4 8 / F LY PA S T / Ma rc h 2 0 2 3
of Klein Associates while reviewing
the sonar paper traces of an early-1978
scientific survey of Loch Ness. Two
years earlier, pioneering American
sonar expert and founder of Klein
Associates, Marty Klein, had used his
then recently developed high-tech side
sonar scanner to hunt for any evidence
of ‘Nessie’. While he picked up lots of
traces, there was nothing to suggest any
of them were the so-called monster. He
did, however, make the headlines by
finding the remains of what was thought
to be a Consolidated PBY Catalina
amphibian.
In parallel, the Department of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering’s
(DEEE) Underwater Technology Group
at Heriot-Watt University (HWU)
in Edinburgh had been developing
remotely operated vehicle (or ROV)
technology. In 1978 it decided that the
Catalina provided an excellent practical
trial for its nascent technology to survey
the wreck. However, the images beamed
back that September day soon revealed
it wasn’t a Catalina.
Led by Robin Holmes, a senior lecturer
at the HWU’s DEEE, he recalled in his
book, One of Our Aircraft: The Story of
'R for Robert', the Loch Ness Wellington:
“Bright shiny metal strips connected
together like a garden trellis showed
up on the screen. By a thousand to
one chance, we had landed right on
top of the aircraft – first time. [As the
camera moved along the framework,
we] observed pieces of material being
dislodged and float off into the darkness.
The structure was covered in some form
of fabric. The port wing became visible.
Again, its construction was in the form
of a lattice of metal formers, and it was a
mid-wing aircraft!
“This wasn’t a Catalina with its high
parasol wing and metal skin. Geodetics
was the name that suddenly sprang to
mind. The aircraft we had found was a
twin-engined, mid-wing aircraft with
a fabric-covered geodetic framework.
We had found a Wellington bomber! It
looked to be in mint condition, [almost]
as good as the day when it had settled on
to the bottom.”
With a letter swiftly dispatched to the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) regarding
the discovery, the Air Historical Branch
suggested it could be N2980,“a very
early Mk.Ia Wellington bomber, number
N2980, that had ditched on New Year’s
Eve 1940.” In 1979, at the request of the
MoD, a Royal Navy diving team from
HMS Vernon in Portsmouth found traces
of a solitary ‘R’ and the serial number
N2980 on the fabric. Meanwhile, R-for-
Robert was deteriorating.
Subsequent surveys in both 1980 and
1981 (the cost of the latter was helped by
a donation from FlyPast!) revealed that
the aeroplane had suffered damage – a
large trawler net had snagged the nose,
and the fuselage aft of the wings had
been torn apart. With all the publicity, it
was becoming a well-known ‘target’ for
divers – and souvenir hunting was bound
to start. Something had to be done.
A veteran returns home
Having spent time with Paul Harris –
who was awarded the DFC for his actions
during the ‘Battle of Heligoland Bight’
– in 1981, Robin Holmes decided that
the Wellington should be salvaged. He
recalled: “I made him a promise that
I would do my utmost to reunite him
with N2980. For a man who had been
prepared to take on the Luftwaffe single-
handed in a completely defenceless
Wimpy, it was the least I could do!”
With Holmes estimating it would cost
some £50,000, he set up a charity
that year (The Loch Ness Wellington
Association) to do just that. But it
would be 1985 before the needed funds
and support were in place.
“Unfortunately, there seemed little
enthusiasm for such a project,”
recounted Holmes. “The big problem
lay in the fact that the old Wimpy had
no intrinsic value to tempt professional
divers, nor were there artefacts to
seduce archaeologists. Its only value
lay in its uniqueness as the sole
survivor of a breed that fought back
against
Nazi tyranny.”
With donations from the public
boosted by a grant from the National
Heritage Memorial Fund and a plan in
place, a recovery operation commenced
on September 12, 1985. The plan called
for a specially designed frame to lift
the aeroplane by way of a dozen 5-ton
nylon straps attached to a series of
parachute-type air bags.
Now the story of raising R-for-Robert
from the depths has been regaled
throughout the world – and could
easily fill these pages by itself! It is a
story of perseverance, resourcefulness
and compassion, and includes delays,
bad visibility, and technical gremlins.
It also includes a broken lifting frame,
designing a new one ‘on the back of an
envelope’, unexpected high winds on
“On September 21,
1985, R-for-Robert
broke free of the
mirror-like glass
waters of Loch Ness”
Friday the 13th, and a second attempt.
Incredibly, it even includes a crane built
by a company based in Wilhelmshaven!
On September 21, 1985, R-for-Robert
broke free of the mirror-like glass
waters of Loch Ness accompanied
by a cacophony of “loud cracks and
bangs” as the stress members within
the geodetic structure took up loads
not experienced since being submerged
more than 45 years before.
Robin Holmes commented: “Fuelled
by adrenaline and lubricated by
goodwill, it was a unique endeavour
where victory was snatched from
the jaws of defeat because everyone
concerned placed the welfare of an
intrinsically worthless old aeroplane
above all else…”
By this time, it had been agreed
that N2980 would be returned to its
birthplace at Brooklands – home to the
then embryonic Brooklands Museum.
Holmes noted: “There was really only
one home for R-for-Robert… the former
‘Wellington’ hangar at Brooklands.”
Cleaning, corrosion protection and
preparation for return to Brooklands
began almost immediately – the main
components being dismantled by simply
undoing the original transport joints.
Six days later on September 27,
1985, R-for-Robert arrived home –
44 years, 10 months, one day after
leaving. There it was partially restored
to as close to the condition it was
in on New Year's Eve 1940. It was
a project that took some ten years
and more than 100,000-volunteer
man hours to complete a near
continuous cycle of cleaning, corrosion
protection, repairing and rebuilding.
In a testament to the type’s incredible
geodetic structure, today, despite being
submerged for some 45 years, N2980
sits on its own undercarriage with no
additional supports.
With so many making the ultimate
sacrifice during the dark days of
Bomber Command’s early offensive,
R-for-Robert stands in salute to them.
And as for Robin Holmes’ promise to
Paul Harris? He was reunited with the
aeroplane in November 1985, less than
two months before he died, aged 80.
ABOVE: R-for-Robert – seen here in March 1997
during it’s quite incredible restoration – is a true
wonder of a bygone era of British technology,
ingenuity, and tenacity Key Collection
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 4 9
C L A S S I C S – M E T E O R DAY F I G H T E R S

D AY L I G H T

PIONEERS
Britain’s premier first-generation jet-powered combat aircraft, the
Gloster Meteor, entered service in the latter stages of World War
Two and operated well into the 1950s in a variety of frontline roles.
Malcolm V Lowe tells the story of the day-fighter Meteors

he Gloster Meteor
was an iconic
aircraft and a
significant product
of Britain’s once
large and world-leading aircraft
industry. Its creation owed much
to groundbreaking work into jet
engine design and technology
carried out in Britain during the
pre-war period, with the famous
inventor and pioneering engineer
Frank Whittle at the forefront.
The practical use of this research
was demonstrated at RAF
Cranwell on May 15, 1941, when
the first official flight took place
of a diminutive but advanced and
forward-looking monoplane that was
at the start of a revolution in warplane
design and technology. The aircraft was
the Gloster E.28/39, sometimes called
the Gloster Whittle or Gloster Pioneer,
and it was the first jet-powered aircraft
to fly in Britain. It was originated and
built by the Gloster Aircraft Company,
whose talented designer George Carter
was, like Whittle, an important figure
in the successful development of jet
aircraft in Britain.
The Gloster E.28/39 was fitted with
a Power Jets W.1 engine, which had a
modest power rating of 850lb thrust.
Successful testing of the two E.28/39
airframes that were built proved
the concept of a viable jet-powered
aircraft, but the Pioneer was only
ever intended for experimental and
proof-of-concept work. It was clear
to George Carter that one of these
engines by itself did not give enough
power to propel a fully-armed fighter
aircraft. After various design and
concept studies, a twin-engined layout
promised the best compromise for a
warplane powerful enough to combine
weapons-carrying capability with
a performance that would outstrip
contemporary piston-engined fighters.
Development work by Power Jets
led to the creation of the W.2, which

5 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 A formation of Meteor F.8 day-fighters of 41
Squadron, with the commanding officer’s aircraft
WH480 nearest, made for an impressive sight
while providing air defence of Britain’s airspace
during the Cold War era Andrew Thomas Collection

later featured in the E.28/39’s test
programme, and was an important
stepping stone in the development
of the ground-breaking Rolls-Royce
Welland and Derwent turbojets.
Further, official Specification F.9/40
was drafted around Gloster’s initial
studies into a twin-engined jet-
powered fighter. The first Gloster
drawing to show roughly the form that
the new fighter would take was dated
March 13, 1940. In early 1941, the
first-ever official order for a British
jet-powered aircraft was made, calling
for 12 prototype airframes of Gloster’s
new design. In September 1941, an
initial production order for combat-
capable F.9/40 fighters was placed.
During early 1942, the moniker
‘Meteor’ was agreed upon for the new
aircraft. Initially, ‘Thunderbolt’ had
been preferred, until it was realised that
the new Republic P-47 piston-engined
fighter was adopting that name.
Unfortunately, engine development
did not keep pace with the speed that
Gloster completed design composition
and began building prototype
airframes. Engine work had been
diverted to Rover, but it was not until
Rolls-Royce took over development
of the Power Jets engine layout for
production that real progress was made.
As a result, the first F.9/40 to fly was
fitted with two de Havilland Halford
H.1 turbojets. Thus powered,
DG206/G took to the air at RAF
Cranwell on March 5, 1943, piloted
by Michael Daunt.
Only eight F.9/40 prototypes were
built, with the Power Jets/Rolls-
Royce W.2 in various different
versions eventually becoming
available for installation in some
of these aircraft. The new Rolls-
Royce Welland (derived from the
W.2B/23C experimental engine)
was chosen for the first production
Meteors – the F.Mk.I (company
designation G.41A) – of which only
20 were built. The first of these,

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 5 1
C L A S S I C S – M E T E O R DAY F I G H T E R S
EE210/G, flew on January 12, 1944,
powered by two early Welland
engines of 1,700lb thrust each.
Several weeks later it was shipped
to the US for evaluation, exchanged
with an example of the Bell P-59
Airacomet jet fighter (although
EE210/G was eventually returned
to Britain; the ‘G’ prefix meant that
the aircraft was secret and needed
guarding while on the ground).
The small batch of Meteor
F.I airframes were very austere
warplanes, basically militarised
F.9/40s, but at least 15 of the 20 are
known to have seen frontline service.
Deliveries to the RAF began in July
1944. The type was armed with four
20mm Hispano cannon – two in the
forward fuselage on each side.
Evolving the design
The development potential of the
basic Meteor layout was exploited
to the full by George Carter and
his team, and the Meteor F.Mk.
III (G.41C) that followed the Mk.I
into production was a marked
improvement over the initial version.
The Mk.III was the first large-scale
production model Meteor, with
Gloster documents showing that 210
were built.
The first batch of 15 Mk.IIIs
were powered by the Welland, but
the more powerful Rolls-Royce
Derwent I turbojet was adopted
for the new version. The Meteor
Mk.III included many refinements
over the initial Mk.I airframe, one
improvement being the adoption
of a more streamlined windscreen
and canopy arrangement. The
airframe was strengthened and
slotted speed brakes were adopted,
with a modified nacelle shape. The
first actual Mk.III, EE230, flew in
September 1944, and deliveries to
the RAF commenced towards the
end of the year.
Continuing development of the
Meteor and the jet engines to power
it resulted in two post-war versions
for the RAF, which were important
for Britain’s frontline day-fighter
capability after World War Two
ended. The first of these post-war
versions was the Meteor F.Mk.4,
which became a significant type not
only for the RAF, but also gained
significant export sales.
5 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
The ongoing improvement of the
Derwent engine led to the ‘first
flight’ in July 1945 of a prototype
(actually a converted Mk.III) for the
new F.4 fighter (Roman numerals
were permanently dropped for RAF
aircraft type designations after the
war). Powered by the Derwent V of
3,500 lb thrust, the F.4 incorporated
various ‘tweaks’ to the basic Meteor
design. Important among these was
an increase in the length of the engine
nacelles, resulting in a considerable
improvement in maximum speed
(adding up to some 60mph at sea level)
due to more efficient airflow over the
nacelles with less drag. An early form
of pressurisation for the cockpit was
included for the first time, together
with armour protection for the pilot
and strengthening of the airframe to
absorb the increase in power.
“Due to its wartime
exploits, the Meteor
was the only jet-
powered Allied
warplane to engage in
actual combat during
World War Two”
Manufacturing of the F.4 was mainly
carried out by Gloster at Hucclecote
(Brockworth), but a small number
were built by Armstrong Whitworth at
Baginton. Initial production examples,
beginning with serial number EE517,
had the same wing plan form as
previous Meteors, but the increase
in power and top speed resulted in
considerable stress on this design, so
Gloster reduced the wingspan from
43ft to 37ft 2in by ‘squaring off ’ the
wingtips. This reduced stress and
improved the Meteor’s rate of roll, but
increased landing speeds. The new
‘short-span’ wing was standardised
for the type under the company
designation G.41G.
With the Derwent V, the F.4 had
excellent acceleration on take-off and
good single-engine performance with
one engine stopped, and was cleared
for flight up to a critical Mach number
of 0.78. It was an important upgrade in
the RAF’s fighter capability and began
reaching RAF frontline squadrons
during 1947 and early 1948.
During the F.4’s development period
post-war, Gloster operated a civil
Meteor F.4 demonstrator registered
G-AIDC, making it the first civilian-
registered jet aircraft in the world.
Definitive version
Further improvement work by Gloster
led to the upgraded single-seat Meteor
F.Mk.8 fighter. This model line went
on to become the most numerous
Meteor version by far in terms of
production and, like the F.4, it was
an important export success. An F.4
airframe, VT150, was used as a trials
aircraft for the intended F.8, initially
flying in this role in October 1948.
Bearing the company designation
G.41K, the F.8 retained the F.4’s
wingspan of 37ft 2in while having a
longer fuselage of 44ft 7in compared
to the first production F.4s. With
the longer fuselage and consequent
rearrangement of internal fuel and
armament installation, a revised tail
shape was found to be necessary. At
that time, Gloster was working on its
E.1/44 experimental single-engined
jet aircraft, which eventually featured
tall, straight-edged vertical tail surfaces
and these appeared during testing to
offer a considerable improvement in
directional control compared to the
F.4’s somewhat curiously shaped fin
and rudder. The E.1/44’s straight-edge
design thus became the pattern for the
F.8’s revised vertical tail.
The F.8 was pressurised and
featured an early Martin-Baker
ejection seat. The layout of the cockpit
instrumentation was improved
compared to the F.4, and a retractable
gyro gunsight provided better forward
vision when not in use. The rearward-
sliding canopy was an improvement
over the F.4’s, allowing better all-
around visibility (a fully ‘blown’
totally clear canopy was eventually
standardised). Later aircraft had
modified engine intakes.
Power was by means of two Rolls-
Royce Derwent 8 turbojets, each of
3,500lb thrust. The Derwent 8 was a
development of the Derwent V and,
with this powerplant, the Meteor
F.8 could reach a maximum speed
of 598mph at 10,000ft according to
Gloster’s figures. A little faster than
the Meteor F.4, many pilots reported
ABOVE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The very first F.9/40 airframe to fly was this historic aircraft, DG206/G. Powered by two de Havilland Halford H.1 jet
engines which were not used on production Meteor aircraft, it initially flew on March 5, 1943 via Malcolm V Lowe; One of 616 Squadron’s Meteor F.Mk.Is
photographed while the unit was stationed at RAF Manston in Kent. These early Meteors were initially employed in V1 flying bomb interceptions, the
Meteor being the only jet aircraft used in combat by the Allies during World War Two JB via Malcolm V Lowe; Two Meteor Mk.IIIs were ‘navalised’ for carrier
deck landing trials. This image probably shows EE337 about to ‘take the wire’ – note the extended ‘A’-frame arrester hook via Malcolm V Lowe; All jet engines
fitted to production models of the Meteor were of the type pioneered by Frank Whittle and his design team. This is the precursor of them, the Power
Jets W.1 with its centrifugal compressor and annular combustion chambers via Malcolm V Lowe; White-painted Gloster Meteor F.Mk.III EE239/YQ-Q of 616
Squadron’s early 1945 four-aircraft detachment at B-58 Melsbroek in Belgium Library of Congress

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 5 3
C L A S S I C S – M E T E O R DAY F I G H T E R S

ABOVE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: EE454 broke the world air speed record in November 1945, illustrating the excellent performance capabilities
of the Meteor Gloster; Painted yellow overall, this Meteor Mk.III, EE455, was one of two brought up to early F.4 standard and used for an attempt on
the world air speed record in late 1945 Gloster; Meteor F.8s were camouflaged later in their RAF service, as shown by these 63 Squadron aircraft with
WA903/H nearest to the camera. In homage to an earlier age, the Meteors’ engines could be helped into life by the ubiquitous ‘trolley-acc’ Malcolm V Lowe
Collection; Meteor F.8 WA982 was experimentally fitted with a small Rolls-Royce Soar missile-propulsion turbojet on each wingtip, which resulted in this
unusual appearance, thus becoming a ‘four-engined’ Meteor Malcolm V Lowe Collection; A late 1940s formation of Meteor F.4s, coded ‘LZ’, belonging to 66
Squadron. The Meteor line was somewhat affectionately nicknamed ‘meat-box’ JB via Malcolm V Lowe

5 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
the F.8 to be actually slightly less
manoeuvrable, with a marginally
greater wing loading and higher stalling
speed. Armament for the F.8 remained
the standard Meteor layout of four
20mm cannon, two in each side of the
forward fuselage.
The privilege of becoming the RAF’s
first-ever frontline jet fighter unit was
given to 616 Squadron of the Auxiliary
Air Force. Already operational on the
Spitfire Mk.VII, the unit received its
first Meteor Mk.I on July 12, 1944,
while stationed at RAF Culmhead in
Somerset. Shortly after, the unit moved
to RAF Manston in Kent, where there
was considerable activity by RAF and
USAAF fighter squadrons and anti-
aircraft guns against incoming V1 flying
bombs, known to the RAF as ‘divers’.
The Meteors of 616 Squadron were
ideally suited to taking on the divers,
being faster at low level than any of
the other Allied fighters pitted against
the V1 menace. The divers tended to
operate between 1,000ft and 3,000ft, at
which altitude 616 Squadron’s Meteors
could attain some 410mph, which was
more than enough to catch the elusive
little missiles.
While 616 Squadron received
further Meteor Mk.Is and its pilots
were trained on the new type,
anti-V1 scrambles and patrols began.
On August 4, the unit had its first
successes. At 1640 hrs, Flg Off ‘Jock’
Rodger shot down the Meteor’s first
V1 using his 20mm cannon. In his
combat report, he wrote: “I sighted a
diver over Tenterden [in Kent] flying
at 3,000ft at 340mph. I immediately
attacked from dead astern and fired
a two-second burst at a range of 350
yards. I saw several hits and saw petrol
or oil streaming out of the diver, which
continued to fly straight and level. I
fired another two-second burst from
my four cannons, still from 300 yards.
Both Meteor and diver were flying at
340mph. The diver then went down
and exploded on the ground about five
miles northwest of Tenterden.”
This was the first-ever air-to-
air shoot-down performed by a jet-
powered warplane using its onboard
armament. Less than an hour before,
616 Squadron had registered its initial
jet ‘kill’ when Fg Off TD ‘Dixie’ Dean,
his cannons jammed, tipped a V1 with
his wingtip and caused it to crash. In
recent years there has been considerable
argument as to whether such ‘kills’
were actually caused by disturbed
airflow due to close proximity flying,
rather than an actual contact. However,
in Dean’s case, there was no doubt as
to what had tipped over the diver. On
landing, he discovered a prominent
dent in his wingtip where he had struck
the flying bomb’s wing, which needed
to be fixed before his aircraft could be
declared operational again.
By August 7, 616 Sqn had received
12 Meteor Mk.Is, which allowed two
flights to be declared operational. Up
to 33 pilots had been fully converted
onto the new jets. On that day, ‘Dixie’
Dean brought down his second V1,
this time with his onboard cannon. He
recorded: “At approximately 0620 hrs
I intercepted a diver four miles east of
Robertsbridge [in Sussex]. The diver
was flying at 1,000ft at an estimated
speed of 390mph. I came into attack
line astern at 400mph and opened fire
“The first Gloster
drawing to show
roughly the form
that the new fighter
would take was dated
March 13, 1940”
with all four cannons at 700 yards. I
continued firing in short bursts, closing
in to 500 yards. Strikes were seen
and pieces fell away from the diver’s
starboard wing. Finally, I broke away,
having expended my ammunition, and
I saw the diver go down in a shallow
dive. It was not possible to see if the
diver crashed owing to prevailing
ground mist. It was later confirmed by
the ROC [Royal Observer Corps] that
the diver had crashed at 0625 hrs.”
In the event, 616 Squadron’s anti-
diver operations were modest compared
to the large number of ‘kills’ achieved
by RAF and US piston-engined types,
but the Meteor was ‘blooded’ with
12.5 shoot-downs. The squadron flew
the Meteor Mk.I for the rest of 1944,
including ‘familiarisation’ flying with
USAAF piston-engined fighters, long
after the V1 threat had been neutralised
after ground forces captured the areas
being used for launches.
The unit progressively replaced
its Mk.Is with the new Mk.III
from December 1944. For a time,
the two versions were operated
together by 616 Squadron, but in
early 1945 a small detachment was
sent to Melsbroek (B-58) airfield
in Belgium for evaluation by 2nd
Tactical Air Force and to counter
the growing menace of Germany’s
equally pioneering jet fighter, the
Messerschmitt Me 262. No aerial
combats took place between the
two, and until the latter stages
of the war the Meteors were not
allowed to cross the frontlines for
fear of capture. The whole of 616
Squadron eventually moved to Gilze-
Rijen (B-77) in the Netherlands
during March/April and flew some
interdiction sorties. A small number
of enemy aircraft were destroyed
on the ground, reportedly including
a hapless Fieseler Fi 156 Storch
liaison and spotter aircraft that had
been forced to land after sighting a
marauding Meteor.
A second Meteor Mk.III unit, 504
Squadron, was just re-equipping and
working-up at the time of VE Day
in May 1945. It and 616 Squadron
were disbanded in August 1945,
but several squadrons transitioned
onto the Mk.III post-war. Due to its
wartime exploits, the Meteor was the
only Allied jet-powered warplane
to engage in actual combat during
World War Two.
Widespread service
Although the Meteor airframe
that was a prototype/development
aircraft for the Meteor F.4 actually
flew in 1945, it was not until 1947
that production examples of the
Meteor F.4 started to reach RAF
operational squadrons. Several
RAF frontline units began receiving
Meteor F.4s during 1947 and early
1948, alongside the Meteor Mk.IIIs
that they were already operating
post-war. These included 74 and 222
Squadrons, which were effectively
the first to become operational on
the type – an event that, surprisingly,
was heralded with little fanfare.
During the course of 1948, several
further units transitioned onto
the type, including 66 and 92
Squadrons. Most of these squadrons
were already operational with the
Meteor Mk.III, but a small number
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 5 5
C L A S S I C S – M E T E O R DAY F I G H T E R S
transitioned on to the Meteor F.4
from the Supermarine Spitfire,
while both 19 and 41 Squadrons
formerly flew the piston-engined
twin-engined de Havilland Hornet
fighter prior to a brief spell with
the Meteor F.4. Eventually, more
than 20 RAF squadrons operated
the F.4 (including several from the
Royal Auxiliary Air Force), some
for only a few weeks while others
flew the type for a number of years.
Even though its operational life with
the RAF was comparatively short
overall, the Meteor F.4 nonetheless
represented an important type in the
RAF’s home-based fighter inventory,
providing part of Britain’s air
defences during the Cold War.
Before the F.4 had established
itself in RAF squadron service, the
type had gained headlines around
the world due to several successful
world record attempts. In the early
days of the development of the F.4,
two Mk.III examples were specially
prepared to break the existing
official world air speed record set in
Germany during 1939. They were
brought up to roughly F.4 standard
and EE455 was painted overall
yellow. In November 1945, Group
Captain Hugh Wilson broke the
official world record at just over
606mph over a specially-prepared
course along the south coast of
England. In September 1946, the
RAF High Speed Flight, with Group
Captain E M Donaldson flying
EE549, raised the speed record to
almost 616mph.
The F.8 began replacing the F.4
in RAF frontline service from 1950
onwards. It is generally accepted
that the first Meteor F.8 to reach
an RAF squadron was VZ438,
which joined 1 Squadron at RAF
Tangmere, Sussex, in December
1949. However, it was several months
before the type became operational
at squadron strength. Among the
first F.8 operators were 43 and 245
Squadrons, which transitioned onto
the F.8 during 1950, when the type
officially entered frontline service,
with 245 Squadron now understood
to have been the first to actually
gain operational status. Production
of the F.8 by Gloster and Armstrong
Whitworth amounted to some 1,090
examples, possibly slightly more.
5 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
In total, some 21 RAF squadrons flew
the Meteor F.8 as their main aircraft,
in addition to several others which had
one or two examples on strength for
second-line duties additional to their
normal mounts. Less than a dozen
Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons
also operated the Meteor F.8 as their
main equipment. Among these was 616
Squadron, the unit that had originally
taken the Meteor Mk.I into service
during 1944.
Eventually, the Meteor F.8 was
mostly – but not exclusively – replaced
in RAF frontline service by the
superlative Hawker Hunter, with 43
Squadron becoming the first frontline
Hunter operator in exchange for its
Meteors during the summer of 1954.
The Meteor F.8 soldiered on with
several squadrons well into the late
“The first-ever
production Meteor
Mk.I, EE210/G, flew
on January 12, 1944,
powered by two early
Welland engines”
1950s, with a particularly long-lasting
Meteor F.8 unit being 245 Squadron,
which finally ended its association with
the Meteor in 1957.
Some Meteor F.8s were employed
by RAF flying training schools and a
number ended up being used as target-
towers. A drone conversion of the
type was the U.16 (some re-designated
as D.16). The Royal Navy’s Fleet
Air Arm also flew some single-seat
Meteors. These were shore-based for
training and evaluation purposes, but
two specially-converted Mk.IIIs were
delegated for deck-landing trials, with
the famous test pilot Capt Eric Brown
making the first ever carrier landing by
a twin-engined British jet aircraft with
EE337 in June 1948.
A variety of Meteor F.4s were
employed for experimental and trials
purposes. This included important
pioneering work conducted by Rolls-
Royce into jet engine development and
installation work. An early example
was F.4 RA435, which was used by
Rolls-Royce for experimental work,
fitted with two Derwent engines
upgraded with an early form of
afterburning. Other powerplants
flown experimentally in F.4 airframes
included the Metropolitan-Vickers
Beryl turbojet.
Similarly, some Meteor F.8 airframes
were used for test purposes, principally
development work with a variety
of powerplants. The most unusual
conversion was the so-called Prone
Pilot Meteor. This was a curious
modified F.8, WK935, which featured
a new elongated nose with the pilot
laying flat in the forward fuselage.
The F.4 was the first major version
to sell overseas, at a time when many
air forces were either re-establishing
themselves or simply re-equipping after
the end of World War Two. Several
countries subsequently operated the
Meteor F.4, either using new-build
examples or machines originally
destined for the RAF but which were
diverted to fulfil export orders. The
initial overseas customer for the
Meteor F.4 was Argentina, with orders
placed in 1947, while the first customer
in Europe was the Netherlands.
Demand for the F.8 was high and
various customers subsequently
operated the type which was also
licence-manufactured overseas. The
F.8 was built under licence in the
Netherlands by Fokker and in Belgium
it was assembled by Avions Fairey.
Other F.8 operators included Denmark,
Brazil, Egypt, Syria and Israel.
Into battle
It is widely reported that 97 F.8s were
supplied for Australian service, but
historians have found evidence for
just 94. The RAAF received its first
Meteor in 1946, a trials/development
F.3 EE247. Remarkably, RAAF F.8s
were supplied directly to the Korean
War zone, where in-theatre training
was carried out by RAF pilots. The
RAAF’s 77 Squadron had been flying
piston-engined Mustangs in combat
when Meteors arrived in numbers
from early 1951. Combat operations
followed later that year when the unit
moved from Japan to Kimpo in South
Korea, with the Meteors initially flying
as dedicated fighters. Unfortunately
their chief adversary, the MiG-15, was
a far superior jet fighter and it was
eventually decided Meteors would
be better suited for air-to-ground
operations.
ABOVE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: One of the Meteor F.8s that served in the Korean War with the RAAF’s 77 Squadron was A77-728 (ex-WA951),
seen here with a double bank of unguided air-to-ground rockets on its eight underwing pylons RAAF; Among the various export customers for the Meteor
F.8, Syria operated the type together with other Meteor versions including the FR.Mk.9 reconnaissance platform Key Collection; The Meteor F.8s of 77
Squadron RAAF made an important contribution to the United Nations effort during the Korean War, principally in the air-to-ground role. This F.8, A77-
510, survived the conflict and was later converted into a U.21A target drone RAAF; ‘Gloster Reaper’ G-7-1 was photographed showing its weapons-carrying
capability. The concept was not put into production, but standard Meteor F.8s were used for ground-attack work in the Korean War by the RAAF Malcolm V
Lowe Collection; RAAF Meteor F.8 A77-570 undergoing maintenance and apparently some repair work at Kimpo (K-14) following combat. The Australians found
the Meteor to be better suited to air-to-ground combat rather than aerial fighting during Korean War operations Andrew Thomas Collection

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 5 7
This Australian-operated Meteor
F.8 is the sole airworthy example
of all the fighter versions built.
It is painted to represent the
aircraft of Sgt George Hale RAAF,
who shot down a MiG during the
Korean War in March 1953
Key Collection – Duncan Cubitt

5 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
6 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 6 1
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 G LO S T E R M E T E O R

Gloster Meteor F.4 RA444/A6-B, 257

Squadron, RAF Horsham St Faith (now
Norwich Airport), c. late 1940s. Overall
painted silver. Black serial numbers and
codes. Chinthe (Burmese Lion) unit
design on both sides of nose
Andy Hay-Flyingart

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 6 3
G LO S T E R M E T E O R

ABOVE: Gloster Meteor F.I (first production example) EE210/G, loaned to US 1944. Dark Green/Ocean Grey upper surface
camouflage, Medium Sea Grey below. Black serial numbers, US national markings blue/white

ABOVE: Gloster Meteor F.8 A77-730, 77 Squadron, RAAF Kimpo, South Korea, 1951. Overall painted silver. Black serial numbers.
Note the ARN-6 radio compass installation on the aircraft’s spine, and rocket rails/rockets beneath the wing

ABOVE: Gloster Meteor Mk.III EE337/051/FD, Fleet Air Arm, 778 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Ford, Sussex, early 1950s. Extra Dark
Sea Grey upper surfaces, Sky below. Black serial numbers and codes. Note arrester hook on this somewhat modified airframe

6 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 ABOVE: Gloster Meteor U.16 target drone WK747/D, RAE Llanbedr, Wales, 1970s. Red
and yellow high-visibility colour scheme. Black serial numbers, yellow establishment
name on nose and code. The upper surface yellow has also been described as ‘Deep
Cream’ on some of these drones

ABOVE: Gloster Meteor F.8 WH480 flown by the commanding officer of 41 Squadron, RAF Biggin Hill, c.1953. Overall painted
silver. Black serial numbers. Red and white squadron colours, outlined in black

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 6 5
G LO S T E R M E T E O R

Gloster Meteor F.3 of 500

(County of Kent) Squadron,
Royal Auxiliary Air Force being
refuelled at RAF West Malling,
circa 1950 Key Collection

6 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
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460 Squadron Lancaster Chance-Vought Corsair

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R A F S C A M P TO N

With the recent, final closure of RAF Scampton,

Chris Frear looks back at some of the people,
squadrons and aircraft once based at one of the
UK’s best-known RAF stations

END F AN
7 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 he name Scampton

T might have only reached

the greater public
consciousness in 1943,
following 617 Squadron’s
much publicised raid against the
German dams, but there had been a
strong aviation connection going back
another 27 years to 1916.
On October 13, 1916, barely 13 years
after the Wright Brother’s first flight,
‘A’ Flight of the Royal Flying Corps’
33 (Home Defence) Squadron set up
camp in fields belonging to Aisthorpe
Farm near the village of Brattleby Cliff,
some six miles north-west of the city
of Lincoln. Consisting of three flights
(only ‘A’ Flight flew from Brattleby), 33
Squadron was tasked with defending
the area against German airships.
Equipped first with Royal Aircraft
Factory F.E.2s, then briefly with
Bristol Fighters in mid-1918 and before
re-equipping again in August 1918
with Avro 504s, the squadron made
a number of interceptions, though no
records exist of any airships being shot
down by 33 Squadron.
In 1917 Air Station Brattleby was
formally renamed Scampton and was
also given a new designation, that of
34 Training Depot Station. The latter
brought with it the arrival of 60th,
80th and 11th Training Squadrons
between the spring of 1917 and summer
of 1918.
With the end of hostilities in late 1918,
flying was wound down and by 1920
the aerodrome ceased to be, the land
having been returned to agriculture.
Nothing happened at Scampton
through the 1920s but by 1934 it had
become apparent that Germany was
rearming and the RAF now embarked
upon a period of rapid expansion. Part
of this expansion saw the re-opening
of Scampton on a permanent basis
with the construction of four C-type
hangars, a technical site, and to the
south-east permanent brick-built
messes, barracks and married quarters
to the south of the grass aerodrome.
In 1936, RAF Scampton officially
reopened as part of Bomber

AN ERA
Command’s 3 Group. By the time
war was declared three years later, it
had been transferred to 5 Group and
was home to 49 and 83 Squadrons,
both of which were flying Handley

LEFT: BAe Hawks of the Red Arrows, pictured at

their home for over four decades in 2004
Key Collection

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 7 1
R A F S C A M P TO N
RAF Bomber crews of No 83 Squadron in
front of a Handley Page Hampden at RAF
Scampton, October 1940 Getty Images
Page Hampdens. Among the latter
Squadron's officer cadre were Flying
Officers Roderick Learoyd and Guy
Gibson, both of whom would later
go on to win the Victoria Cross flying
from Scampton. As would wireless
operator/air gunner Flight Sergeant
John Hannah, who, like Learoyd,
was awarded his VC while flying
in Handley Page Hampdens with
83 Squadron.
7 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
“Flt Sgt John Hannah,
like Fg Off Roderick
Learoyd, was awarded
his VC while flying
in Handley Page
Hampdens with
83 Squadron”
On March 2, 1940, having been
evacuated from France, 98 Squadron
and its Fairey Battles were briefly
based at Scampton. Seventeen days
later they moved on and headed
north-west to Finningley near
Doncaster.
For valour
On the night of August 12/13, 1940, a
force of 11 Hampdens from Scampton’s
now resident 49 and 83 Squadrons
took off to attack the heavily defended
Dortmund–Ems Canal, a 167-mile-
long canal between Dortmund and the
coastal port of Emden, where barges
for the planned German invasion of
Britain were massing. It was for his
actions on this raid that 83 Squadron’s
Flying Officer Learoyd was awarded
the first of Scampton’s VCs.
While making his bombing run in
Hampden P4403, Learoyd’s aircraft
was caught in the intense glare of the
searchlights and the aircraft hit in the
wing by flak. Despite being blinded
by the light and the damage inflicted
on the aircraft, Learoyd managed to
maintain control and keep it steady
enough for the bomb aimer to press
home their attack at a height of just
150ft. Bomb run complete, Learoyd
then nursed the badly damaged
aircraft back to Scampton, and with its
hydraulic system shot away and flaps
ABOVE: Wireless operator/air gunner 18-year-
old Flight Sergeant John Hannah VC in his gun
position Getty Images
LEFT: 83 Squadron’s Flying Officer Roderick
Learoyd, who was awarded the first of
Scampton’s three VCs RAF
An Avro Blue Steel stand-off
nuclear missile in the servicing
bay at Scampton Key Collection

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 7 3
R A F S C A M P TO N
inoperable, he circled the airfield for a
further three hours to use up fuel before
making his landing as the sun came up.
The citation for his VC stated: “The
high courage, skill and determination
which this officer has invariably
displayed on many occasions in the face
of the enemy sets an example which is
unsurpassed.” Learoyd survived the
war, retiring with the rank of Wing
Commander, and passed away on
January 24, 1996.
Scampton’s second VC followed a
month later. On the night of September
15/16, 1940 a flight of 15 Hampdens
set off to attack the invasion barges
assembling at Antwerp. Wireless
operator/air gunner Flight Sergeant
John Hannah was flying in Hampden
TOP: The crew of a 617 Squadron Vulcan
scramble to board their machine during an
exercise at Scampton in 1960 Key Collection
ABOVE: Guy Gibson (top of the ladder) and
his crew climb aboard Lancaster Mk III Special
ED932 at Scampton, May 16, 1943 for the
legendary Operation Chastise Key Collection
7 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
the extinguishers, beating the flames
with his logbook when these were
empty. During this time, thousands
of rounds of ammunition exploded
in all directions, and he was almost
blinded by the intense heat and
fumes… all the aluminium sheet
metal on the floor of this airman’s
cockpit was melted away, leaving
only the crossbearers. Working
under these conditions, which caused
burns to his face and eyes, Sergeant
Hannah succeeded in extinguishing
the fire. He then crawled forward
and ascertained that the navigator
had left the aircraft and passed the
latter’s log and maps to the pilot.
This airman displayed courage,
coolness and devotion to duty of
the highest order and, by his action
in remaining and successfully
extinguishing the fire under
conditions of the greatest danger and
difficulty, enabled the pilot to bring
the aircraft safely to its base.”
It was only upon landing that the
full extent of Hannah’s wounds were
discovered. He was taken to hospital
and did not fly on ‘ops’ again. He
was posted for instructor duties
but due to issues with his health he
was discharged from the RAF on
December 10, 1942. He passed away
on June 9, 1947 and his medals are
now with RAF Museum London.
“Scampton was closed
between 1955 and 1958
for development and
expansion that would
enable it to operate
the Vulcan”
P1355 with Pilot Officer C A Connor at
the controls, Flight Sergeant Hayhurst
as navigator and Flight Sergeant G
James as rear gunner. Their aircraft
was hit in the bomb bay by anti-aircraft
fire and caught fire. In the citation for
his Victoria Cross, The London Gazette
of October 1, 1940 stated: “Sergeant
Hannah forced his way though the
fire to obtain two extinguishers and
discovered that the rear gunner had
had to leave the aircraft. He could have
acted likewise, through the bottom
escape hatch or forward through the
navigator’s hatch but remained and
fought the fire for ten minutes with
Squadron X
In August 1942, 83 Squadron moved
to RAF Wyton to become part of the
embryonic Pathfinders. Less than
a month later, 57 Squadron arrived
at Scampton from RAF Feltwell in
Norfolk, converting from Vickers
Wellingtons to Avro Lancasters in
the process. On January 2, 1943, 49
Squadron moved to nearby RAF
Fiskerton, leaving 57 Squadron the only
resident unit at Scampton.
From early 1943, Scampton was
transferred from 1 Group to 5 Group,
while also becoming 52 Base with
additional responsibility for airfields at
Fiskerton and Dunholme Lodge.
In March of 1943, Squadron X, later
to be renamed 617 Squadron, formed at 1958 for development and expansion Vulcan. October 1960 saw the arrival
the airfield and their exploits in May of that would enable it to operate of 83 Squadron with the base’s first
that year have gone down in the pages the Vulcan. Part of this expansion Vulcan B.2s followed by 27 Squadron
of wider history. involved the extension of Scampton’s six months later in April 1961. In
In 1948, for three months from late main runway in 1956 to 10,000ft. The September, 617 Squadron transitioned
July, the USAF’s 28th Bombardment latter necessitated the re-alignment of to the B.2 version of the Vulcan. The
Group deployed to Scampton from the formerly straight A15 Roman road three units then became the RAF’s
their home airfield at Rapid City Air that borders the eastern edge of the first Vulcan B.2 Wing.
Force Base in South Dakota. However, base, so that for the last 67 years it has
the 6,000ft runway and relatively had a bend in it. The curve in the road ABOVE: The crew of Avro Manchester B.Ia R5833
limited number of hard standings for is symbolically represented on the of 83 Squadron, pose beside their aircraft on April
the many B-29s made it a less than Station’s badge by an archer’s longbow, 17, 1942 at RAF Scampton. The Welsh inscription
‘ar hyd y nos’ on the nose translates as ‘all
ideal location. while the runway is depicted by through the night’ Getty Images
an arrow.
The Cold War In May 1958, 617 Squadron was BELOW: Avro Vulcan B.2 XM571 of the
Designated to become a V-Force base, reformed at Scampton, flying the Scampton Wing being loaded with a Blue Steel
Scampton was closed between 1955 and B.1 and then B.1A version of the stand-off nuclear missile, circa 1964 Getty Images

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 7 5
R A F S C A M P TO N

RIGHT: Wing Commander Neill Atkins, RAF

Scampton's Station Commander, lays a wreath at
the door of Hangar 2, RAF Scampton, in honour
of the last Dambuster, George Leonard ‘Johnny’
Johnson MBE DFM Linda Lowing/UK MOD/Crown
copyright 2022

BELOW: The Red Arrows celebrating their 40th

anniversary in 2004. Gnat XR993 was part of the
display team in 1968 Key Collection

In 1963, Scampton's Vulcans were

specially modified to carry the Blue
Steel stand-off nuclear missile and
617 Squadron was the first unit to
be declared operational with the
weapon in August 1962, becoming
Britain’s primary nuclear deterrent.
It was to be a responsibility the
Vulcan held until January 1970, the
advent of Polaris and the transfer of
responsibility for the UK’s nuclear
deterrent to the Royal Navy, after
which the Vulcan force was equipped clouds sampling the fallout from “Scampton was to
with WE177 lay down nuclear bombs. nuclear tests. remain the Red
83 Squadron had been disbanded on
August 31, 1969 and 617 Squadron’s The final years Arrows’ home for
role remained one of strategic By the end of 1982, the V-Force was almost four decades”
bombing, principally with the WE177, no more, but in March 1983, the
but it was eventually disbanded on Red Arrows display team arrived at
the last day of December 1981. Scampton from RAF Kemble (now
In 1982, 27 Squadron was dissolved known as Cotswold Airport) in While the majority of the unit had
at nearby RAF Waddington, where Gloucestershire. Scampton was to made the transition to their new home
it had moved sometime between remain the Red Arrows’ home for at nearby RAF Waddington during
1960 and 1973 (sources vary on the almost four decades (discounting a the summer, XX323 had remained at
exact year), changing from a bombing brief relocation to RAF Cranwell) until Scampton while engineering work was
role to operating the Vulcan in the the official closure of the base in 2022. completed. It departed on October 19,
maritime radar reconnaissance and The Red Arrows were the last 2022, bringing to an end flying from
high altitude (sniffer) roles which squadron to fly from the airfield, and the airfield that just a week earlier had
involved flying through radioactive their last aircraft to leave was XX323. celebrated its 106th anniversary.

7 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
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005 Key VIP Book club Flypast_Aeroplane_Mar23.indd 113 09/01/2023 12:53:36

 T H E WA R LOV E R

FILM
STAR Words: Ken Ellis

Sixty years ago a trio of B-17s took part in

a movie that was not well received at the
time but came to be regarded as a gem

OPPOSITE: Steve McQueen at Bovingdon

on the set of The War Lover Getty

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 7 9
T H E WA R LOV E R

8 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
OPPOSITE: Robert t’s not everybody’s
Wagner as ‘Bo’ Bolland
cup of tea. The star of
(left) with Steve
McQueen as ‘Buzz’ Columbia’s The War
Rickson Getty Lover is a reckless
A polite request sociopath addicted to
of the film crews combat flying. The film climaxes in
at Bovingdon in self-destruction as his Boeing B-17
November 1961
allowed a quick early
Flying Fortress impacts Dover’s White
Cliffs, the rest of the crew having taken
evening sortie to
photograph The War to the silk.
Lover B-17s Ken Ellis
Collection
Director Philip Leacock’s superb
1962-released black and white
Applying nose-art movie has much to offer: incredible
to ‘122749’ Ken Ellis performances from actors Steve
Collection
McQueen, Shirley Anne Field and
Robert Wagner; there’s even [future
Phantom Of The Opera and Some
Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em star] Michael
Crawford and real Fortresses
intermingled with archive footage.
Emphasizing the youth of wartime
bomber crews, the then 19-year-old
Crawford played crew member ‘Junior’
Sailen. At the time McQueen and
Wagner were both 31, over-age for the
average B-17 pilot, but they belie their
years with ease. ‘Buzz’ Rickson, played
by McQueen, and Ed ‘Bo’ Boland
(Wagner) have designs on Shirley
Anne Field’s Daphne Caldwell, and
this triangle provides the central plot.
McQueen’s character is the rebellious
and unpredictable captain of B-17
The Body; Wagner is his much more
conventional co-pilot.
Shopping list
British-based John Crewdson ran
Film Aviation Services (FAS) providing
aircraft, flight and ground crews for
movie companies. He was a pioneer of
helicopter camera platforms, soon to
become universally adopted by
the industry.
In 1960 Columbia (British)
Productions Ltd commissioned FAS
to acquire and operate airworthy
Fortresses for a portrayal of John
Hersey’s novel, published the previous
year. A trio was considered the smallest
number that could convey larger
quantities – monochrome wartime
clips were inserted to provide wider,
mass formation imagery. There was
a tight schedule, shooting aerial
sequences in the autumn of 1961;
wrapping by the end of the year with
release in the following autumn.
Crewdson followed up a tip that B-17s
were to be found in Israel – his nearest
option. Fortresses had seen action
with the nascent state during its war
of independence of 1948-1949. He was
“In 1960 Columbia
(British) Productions
Ltd commissioned FAS
to acquire and operate
airworthy Fortresses
for a portrayal of
John Hersey’s novel,
published the
previous year”
too late. The last had been retired in
1958, with only hulks lingering in Tel
Aviv. All was not lost, however, he
picked up a forward fuselage for use
in studio shots.
So, Crewdson turned his attentions
across ‘The Pond’ where the majority
of B-17s were to be found, mostly
in the USA but also some in Latin
America. In 1960 there were no
’warbirds’ as we now know them,
although a few far-sighted individuals
were beginning to put aside airframes.
In that year there were about 15
Fortresses in museums or displayed
within air bases.
A quick calculation reveals that
there were nearly 80 B-17s which
could be defined as ‘working’ at the
beginning of the 1960s. The Brazilian
Air Force had a handful for search
and rescue, retiring the last example
late in the decade. In the commercial
sector roles included hauling all
manner of freight, plus optical and
electro-magnetic survey work, fire-
bombing (for which the aircraft
were also known as air tankers)
and crop spraying.
Of the 80, just over half that figure
could be described as ‘active’. The
others were being converted to
perform specialist tasks, in storage
hoping for better days or acting as a
source of spares for the ‘flyers’.
Today the Fortress population is
around 50, comprising warbirds,
restoration and salvage projects, and
museum exhibits.
Star trio
Crewdson settled on three machines
from Aero American Corporation of
Tucson, Arizona (see the panel for
full details). Two were near derelict
PB-1W long range early warning
variants. Converted from B-17Gs with
a powerful General Electric APS-
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 8 1
T H E WA R LOV E R
“Bovingdon had a lot
going for it. By the
beginning of the 1960s it
housed RAF and USAF
communications and
light transport units, so
had the ‘room’ on the
ground”
20 search radar mounted under the
mid-fuselage, the US Navy operated
PB-1Ws for a decade from 1948.
Aero American had acquired a
batch of PB-1Ws but as they required
much more reconfiguring to adapt to
civilian life, they had languished in
deep storage. The demanding timetable
meant that, other than the transatlantic
ferry flight, the number of flying hours
would be relatively low. This meant
that the restoration of the PB-1Ws
could be basic.
The third example was a very
different proposition. Last used as
a VB-17G ‘top brass’ transport, it
was ‘demobbed’ as N9563Z in 1959.
Aero American had it overhauled
and converted to freighter status the
following year with a large cargo door
fitted in place of the starboard waist
gun position.
The VB-17G acted as the ‘mother
ship’ for the transatlantic ferry flight
and carried some of the fittings needed
to transform the trio into fully armed
Fortresses. After a 15-day journey from
Arizona, all three ‘stars’ touched down
at Gatwick (then Surrey) on October
8, 1961.
No time was lost in transferring to
Bovingdon in Hertfordshire, the main
operating base until the end of the year.
Manston, on the north Kent coast, was
used as a forward base for the over-
water sequences.
On set
Bovingdon had a lot going for it. By
the beginning of the 1960s it housed
RAF and USAF communications
and light transport units, so had the
‘room’ on the ground and within its
airspace for brief occupancy by a movie
‘circus’. The airfield was run by the
Ministry of Civil Aviation (later part
of the Ministry of Transport) with
fees for use as a film set adding to the
government’s coffers.
8 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
Reasonably handy for the studios OPPOSITE: Close-
up of three bomb
at Shepperton, in south west
London, from the cast’s point of
mission tallies and
The Body nose-art
view Bovingdon allowed easy access Ken Ellis Collection
to central London’s hotels and the
delights of its night life.
Two B-17s being
readied for another
Crewdson was so taken with day of shooting at
Bovingdon he was back in 1964 with Bovingdon Ken Ellis
a small air force of de Havilland
Collection
Mosquitos to make 633 Squadron. The Robert Wagner,
sequel Mosquito Squadron was also shot Shirley Anne Field
and Steve McQueen
there four years later, shortly before in conversation
flying ceased at the airfield. with director Philip
Bedecked with turrets and wartime Leacock Getty
camouflage, the B-17s were soon at
work. They were frequently ‘dressed’
with different nose-art, serial numbers,
unit codes and group designators to
give the impression there were far
more than three bombers on set.
Codes chosen were ‘DF’ and
‘Triangle A’, as used by the B-17s of
Kimbolton and later Bassingbourn-
based 324th Bomb Squadron of the
91st Bomb Group. (Today’s Sally
B flies as ‘DF-A’.) This is ironic as
Bovingdon’s first resident unit was
actually the 92nd BG; its ‘Triangle B’
marked B-17Es and ’Fs were resident
from August 1942 to January 1943.
Bovingdon was the location for The
War Lover’s most sensational sequence.
Outraged at having to fly leaflet-
dropping missions, Rickson lives up to
Cast & crew
The main cast comprised:
Steve McQueen as ‘Buzz’ Rickson
Robert Wagner as Ed ‘Bo’ Bolland
Shirley Anne Field as Daphne Caldwell
Gary Cockrell as Marty Lynch
Michael Crawford as Junior Sailen
Bill Edwards as Brindt
Chuck Julian as Lamb
Robert Easton as Handown
Al Waxman as Prien
Tom Busby as Farr
George Sperdakos as Bragliani
Bob Kanter as Haverstraw
The War Lover was directed by Philip Leacock,
with a screenplay by Howard Koch, based on
John Hersey’s 1959 novel of the same name.
It was released in October 1962 in the US
and in June 1963 in the UK. Distributed by
Columbia Pictures, it was produced by
Arthur Hornblow Jr.
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 8 3
T H E WA R LOV E R

8 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
his nickname ‘Buzz’ as he pilots The
Body at extreme low level in protest.
The three-bladed propellers of a B-17’s
Wright R-1820 Cyclones are 11ft 7in
in diameter. There could only be a
maximum of 12ft between prop tips
and the airfield’s concrete ramp.
For this exploit, Crewdson reportedly
flew the B-17 alone and it was the
last aerial shoot of the movie. This
was standard cinematic procedure,
just in case all went wrong so the
scene could be re-written or deleted.
It is also alleged that if the authorities
at Bovingdon took exception to the
manoeuvre it wouldn’t have mattered if
the film crew was then banished from
the airfield!
Camera-ship
The War Lover was the UK debut
for specially modified camera-ship
Moviemaker II, VB-25N Mitchell
N9089Z. Built in 1944 at Kansas City,
Missouri, as B-25J 44-30861, it was
also acquired from Aero American.
Arriving in the UK in the autumn
of 1961, this B-25 has remained ever
since. It was back at Bovingdon in
1964 capturing 633 Squadron before
languishing at Biggin Hill, Kent, by
the end of the year. It did not fly
again, eventually being trucked to
Southend, Essex, and then Duxford in
Cambridgeshire.
This machine became famous as
Bedsheet Bomber during its long sojourn
at North Weald, Essex, from 1987 to
2006. As outlined in the August 2022
FlyPast, it is now a restoration project
with the Wings World War Two
Remembrance Museum and destined
for Dunsfold in Surrey.
It’s a wrap
With the flying sequences finished by
the end of 1961 and the studio work
winding down, the production team
took stock of its aircraft. The former
Israeli fuselage was destined for the
scrapheap at Shepperton and the two
PB-1Ws met a similar fate at Manston.
The VB-17G, N9563Z, had an
assignment awaiting in America.
Columbia’s publicity people had
planned an extensive tour to support
the US launch of The War Lover in
October 1962. Six-Three-Zulu was back
at Gatwick on May 16, 1962, clearing
customs and departing for the States.
A year later it was converted to a
fire-bomber, beginning a 22-year-long
career in the role. It took a break from
this work in 1969 to once again appear OPPOSITE:
in a film, the epic Tora! Tora! Tora! Converted to fire-
bomber status in 1963,
In 1985 N9563Z made the transition B-17G N9563Z in
from workhorse to warbird, joining service with Globe Air
the New York state-based National as 'Tanker ‘89' in the
early 1980s Ken Ellis
Warplane Museum and taking on the Collection
name Fuddy Duddy. Today, it flies from
Santa Ana, California, with the Lyon VB-25N N9089Z
Air Museum. Moviemaker II –
perhaps at Biggin Hill
Many FlyPast readers may be – after filming was
outraged to learn that two airworthy completed, in 1962 Ken
B-17s were scrapped at the end Ellis Collection
of making The War Lover. It is an
US Navy PB-1W
understandable reaction from a modern 77237, one of 31
perspective, given the value – both in B-17Gs fitted with an
physical and emotional terms – of such under-fuselage APS-20
search radar for early
airframes today. It helps, however, warning patrols. This
to consider the matter from a 1960s example was retired
perspective, not a heritage-conscious to storage at Dallas
2023 outlook. in 1957 and scrapped
there in 1962 Ken Ellis
Some sources mention import duty Collection
levies as the reason for the axing of
the B-17s. It is more likely that the
hull values paled against the costs of
maintenance, fuel, insurance and ferry
crew fees to bring all the bombers
home. Besides, as John Crewdson
had discovered, in those days there
were plenty more where they had
come from.
Scott A Thompson’s exceptional Final
Cut, now in its fifth edition, is THE book
on the post-war B-17. Find more details
at www.aerovintage.com
The War Lover - Metallic ‘Stars’
All built in 1944 as B-17Gs by Douglas at Long Beach, California
B-17G USAAF serial US civil N9814F
Served with Israeli Air Force from 1948; stored by the late 1950s.
Fuselage acquired for studio shots; scrapped after filming
VB-17G USAAF serial US civil N9563Z
Configured as a VB-17G, had senior staff transport status by 1948.
Acquired from Aero American Corp, Tucson, Arizona, and arrived
at Gatwick, Surrey, October 8, 1961. Returned to USA May 1962
and used for promotional tour for The War Lover. Converted to
fire-bomber in 1963. Acquired by the National Warplane Museum
in 1985, adopting Eighth Air Force colours and the name Fuddy
Duddy. Airworthy with Martin Aviation at the Lyon Air Museum,
Santa Ana, California
PB-1W US Navy serial 77240, US civil N5232V
PB-1W US Navy serial 77243, US civil N5229V
Built for USAAF as 44-83877 and 44-83883, respectively.
Both converted to PB-1W early warning radar picket status,
immediately post-war. Retired in 1956 and stored at Dallas,
Texas. Acquired from Aero American Corp, Tucson, Arizona, the
pair arrived Gatwick, Surrey, October 8, 1961. Both scrapped at
Manston, early 1962
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 8 5
SPITFIRE OFFENSIVE
RAMRODS
RODEOS
This excerpt from John Starkey’s book, The RAF's Cross-Channel
Offensive, 1941-42, draws on two classic pilot biographies to
take us on high action fighter sweeps over occupied Europe
f all the written accounts
O by the fighter pilots of
the RAF during 1941,
in my opinion there are
two that truly stand out.
Both were by pilots flying Supermarine
Spitfire Mk.Vs with 610 Squadron in
the summer of 1941, one of the units
led by Wing Commander Douglas
Bader. ‘Circuses’ were composed of a
few, usually six, bombers (typically,
Bristol Blenheims, Lockheed Hudsons
or, in July, Short Stirlings), escorted by
many squadrons of fighters, usually
Spitfire Mk.Vs. A ‘Ramrod’ consisted
of fighter-escorted Hawker Hurricanes,
the latter armed with bombs, usually at
low level, while a ‘Rodeo’ was a fighter
sweep with no bombers.
8 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
CIRCUSES,
AND
Words: John Starkey
At this time, RAF Fighter Command,
headed by Air Marshal William
Sholto Douglas, was carrying out its
new policy, ‘Lean towards France’,
which had been suggested by retired
AM Hugh Trenchard. Unfortunately,
Trenchard had failed to absorb
the lessons of the Battle of Britain.
Principally, that the Luftwaffe had tied
its Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters too
close to their bombers to be effective
against the intercepting Hurricanes
and Spitfires.
This new ‘Lean Towards France’
policy resulted in RAF Fighter
Command losing aircraft and pilots at
the rate of four to one during 1941 and
1942, with any surviving pilots shot
down over France being captured.
Sholto Douglas had initially been
sceptical of Trenchard's suggested
policy, but on reflection, and after
writing a paper about it at the
suggestion of AM Charles Portal,
he changed his mind. Quite why is
difficult to understand now, when
those fighters lost over France would
have been far better utilised in the
Western desert campaign, the defence
of Malta or in Singapore.
Flying circus
In his famous book Wing Leader, Air
Vice-Marshal J E ‘Johnnie’ Johnson
described a typical mission to Lille in
July 1941 as follows:
“Woody Woodhall gave us our
course to steer for home on the
LEFT TO RIGHT: ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, Hugh
‘Cocky’ Dundas, Douglas Bader and
Lt Montgomery (an American airman) at
Westhampnett (now Goodwood) in 1941
Mark Hillier Collection-Historic Military Press

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 8 7
SPITFIRE OFFENSIVE

CLOCKWISE: Groundcrew re-arming a 485 Squadron Spitfire, believed to be at RAF Redhill;

five Hurricanes flying above another on the ground at Hunsdon circa 1941 – ‘Her Ladyship’ is
believed to be the aircraft flown by D J Scott; this 485 Squadron Spitfire was purchased using
funds raised in New Zealand – the legend ‘W.D.F.U.N.Z. LEVIN’ on the cowling refers to the
Women’s Division Farmers’ Union New Zealand; pilots of 3 Squadron discuss a combat while
standing in front of one of their Hurricanes, probably at RAF Hunsdon, Sqn Ldr R F ‘Digger’
Aitken is at centre All via Air Force Museum of New Zealand

8 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
way out – ‘Course for Dover – 310
degrees.’ Woodhall fades out, for he
has done his utmost to paint a broad
picture of the air situation. Now it
is up to our leader – ‘Dogsbody’
(Bader’s callsign), from blue one.
Beehive at twelve o’ clock below.
About seven miles.
“‘OK, I see them.’ And the wing
leader eases his force to starboard
and a better sun-up position. The
high-flying Messerschmitts have seen
our wing and stab at Stan’s top cover
squadron with savage attacks from
either flank. ‘Break port, Ken’ (from a
pilot of 610). ‘Keep turning.’ ‘Tell me
when to stop turning.’ ‘Keep turning.
There’s four behind!’
“‘Get in, red section.’ ‘We’re stuck
into some 109s behind you, Douglas.’
(This quietly from Stan). ‘OK, Stan.’
‘Baling out!’ ‘Try and make it, Mac.
Not far to the coast.’ (This urgently
from the squadron commander).
‘No use. Temperature’s off the clock.
She’ll burn any time. Look after
my dog.’
“‘Keep turning, yellow section.’
“So far the fight has remained well
above us. We catch fleeting glimpses
of high vapour trails and ducking,
twisting fighters. Two-thirds of the
wing are behind us, holding off the
109s and we forge on to the target
area to carry out our assigned task.
We can never reform into a wing
again, and the pilots of 145 and 610
will make their way home in twos
and fours. We head towards the
distant beehive, well aware that there
is now no covering force of Spitfires
above us.
“The Stirlings have dropped their
heavy loads of bombs and begin their
return journey. We curve slowly over
the outskirts of Lille to make sure the
beehive is not harried from the rear.
I look down at a pall of debris and
black smoke rising from the target
five miles below, and absurdly my
memory flashes back to contrast the
scene with other schoolboy Sunday
afternoons.
“‘Dogsbody from Smith. 109s above.
Six o’clock. About twenty-five to
thirty.’ ‘Well done. Watch ’em and tell
me when to break.”
“I can see them. High in the sun,
their presence only betrayed by the
reflected sparkle from highly polished
windscreens and cockpit covers.
“‘They’re coming down, Dogsbody.
Break left!’ And round to port we
go, with Smith sliding below Bader
and Cocky and me above so that we
cover each other in this steep turn.
We curve around and catch a glimpse
of four baffled 109s climbing back to
join their companions, for they can’t
stay with us in a turn. The keen eyes
of Smith saved us from a nasty smack
that time.
“The Messerschmitts
come in close for the
kill. At this range their
camouflage looks
dirty and oil stained,
and one brute has a
startling black and
white spinner”
“‘Keep turning, Dogsbody. More
coming down.’ From Cocky. ‘OK, we
might get a squirt this time.’ Rejoins
Bader. What a man, I think, what a
man! The turn tightens and in my
extreme position on the starboard
side I’m driving my Spitfire through
a greater radius of curve than the
others and falling behind. I kick on
hard bottom rudder and skid inwards,
down and behind the leader. More
109s hurtle down from above and
a section of four angle in from the
starboard flank. I look round for other
Spitfires, but there are none in sight.
The four of us are alone over Lille.
“‘Keep turning. Keep turning.’ (From
Bader). ‘They can’t stay with us.’ And
we keep turning, hot and frightened
and a long way from home. We can’t
keep turning all bloody day, I think
bitterly. Cocky has not re-formed after
the last break and I take his place next
to Bader and the three of us watch the
Messerschmitts, time their dives and
call the break into their attacks. The
odds are heavily against us.
“We turn across the sun and I am on
the inside. The blinding light seems
only two feet above Bader’s cockpit
and if I drop further below I shall
lose him. Already his Spitfire has lost
its colour and is swallowed up by the
sun’s fierce light. I come out of the
turn and find myself alone in the
Lille sky.
“The Messerschmitts come in
close for the kill. At this range their
camouflage looks dirty and oil stained,
and one brute has a startling black and
white spinner. In a hot sweat of fear I
keep turning and turning, and the fear
is mingled with an abject humiliation
that these bastards should single me
out and chop me up at their leisure.
The radio is silent, or probably I don’t
hear it in the stress of trying to stay
alive. I can’t spend the whole day
turning, Le Touquet is 70 hostile miles
away; far better to fight back and take
one with me.
“Four Messerschmitts roar down
from six o’clock. I see them in time
and curve the shuddering, protesting
Spitfire to meet them, for she’s on the
brink of a high-speed stall. They are
so certain of my destruction that they
are flying badly and I fasten on to
tail-end Charlie and give him a long
burst of fire. He is at the maximum
range, and although my shooting has
no apparent effect, some of my despair
and fear on this fateful afternoon
seems to evaporate at the faint sound
of chattering machine guns. But
perhaps my attack has its just reward,
for Smith’s voice comes loud and
clear over the radio. ‘One Spit behind
Dogsbody. Thousand yards. Looks
like he’s in trouble.’ Then I see the
aircraft with the lovely curving wings
that can only belong to Spitfires. I
take a long breath and in a deliberately
calm voice: ‘It’s me Dogsbody –
Johnnie.’
“‘OK, Johnnie. We’ll orbit here for
you. Drop in on my starboard. We’ll
get a couple of these…’
Safety assured
“There is no longer any question of
not getting home now that I am with
Bader again. He will bring us safely
back to Tangmere and I know he’s
enjoying this, for he sounds full of
confidence over the radio.
“A dozen Messerschmitts still
shadow our small formation. They
are well up sun and waiting to strike.
Smith and I fly with our necks twisted
round, like the resting mallard ducks
M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 8 9
SPITFIRE OFFENSIVE
one sees in the London parks, and
all our concentration focused on the
glinting shoals of 109s.
“‘Two coming down from five
o’clock, Dogsbody. Break right,’
from me. And this time, mine is the
smallest turn so that I am the first to
meet the attack. A 109 is very close
and climbing away to port. Here is a
chance. Time for a quick shot and no
danger of losing the other two Spitfires
if I don’t get involved in a long tail
chase. I line up my Spitfire behind the
109, clench the spade grip of the stick
with both hands and send short bursts
into his belly at less than a hundred
yards. The 109 bursts apart and the
explosion looks exactly the same as
a near burst of heavy flak, a vicious
flower with a poisonous glowing
centre and black swirling edges.
“I reform and the Messerschmitts
come in again, as this time Bader calls
the break. It’s well judged and the
wing leader fastens on to the last 109
and I cover his Spitfire as it appears to
stand on its tail with wisps of smoke
plummeting from the gun ports. The
enemy aircraft starts to pour white
smoke from its belly and thick black
smoke from the engine. They merge
together and look like a long, dirty
banner against the faded blue of some
high cirrus cloud.
“‘Bloody good shooting, sir!’
“‘We’ll get some more!’
“Unbelievably, the Messerschmitts,
which have tailed us for so long,
vanish and we are alone in the high
spaces. We pick up the English coast
near Dover and turn to port for
Sussex and Tangmere. We circle our
airfield and land without any fuss or
aerobatics, for we never know until
we are on the ground whether or not
a stray bullet has partially severed a
control cable.”
Looking for trade
Hugh ‘Cocky’ Dundas, referred to by
Johnson in the extract above, was also
a Spitfire pilot with 610 Squadron that
summer. In his excellent memoir
Flying Start he described a typical
operation over France that July
(DB refers to Douglas Bader, or his
callsign ‘Dogsbody’).
“Up the line DB’s motor starts. 610
have formed up and are beginning
9 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
to move off across the airfield as we
taxi out – DB, myself, Smithie, Nip,
then two composite sections from
both flights.
“Straggle over the grandstand at
Goodwood in a right-hand turn and
set course east in a steady climb,
Ken's twelve a little above and behind
to the left, Stan's out to the right.
Ten thousand feet over Shoreham.
The old familiar, nostalgic taste in
the mouth. Brighton – Maxims last
Saturday night; dancing with Diana
in the Norfolk. Beachy Head, once a
soft summer playground, now a gaunt
buttress sticking his chin bluntly out
towards our enemies. Spread out now
into wide semi-independent fours.
“Glint of Perspex way out and above
to the south shows Stan and his boys
nicely placed between us and the sun.
Dungeness slides slowly past to port
and we still climb steadily, straight on,
way out in front.
“I can see them. High
in the sun, their
presence only betrayed
by the reflected sparkle
from highly polished
windscreens and
cockpit covers”
“Twenty-five thousand. Levelling
out. Puffs of black ten thousand feet
below show where the bombers are
crossing between Boulogne and Le
Touquet. Six big cigars with tiers of
protective fighters milling above them.
“‘Hello Douglas, Woody calling.
There are fifty plus gaining height to
the east.’ ‘OK, Woody.’
“‘Put your corks in boys.’ Stan. Over
the coast at Harlow we nose ahead
without altering course. ‘DB, there’s
some stuff at five o'clock, climbing
round to the south west.’
“‘OK, I see. Stan, you deal with them
if necessary.’ ‘OK, don’t get excited.’
“Usual remarks. Usual shouts of
warning. Usual bad language. Usual
bloody Huns climbing round the usual
bloody way. St Omer on the left. We
fly on, straight and steady in force,
towards Lille.
“Stan's voice: ‘They're behind us,
Walker squadron. Standby to break.’
Then: ‘Look out Walker. Breaking
starboard.’
“Looking over my shoulder to the
right and above I see the specks and
glints which are Stan’s planes break
up into the fight, a quick impression
of machines diving, climbing,
gyrating. Stan, Ian, Tony, Derek and
the rest of them are fighting for their
lives up there.
“Close to the target now. More black
puffs below show where the bombers
are running in through the flak. ‘Billy
here, DB. There's a lot of stuff coming
round at three o'clock, slightly above.’
“Quick look to the right. Where
the hell? Christ, yes! There they are,
the sods. A typical long fast climbing
straggle of 109s.
“‘More below, DB, to port.’
“‘OK, going down. Ken, watch those
buggers behind.’ ‘OK, DB.’ ‘Come
on, Cocky.’
“Down after DB. The Huns are
climbing fast to the south. Have to
get in quick before those sods up
above get at us. Turn right, open
up slightly. We are diving to two or
three hundred feet below their level.
DB goes for the one on the left. Nip
Heppell is on my right. Johnnie slides
across beyond him. Getting in
range now.
“Wait for it, wait for DB and open
up altogether. 250 yards… 200… wish
to Christ I felt safer behind… 150. DB
opens up. I pull my nose up slightly
to put the dot ahead of his orange
spinner. Hold it and squeeze, cannon
and machine guns together… correct
slightly… you're hitting the bastard…
wisp of smoke.
“‘Break, Rusty squadron, for Christ
sake break!’
“Stick hard over and back into
tummy, peak revs and haul her
round. Tracers curl past… Orange
nose impression not forty yards off…
slacken turn for a second… hell of
a melee… better keep turning, keep
turning, keep turning.
“There’s a chance now. Ease off,
nose up, give her two lengths lead and
fire. Now break, don't hang around,
break! Tracers again… a huge orange
spinner and three little tongues of
flame spitting at me for a second in a
CLOCKWISE: Air-to-air shot of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb BM590 of 121 Squadron, from 1941
or early 1942 Historic Military Press W V Crawford-Compton standing on the wing of his 485
Squadron Spitfire at RAF Kenley. Note the long-range 'slipper' fuel tank beneath the fuselage
Air Force Museum of New Zealand A front view of a 218 Squadron Short Stirling in 1942 Air Force
Museum of New Zealand Fg Off Johnny Pattison in the cockpit of 485 Squadron’s Spitfire Mk.Vb
BM239 OU-N. This aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Wassenaar in the Netherlands
on September 1, 1942. Sgt R D Riley was taken prisoner Air Force Museum of New Zealand

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 9 1
SPITFIRE OFFENSIVE

TOP TO BOTTOM: Groundcrew loading

ammunition into the port wing of a 485
Squadron Spitfire (coded OU-A) at Kenley
Air Force Museum of New Zealand. ACM Lord
Dowding (left) talking with Gp Capt Douglas
Bader prior to a take-off from North Weald
for the Battle of Britain Anniversary flypast on
September 15, 1945 Historic Military Press

semi head-on attack. Round, round,

so that she nearly spins. Then they’re
all gone, gone as usual as suddenly as
they came.”
“‘Cocky, where the hell are you? Are
you with me, Cocky?’
“There he is, I think. Lucky to find
him after that shambles. ‘OK DB,
coming up on your starboard now.’
“‘Right behind you, Cocky.’ That’s
Johnnie calling. ‘OK Johnnie, I see
you now.’
“‘Good show; the old firm’s still
together!’”

Reckoning up
It is possible that both accounts refer
to the same ‘Circus’ operation, one
that took place on July 30 or 31.
Dundas went on to relate: “The
losses were grievous during those
weeks of maximum efforts. In a few
weeks between June 20 and August
10, the squadron lost 12 pilots – more
than half of its full establishment.
In the same period, we claimed 21
enemy planes definitely destroyed, 12
probably destroyed and 21 damaged.
Morale was sky high, despite the
sadness of constant losses.”
During this same period, the RAF
lost 136 fighters, mainly Spitfires,
and JG 26 ‘Schlageter’, commanded
by the redoubtable Adolf Galland, The meeting was held to discuss the “I line up my Spitfire
one of just two Jagdgeschwaders various problems encountered during
defending the French coast (the other the staging of the ‘Circuses’.
behind the 109, clench
being JG 2 ‘Richthofen’), lost just 29 Kent disturbed Leigh Mallory after the spade grip of the
Messerschmitt Bf 109Fs. the conference was over by asking stick with both hands
During August, Wg Cdr Johnny exactly what the purpose of the
Kent, a Canadian, who had been one sweeps was. If, he said, it was for and send short bursts
of the pre-war test pilots for the RAF, actually destroying the industrial into his belly at less
attended a conference at Northolt, potential of various targets, then many
presided over by the then commander more bombers would be needed.
than a hundred yards”
of 11 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory. If it was ‘merely’ to bring up the
German fighters to battle, then the
Note targets needed to be closer to Britain, that he wanted, spoke with one of his
as most of his pilots were having to staff officers, a former World War
This is an excerpt from the book: The keep one eye on their fuel gauges in One pilot.
RAF’s Cross-Channel Offensive, 1941-42, Pen order to get home. That worthy replied: “My answer is
and Sword. I would like to thank Random Leigh-Mallory “looked rather taken – we’ve done it!”
House for allowing me to quote from the aback” at this question, and asked Kent grew angry and argued with
book Wing Leader by AVM J E ‘Johnnie’ Gp Capt Victor Beamish, a very the staff officer, but Leigh-Mallory
Johnson, originally published by Ballantyne
experienced fighter pilot and leader, was unmoved.
books, 1956. Also, Gp Capt Hugh ‘Cocky’
Dundas' book, Flying Start, published by
for his opinion. As a consequence, Kent recorded:
Stanley Paul & Co Ltd, 1989. Beamish agreed with Kent. Leigh- “We continued to fly to Lille and lose
Mallory, obviously seeking the answer good men, all to little purpose.”

9 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 - JOB VACANCY -
EDITOR – FLYPAST MAGAZINE
FlyPast is the world’s biggest selling historic aviation magazine, and we currently
have an exciting opportunity to join the team as Editor.
You must have a passion for historic aviation, be a subject matter expert and be
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This is an exceptional opportunity to take on the role of Key Publishing flagship
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093_FP_Mar23_ad.indd 1 06/01/2023 11:09:28

L ANCASTER FILM SET BUILD

LEFT: Writer,
director and co-
producer Luke
Campion All images
via Mark Barrowcliffe

RIGHT: Green
screen is part of
the moviemaking
process, but
everything revolves
around the aircraft
being as authentic
as possible

BELOW: The
Lancaster takes shape
in a barn at an East
Sussex farm

GOODTIME CHARLIE
When film storyboard artist Luke Campion and technical illustrator Jamie Sneddon took
a stroll on Brighton seafront in 2019, they didn’t realise they were about to embark on a
project that would change both their lives, as Mark Barrowcliffe reveals

uke says: “We were
walking behind some
L lads of about 19 and
wondering how this
generation would cope
with what was thrown at the generation
who flew the bombers in World War
Two, and how we’d cope with it
ourselves. Out of that came the idea for
a film based on the struggles of Bomber
Command, something that would make
a modern audience question how they
would have handled such a daunting
task.” By the end of the conversation
Jamie and Luke had decided to make
just such a film. Although Luke had
been to film school, they had no
financing, no in-depth knowledge of
World War Two and no movie set.
Undeterred, Luke began research for
a script and raising money, while Jamie
– experienced in technical illustration
but with no practical skills – set out to
build a 1:1 scale model of the interior
of a Lancaster. What began as a two-
day-a-week side project soon turned
into an obsession, as 12-hour day
followed 12-hour day, seven days a
week for three hot summers and three
cold winters. The build was entirely
self-financed and progress was not
easy when COVID, storms and simply
working out how to accomplish the
task threw up big challenges.
The plan from the start was to build
something more substantial and
enduring than a normal film set and
which could be used as an exhibition
piece afterwards. It also had to be as
accurate as possible, budget permitting.
Having secured half of a farmer’s
barn in East Sussex to house the build,
Jamie said: “I was amazed to find that
you can get a Lancaster workshop
manual, like you’d get for a car.” This

9 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3

was used to construct a 3D plan on
the computer. Jamie then began work
on the ribs. These were made of ply
and painted to resemble aluminium –
shaping them and cutting them was a
learning curve, literally. Like most of
the materials, the ply was reclaimed
scrap – a tight budget meaning most
materials were dug out of skips.
Some experiments didn’t work.
The outer skin was intended to
be canvas painted up to resemble
metal, but it pulled all the ribs out of
alignment and distorted the shape
when tightened. In the end Jamie used
Proplex, the thin plastic sheeting used
for floor and wall protection.
All through the COVID pandemic,
Jamie worked in the barn alone: “My
wife, without whose support this
would have been totally impossible,
would ring and ask when I was
coming home. I’d tell her 20 minutes,
get back to it and realise four hours
had passed. But I remember a huge
sense of achievement one night,
looking down the length of the fuselage
and thinking ‘This looks like the real
thing. We’re near the end.’ That was a
year in and I still had 18 months to go...
“It didn’t help when a very
unwelcome guest came calling. Storm
Eunice ripped the roof off the barn,
smashed debris through the fuselage
and trashed the green screen hangers
that had been put up for filming.
I could have wept when I saw the
damage. After the clear up, we had to
wrap the whole thing in tarpaulin and
wait for the roof to be fixed. Then we
just got back on with it.”
While building the set, Jamie was
voraciously reading books on Bomber
Command. He says: “Something that
occurred to me after all my research
is how all the fighter pilots got the
glamour, but the Bomber Command
crews took the fight to Germany night
after night and never got their due.
That’s what we wanted to put right.”
Sit in the mid-upper turret, which
was built separately to make it easier
LEFT: A view through
the radio operator’s
compartment
towards the partially
completed cockpit
BELOW: Production
designer, set builder
and co-producer
Jamie Sneddon
to access and use for filming, and you
almost feel like scanning the skies for
enemy aircraft. “Rivet counters will
find a bit to complain about,” says
Jamie. “But I’m immensely proud to
have built something I hope has the
feel of the real thing. When you’re in
it, it feels authentic and it allowed the
actors to really throw themselves into
their roles.”
The film, which is called Goodtime
Charlie, has now been shot, with Luke
directing, although the team are still
raising funds for post-production.
This includes creating the CGI special
effects, editing and shooting a few
additional scenes at East Kirkby.
Potential investors are welcome to get
in contact.
If you want a chance to view the
Lancaster, the team are in discussion
with the Wings Museum in Balcombe,
West Sussex, to create an aircrew
experience, complete with lighting and
sound effects and projected visuals
around the cockpit.
M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 9 5
A S H OT I N T H E DA R K
NIGHTS, CAMER A,
here’s something special
about taking pictures
of aircraft at night. The
enthusiast in me sees
reflections of scenes that
may well have been visible during times
of conflict, whereas the photographer
side of me looks at the technical
challenges and the chance to catch
flames out of engine exhausts. I’ve
attended many different night shoots at
9 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
ACT
various locations, and heard feedback
from many fellow photographers about
the pros and cons of various events.
Most photographers want the same
thing, and that’s clean images with nice
backgrounds and suitable lighting.
For several years, I’ve worked
alongside The Shuttleworth Collection
to deliver their aviation night shoots,
so listening to the needs of others has
been most important in getting the
event right. In that time, the event
has evolved along the way, but for me,
the most important thing has been to
deliver the best plan for photographers,
as I can see it from that point of view.
I’ve heard many reports of bad
positioning of aircraft at certain
locations, where modern structures,
lights and other annoying things
appear in the background of the
images. It’s not always easy to avoid
 An event such as this
allows you to hone your
photography skills and ask
the experts for advice
All images Darren Harbar

TION With the current boom in aviation night shoots, professional aviation
photographer Darren Harbar reveals what’s involved both in
setting up such an event and being behind the camera

everything, but you can certainly try to
minimise those issues.
You also have to manage people’s
expectations, as it’s not easy to shoot
images at night and aircraft don’t
always perform in the way that you
might wish.
For this reason, I have a hands-on
approach of walking among the clients
and seeing if they need help and advice.
I also seek feedback during the event
and if I can change something to make
it better, I’ll certainly try on the spot.
Plan of action
With the Shuttleworth events, I
wanted to come up with a plan that
enabled more people to get a variety
of images. If an aircraft sits in one
place, a handful of photographers may
get the best shots – which isn’t fair. I
also wanted to manage the fact that a
tripod is pretty much essential for this
type of photography (as you need to
use long exposures due to the lack of
light), and thus you get a ‘woodland’
of erected tripods.
It’s very easy for the site to become
busy and people can knock another
person’s tripod while they are
mid exposure, which ruins that
photographer’s shot. I’ve found that
limiting the numbers to 50 people

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 9 7
A S H OT I N T H E DA R K
each night is the first step to managing
this, as it means everyone has more
room to spread out. Another thing I
introduced was a plan to move the
aircraft during the engine runs.
Working alongside The Collection's
chief engineer and pilot, Jean-Michel
Munn, we discussed how we could
start the aircraft in one place and
then taxi down a section of the grass
runway, stopping a few times on the
way. This provided everyone with a
chance to get different angles, and we
also stopped the aircraft at different
angles each time. Doing so meant the
photographers moved around and it
prevented anyone from hogging the
best spot.
At Shuttleworth, there’s the very
fortunate position of having lots of
aircraft to pick from for a night shoot.
For the last two years, we opted to run
the event over two days, so that we
could offer a wider range of aircraft,
and also raise a bit more for The
Collection – which is an important
factor. It’s not easy to select the line-up
in advance, as all sorts of things
can affect availability. I also have to
consider what happens if the weather
9 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
doesn’t play ball, as for example when
it was too windy to bring the Sopwith
Pup out on the Saturday. There’s a
reserve plan for this type of thing, so
the Blackburn B2 stepped in from the
subs bench on that occasion.
We always try to pick different
aircraft each year and mix it up a bit.
The Lysander is a popular request,
as is the de Havilland DH.88 Comet.
Both have night flying history, but we
can’t use them every year and therefore
I aim to have a mix of different types of
aircraft each night. We were fortunate
to have Steven Green with his ground
running rotary engine last October,
which made a nice addition alongside
the Avro 504, Dragon Rapide and
Hawker Sea Hurricane on the Friday
night. The Saturday was headlined
by the Supermarine Spitfire with the
Blackburn B2 and Ryan STM filling
the other two slots. In addition to
the running aircraft, Hangar One
was illuminated with special lighting
around its World War One aircraft.
In front of Hangar Five was a
special set-up that included the
Blackburn Monoplane and the
Charabus from The Collection’s
“Working alongside
The Collection chief
engineer and pilot,
Jean-Michel Munn,
we discussed how we
could start the aircraft
in one place and then
taxi down a section
of the grass runway,
stopping a few times
on the way”

CLOCKWISE: Moving the aircraft around,

the de Havilland Dragon Rapide creates
more photo opportunities for all in
attendance.

The Collection’s Avro 504K runs up in

the dark.

One of the many composition shots

possible if you have the right pair of eyes.

Using re-enactors and props to wind

the clock back to the days where people
dressed up, rather than down for air travel

M a rch 2 0 23 / F LY PA S T / 9 9
A S H OT I N T H E DA R K

“I generally suggest
aperture priority for
a night shoot and
having the camera
on a tripod. This
enables the camera
to set its own shutter
speed that suits the
available lighting”

CLOCKWISE: This shot illustrates the

sort of lighting and attendance levels to be
worked around.

Everyone hopes to capture the iconic

flaming start, but it’s not always possible.

Lighting the hangar provides plenty of

indoor photo opportunities, too.

A tripod and spatial awareness are

necessary so you don’t ruin your own, or
another’s shot

1 0 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
vehicle section, that sat neatly below
the branded Shuttleworth sign over the
open hangar doors.
Starting point
I always begin the evenings with a
quick briefing so everyone knows what
to expect and when. I reiterate that I’m
available to help if needed. It’s good
to have clients asking questions about
what setting to use, and common ones
like what mode should I use and what
ISO are easy to answer. I generally
suggest aperture priority for a night
shoot and having the camera on a
tripod. This enables the camera to set
its own shutter speed that suits the
available lighting.
The LED floodlights offer different
levels of light, depending on how close
the subject is to them, so by using
aperture priority it changes the shutter
speed as needed. In low lighting the
shutter speeds are very slow, often
being a few seconds, which is why you
need a tripod. There’s a risk that the
shutter speeds can be too slow and thus
it takes longer to take your photos.
To speed things up, I recommend
clients use a higher ISO setting, as by
going from 200 to 800ISO, you can
take more images within a space of
time, and not miss a crucial shot. The
ISO performance on a newer camera is
far better than on older ones, so I also
remind photographers to be careful
about not using too high an ISO if they
wish to avoid noisy images. Following
questions and a meal and a drink,
clients make good use of some time
prior to the engine runs to photograph
some re-enactors and vehicles alongside
the aircraft on the airfield and take a
look around the illuminated hangars.
The engine runs on both days last
year were well received, and the
added touch of having period flying
gear for the engineers/pilots in the
cockpit was certainly noted by several
photographers. There were possibly
not quite so many dramatic flames on
start-up as some may have desired, but
you can never really guarantee that
element! All in all, the nights went very
well with some superb feedback and
wonderful images from those who made
the journey.
My thoughts now turn to 2023’s
events, to include photography
workshops, event days and night
shoots. Dates are available through
the events page on my website: www.
darrenharbar.co.uk/events with links
for booking tickets.
M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 0 1
LO O K I N G B AC K . . .

TSR2:
THE MARTYRDOM
OF A SUPERJET
ABOVE: TSR2 XR219
graced the very first cover
of FlyPast more than 40
years ago! Key Publishing

1 0 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 n a nod to Jeff Daniels’
I feature, TSR2: The
martyrdom of a superjet,
published in the first
issue of FlyPast in
1981, we share this haunting image
of XR219 – the sole example of the
quite incredible-looking jet to fly
– sitting forlorn at the Ministry of
Defence firing range at Shoeburyness
in Essex.
Following the official cancellation
of the TSR2 programme (the only
such project to survive Minister of
Defence Duncan Sandys’ White
Paper debacle of 1957) on April 6,
1965, the jet was sacrificed to the
site soon after. It was earmarked as
a ‘damage to aircraft target’ to test
effectiveness of ammunition against a
modern airframe.
TSR2 XR219 took to the air for the
first time from Boscombe Down on
September 6, 1964, in the hands of
famed test pilot Roland ‘Bee’ Beamont.
It went on to complete another 23
flights – the last on March 31, 1965
– before being grounded in light of
the decision to scrap what would
have been the UK’s primary strike
and reconnaissance platform. As
Beamont said in that first issue of
FlyPast: “Heavy, complicated and
expensive it may have been, but it flew
exceptionally well and at today’s prices,
it looks positively cheap!”
The victim of ever-rising costs and
inter-service squabbling over the UK’s
then-future defence needs, it was
prominent British aircraft designer Sir
Sydney Camm who summed up the
TRS2 story perfectly: “All modern
aircraft have four dimensions – span,
length, height and politics. TSR2
simply got the first three right.”
Key Collection
M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 0 3
 Marketplace
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D E H AV I L L A N D T I G E R M OT H

THE EIGHTH

WONDER

1 0 6 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 ight from the start
I wanted it in USAAF
colours!” grins noted
warbird exponent Clive
Denney as he looks
over his shoulder at his immaculate
Tiger Moth sitting under blue skies
on the grass at his Audley End base,
just outside Saffron Walden in Essex.
Looking across the world-renowned
lines of the famed de Havilland type,
I reply: “That’s going to turn a
few heads…”
There are countless examples of de
Havilland’s renowned Tiger Moth,
either flying or under restoration
across the world. And while the
vast majority boast tasteful period
civilian colours or military markings
representative of stalwart operators of
the famed trainer, including the all over
Trainer Yellow scheme opted by air
forces of Britain and Canada or all over
silver dope and yellow bands chosen by
Australia, and New Zealand, very few
wear camouflage schemes – surprising,
given that some 40 nations operated
the type in military service. While the
list of military operators includes the
well-known likes of the Belgian Air
BELOW: Clive Denney was keen to restore
NM192 as a USAAF example of the famous
trainer. As ‘DE745’, the restored Tiger looks
great alongside Clive’s period Jeep
All images Darren Harbar unless noted
Force, Rhodesian Air Force, and the
Royal Netherlands Air Force, lesser
known are the likes of the Portuguese
Army Aviation, Royal Saudi Air Force,
and Israeli Air Force. But few would
list the United States Army Air Force
(USAAF) as an obvious operator of the
indomitable British-built biplane.
At the beginning of the hostilities in
Europe that morphed into World War

As an avid fan of the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force, there was

only one choice for Clive Denney when choosing a
scheme for his latest Tiger Moth restoration

Words: Darren Harbar

M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 0 7
D E H AV I L L A N D T I G E R M OT H
Two, aircraft were in limited supply –
especially across the USAAF’s Eighth
Air Force. Having arrived in Europe
with only those aircraft that could
cross the harsh waters of the Atlantic, it
was short of both trainers and fighters.
To make matters worse, ocean-going
convoys were ordered to carry more
essential supplies. This led to the RAF
‘lending’ aircraft to the USAAF –
including a number of Tiger Moths.
Au Revoir!
Clive Denney, who runs Vintage
Fabrics with his business partner Pete
Wood, is a self-confessed “super fan”
of the Eighth Air Force, having been
surrounded by many of the American
air bases in the UK throughout his life
and having also been involved with
B-17 Flying Fortress Sally B many years
back.
Today, he is part of a group – the
TOG Group – that purchased a Tiger
Moth in 2006 from another vintage
aviation exponent, Paul Szluha. The
aircraft was initially built under licence
BELOW: The restoration of this trainer includes
the installation of a fabulous ‘out of the box’
Gipsy Major found in Argentina. It’s been
overhauled and fitted to the aircraft
1 0 8 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
“There was always
something else to do
like an airshow or
other work taking
the limelight”
by Morris Motors at Cowley, Oxford,
for the RAF as NM192, but never
made it into British service. Instead
it was one of 200 Tigers transferred
to France’s Armée de l’air (AdlA),
arriving there in March 1946. Serving
with the AdlA until 1951, the aircraft
was added to the French civilian
register as F-BGCJ and passed through
several private owners before arriving
at the Aero Club de Saintonge et
d’Aunis in the southwestern French
commune of Saintes-Les Gonds in
1955. With its registration cancelled in
December 1972, the aircraft was listed
as scrapped. In reality, it had actually
been acquired by Derek Wilcox and
ferried to Cranfield in the UK for
conversion into a Curtiss Jenny for
use in a film that was subsequently
abandoned. Spending the next decade
or so stored in a barn near Thurleigh
in Bedfordshire, Paul Szluha purchased
it in December 1990 – by then it was in
a pretty rough state. Paul had it moved
across to Audley End where it was
registered G-BTOG on September 5,
1991. Remaining in a container for the
next 15 or so years, Clive and the
TOG Group stepped in and bought it
for restoration.
‘Something different’
Clive recalls the initial conversations
that took place once they had bought
the Tiger: “At the time the members of
the TOG group agreed that we’d do it
as something different – I said that I’d
love to put it in American markings.
We all agreed, so I contacted world-
renowned Tiger Moth expert Stuart
McKay and asked him what he thought
about an American-marked Tiger
Moth. There was a bit in Stuart’s
book, Tiger!: The de Havilland Tiger
Moth, that I’d seen about a USAAF
Tiger. He loved the idea – and he even
had some images we could use to get
the scheme right.”
While many of the original group
members are now long gone, a core
of five individuals remained involved,
including Clive and Pete who were
ABOVE CLOCKWISE: The Tiger Moth peels away from the camera revealing its standard RAF yellow underside, plus star; the latter was painted over where the
roundel would have been prior to delivery to the USAAF. Tiger Moths issued to the 8th Air Force in the UK were former RAF machines – the standard roundels
were painted over with American Stars. Tiger Moth NM192 (marked as DE745) about to touch down at Audley End where the aircraft was restored by the Vintage
Fabrics team. The Tiger Moth looks very much at home flying over the same East Anglian countryside the original DE745 graced during World War Two

instrumental in setting about a
complete rebuild of the aircraft. But the
progress was slow, and it sat around for
a long time with Clive doing bits and
pieces on it when he could. He laughs:
“There was always something else to
do like an airshow or other work taking
the limelight. Then COVID came along
in 2020 and it was happy days! We just
bored into it.”
With him and fellow group member
Tim Thoday spending every weekend
possible on the aircraft’s fabric and
paint, Clive adds: “Dave Polidano
[another Tiger Moth expert from the
Malta Aviation Museum] would also
come and help us, and over the year we
progressed it a lot. We put the engine
in just before Christmas 2021 and flew
it on June 1, 2022.”
When asked if restoring the airframe
was an easy task, Clive says: “It
was, but a Tiger Moth is a complex
aeroplane and one of the biggest
problems is the AGS (Aircraft General
Standard) nuts and bolts as you simply
can’t get the British ones anymore.”
Expanding on that, Clive said that he’d
not want to do another Tiger Moth,
as acquiring these small items was so
difficult. He adds: “You can, if need be,
substitute them with American nuts
and bolts – which we did on NM192 –
as they are in places where they can’t
be seen.”
Missed opportunity
“The original [Gipsy Major] engine
was overhauled in France a gazillion
years ago, but had 400 hours on it,”
comments Clive, before adding: “We
eventually gave that to Dave at the
Malta Aviation Museum as a spare
for his Tiger Moth, and in return he
helped us with the project.
“It’s funny, a friend of mine, Simon
O’Connell, rang me up several years
ago saying ‘I’ve found some Gipsies in
boxes’. He had a business in Argentina
and had discovered them on his travels.
In hindsight, I had rather unfortunately
dismissed the offer of recovering them,
assuming they were not going to be any
good [having been stored for
many years].”
Having all but forgotten about that
missed opportunity, Clive started to
look into getting the original engine
overhauled. “I discussed it with Mark
Miller at de Havilland Support Ltd,
and he suggested I contacted a chap
he knew. I rang and told him I had an
engine that needed an overhaul – could
he give me a price? He told me that he
could overhaul the engine, but that he
also had some that were about ready to
go for sale. Why didn’t I come down
for a look?”
So Clive and the group travelled
down with engine expert Tim Routis
to advise them. They arrived at a place
near Dartford that didn’t look much
from the outside, but inside was a
stunning engine workshop.
“It was like a hospital operating
theatre,” recalls Clive. Inside the
assembly shop, there were four engines
lined up on stands. They were all

M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 0 9
D E H AV I L L A N D T I G E R M OT H
broken down with the parts laid out,
but Tim noticed they were sequential
– which was unusual. “We got talking,
and it came out that he brought
them off a guy who located them in
Argentina. The penny dropped…”
smiles Clive, adding: “These were the
engines I’d declined to peruse some 20
years ago – oops!”
To make matters worse, Clive’s
assumption on their condition proved
misplaced – they were actually brand
new engines, which had never been
flown. Further research revealed that
the four powerplants were bought in
the 1940s for a trainer aircraft project
in Argentina that never progressed.
Since being purchased and brought
back to the UK, they had been restored
to the highest of standards – they were
now perfect zero-hour engines. That
said, the price wanted was higher than
the group ideally wanted to pay, but
to have a brand new zero-hour Gipsy
Major was a ‘once in a lifetime’ deal
that they couldn’t walk away from.
“We spent the drive home trying to
ABOVE: The restoration of NM192 is superb
throughout - the cockpit has been returned to
'stock' condition with exacting attention to detail
1 1 0 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
“These were the
engines I’d declined
to peruse some 20
years ago – oops!”
work out how we would pay for the
engine that we’d just agreed to buy,
as we’d not got £3.50 between us!”
laughs Clive, adding: “But we raised
the money and now our Tiger has an
engine that will last for many years
to come.”
With a brand-new powerplant being
hung on the front of the aircraft, the
guys didn’t want to skimp on other
areas, as Clive explains: “We found a
brand new fuel tank made by Unique
Design and Fabrications, along with
a new set of engine cowlings. We also
had a new propeller manufactured by
Hercules, and engine bearers from Guy
Black at Retrotec.”
Looking over the Tiger Moth, little
details are evident too, such as the
wing-mounted ASI, not a normal fit
on RAF airframes but clearly visible
on a photo of the USAAF example.
Similarly, there’s also extensive
stencilling applied to the aircraft, which
help reveal the high standard and sheer
amount of work undertaken. “We’ve
been right through the aeroplane,
so it was worth making the effort to
make sure everything was perfect. We
have spent some money on it, but I
thoroughly love it,” says Clive.
USAAF loans
The scheme is essentially an RAF
service Tiger with a two-tone green
and brown camouflage, with a lighter
pattern on lower wing, and yellow
undersides. However, the Americans
painted over the RAF roundels with
USAAF stars in white, outlined by a
blue and yellow circle, while the tri-
colour fin flash was painted over in
Olive Drab Green. And while some
Tigers had bars to accompany the stars,
a few were allegedly painted with grey
undersides – although that’s thought to
be unlikely as they were standard RAF
specification aircraft and were handed
back with yellow undersides.
After all, they had only been a stop-
gap measure to allow the Americans
to build-up their own supply line – the
RAF serial numbers were retained.
It’s thought that some 16 of the de
Havilland trainers were loaned to the
Eighth Air Force in the UK between
1942 and 1945, which used them
primarily for communications, liaison,
and transport duties… although it’s
possible that a degree of recreational
flying was done in the Tigers too!
It’s well documented in Stuart
McKay’s book that the loaned Tiger
Moths suffered several incidents in
the hands of USAAF crews, while a
number were lost over the three-year
period – including DE935 after just
six weeks in US hands. With DE826
written off near Wadebridge in north
Cornwall during April 1943, at least six
more were lost during the rest of that
year, with another trio the following
year, and another in 1945.
Accident prone
One of the USAAF Tiger Moths that
proved to be a handful was DE745.
Having suffered a landing accident at
RAF Goxhill in Lincolnshire on August
2, 1943, it was on the receiving end of
BELOW CLOCKWISE: Labelled on the back of the print as a shot taken in late 1943 at AAF Station 366, Metfield, this image shows Herbert K Field of the
353rd in front of Tiger Moth DE745 Stuart McKay Collection. Clive Denney at the controls of Tiger Moth NM192. Originally applied on the left-hand rear fuselage
to Tiger Moth DE745 following a landing accident, the 'El Pisstopho' artwork was added in the restoration but on the opposite side
a taxiing accident at RAF Halesworth
in Suffolk just 28 days later. A more
serious take-off accident occurred on
September 7 that year – the aeroplane
ended up on its back in an East
Anglian field.
Initially rolling off the production line
at Cowley and delivered to the RAF
in 1942, DE745 was briefly allocated
to the USAAF’s 336th Bombardment
Group (BG) in October that same year.
However, by February of the following
year the airframe was on charge with
the 353rd Fighter Group (FG) at RAF
Metfield in Suffolk. Sporting the
name Dorothy on the port side,
DE745 was used for a variety of roles
including, on one occasion, landing in a
field to assist a downed pilot,
Lt Vernon A Leatherman of the 351st
Fighter Squadron.
Having come across Leatherman’s
P-47 Thunderbolt (41-6585/YJ-N),
Maj Glenn E Duncan, along with his
passenger Lt John B Rose, landed
to offer help. Following a successful
landing in what turned out to be a
cabbage field, the departure didn’t
go so well, as Maj Duncan’s account
revealed: “I prepared to take off for my
home airdrome with Lt Rose still in
the rear cockpit. I placed the aircraft
in a position to permit the longest run
off the field, about 600-700 yards in
length. The lowest obstruction at the
far side was a small hedge about five
feet high. The wind was slightly cross
to the line of take-off, about 15 miles
per hour. I had two enlisted men hold
the wings while I revved the engine up
as there are no brakes on the Moth.
“With the throttle wide open we
started across the field, tail off the
ground. The ship was just airborne, but
not enough to clear the small hedge.
I tried to bounce over the hedge but
didn’t quite make it. The ship hit the
hedge and went over on its back. The
visual damage was propeller, wing, and
rudder. The property damage included
a few sugar beets dug up. There was no
injury to either passenger or pilot.”
Of note, Duncan went on to claim
19.5 ‘kills’ flying P-47s and P-51
Mustangs. Later assigned command
of the 353rd FG in November 1943,
M a rch 2 0 2 3 / F LY PA S T / 1 1 1
D E H AV I L L A N D T I G E R M OT H
ABOVE CLOCKWISE: Maj Duncan and 1st Lt John ‘Jack’ Rose in front of DE745 on September 7, 1943. The pair landed to assist a downed P-47 pilot Imperial
War Museum Collection. DE745 sported a wing mounted ASi, so this was added to the restoration, despite not being a normal fit for an RAF Tiger Moth.
After landing in a cabbage field, the departure didn’t go too well for Maj Duncan – DE745 hit a hedge and ended up on its back Clive Denney Collection
he survived being shot down over
Germany in July the following year.
He evaded capture and fled to the
Netherlands, where he joined the
Resistance until the war ended.
Incredibly, there are several images of
the incident’s aftermath, which proved
extremely useful in the transformation
of NM192 – despite the aeroplane
being upside down and surrounded
by cabbages!
Following its take-off accident,
DE475 was repaired and subsequently
repainted in all over Olive Drab,
although it retained its yellow
underside. It appears the repair work
was completed by US personnel (most
likely attached to the 45th Servicing
Squadron) – a fact confirmed by the
serial under the wing being painted
upside down, something that wouldn’t
have passed inspection at an RAF
Maintenance Unit!
Doctor’s orders
Upon its return to the 353rd, DE475
gained the moniker El Pisstopho
Jr across the port rear fuselage in
1 1 2 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
“...despite the aeroplane
being upside down,
and surrounded by
cabbages!”
reference to the embarrassment and
frustration of Maj Duncan putting
the Tiger on its back. The name was
chosen by the squadron doctor, Joseph
‘Doc’ Canipelli who was a fan of flying
the Tiger. He had seen a B-17 assigned
to the nearby 100th BG wearing the
name El Pisstopho and felt it suited the
situation – albeit with the addition of
the ‘jr’ for being inferior to the four-
engine bomber. To further enhance
the look, ‘475 gained a shark mouth
and eyes.
Sadly, images of the aeroplane in this
scheme only came to light after Clive
had already painted his aircraft, but
he was keen to include a piece of the
history of its inverted rendezvous with
a cabbage field in the scheme applied to
NM192. It has therefore been restored
in the scheme of DE745 prior to the
accident with the original ‘Dorothy’
nose art on the port side, but with the
addition of ‘El Pisstopho Jr’ artwork on
the other side.
With the surviving USAAF Tiger
Moths (including DE745) returned
to the RAF in 1945, the aircraft
was Struck Off Charge and sold on
September 3, 1946. However, no
records of ‘her’ fate or movements
beyond that date have been found.
Following its restoration, NM192
represents a relatively unknown piece
of USAAF history and the Eighth Air
Force’s activities at ‘home’ in Britain
during World War Two. Today, the
Tiger is available for film and airshow
work alongside Clive’s Piper Cub
that’s also based at Audley End. While
showing me around the aeroplane, the
proud owner revealed he had learnt to
fly on a Tiger Moth with the Cambridge
Flying Club, and it’s now his goal
to end his flying career with NM192.
“I started on a Tiger and will retire on
a Tiger!” smiled Clive. All I can say is
what a Tiger to do it with!
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236 PHOTOGRAPHS 30 COLOUR PROFILES 29 ORIGINAL DIAGRAMS
001_cover_P-47_Thunderbolt_AW.indd 1 28/09/2022 16:50

LANCASTER 80 P47 VULCAN: 70TH GRUMMAN

This special souvenir of THUNDERBOLT ANNIVERSARY HELLCAT: 80TH
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01_Front Cover HA2022_UK.indd 1 19/10/2022 16:54

VICTOR 80TH ANNIVERSARY YEARBOOK PHANTOMS

Despite its late 1940s design, Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress Packed with fantastic flying heritage, the The Phantom is one of the
the powerful jet’s striking proved devastatingly effective in Historic Aviation Yearbook 2022 brings best-loved fighter aircraft
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*Prices correct at time of going to press. Free 2nd class P&P on all UK & BFPO orders. Overseas charges apply. Postage charges vary depending on total order value.

573/22

573 Aviation Specs FP.indd 1 19/12/2022 14:45:32

NEXT MONTH

Darren Harbar

APR 2023
In next month's issue we go air-to-air with the BBMF's Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc LF363, go
behind the scenes at the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar and shine a spotlight on the mighty Avro
Shackleton. Don't miss out, it's in the shops February 23 or see page 32 for our latest
money-saving subscription offers.

Editor James Peene GENERAL ENQUIRIES TO:
Deputy Editor Steve Beebee  Editor’s Secretary Melissa Smith
Associate Editor Jamie Ewan FlyPast, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1XQ, UK
Design Matt Fuller Tel: 01780 755131 Fax: 01780 757261
www.flypast.com
Group Production Editor David Taylor
Production Editors Sally Hooton, Sue Parslow, Subscriptions / mail order:
Suzanne Roberts, Sue Rylance PO Box 300, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA, UK
Tel: 01780 480404 Fax: 01780 757812
Advertisement Manager Sam Clark E-mail: Subscriptions: subs@keypublishing.com
E-mail: sam.clark@keypublishing.com E-mail: Mail Order: orders@keypublishing.com
Ad & Ed Production Manager Debi McGowan
USPS ID STATEMENT
Head Of Design Steve Donovan FlyPast (ISSN 0262-6950), is published monthly by
Head Of Advertising Sales Brodie Baxter Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs,
Head Of Marketing Shaun Binnington UK PE9 1XQ. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by
Head Of Operations and eCommerce Karen Bean agent named World Container INC 150-15, 183rd
St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals Postage Paid
Group CEO and Publisher Adrian Cox at Brooklyn, NY 11256
US Postmaster:
Send address changes to FlyPast, Air Business Ltd,
c/o World Container INC 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica,
NY 11413, USA.
SMALL PRINT:
While every care is taken with submissions,
the Publisher cannot be held responsible for
any loss or damage incurred. All items submitted for
publication are subject to our terms and conditions.
These are regularly updated without prior notice
and are downloadable from www.keypublishing.com
We are unable to guarantee the bonafides of any of
our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended
to take their own precautions before parting with
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or personal information in response to any
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The entire contents of FlyPast is © Copyright
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without the prior permission of the publisher:
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Tel: 020 7429 4000 Fax: 020 7429 4001  
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Published monthly by:
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Printed in England
ISSN 0262-6950

1 1 4 / F LY PA S T / M a rc h 2 0 2 3
 OPERATION
BEER RUN!
AA29101
Supermarine
Spitfire Mk.IX
MK329/JE-J(jr) W/CDR. J.E. ‘Johnnie’
Johnson, No.144 Wing RCAF,
Truck’
‘Spitfire Beer Truck’,
Normandy, June 1944

£59.99
A legendary pilot brings the goods to the troops! RRP

Wearing full D-Day identification markings, Spitfire MK329 JE-J ‘Junior’ was the personal mount of RAF
ace pilot James Edgar ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, one of the RAF’s top scoring fighter aces of WWII. A brand new
tooling in the Corgi range, this Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX includes a pair of beer kegs slung under the wings
from Johnson’s legendary flights to France after D-Day to supply drinks to the thirsty troops.

BAE SYSTEMS is a registered trade mark of BAE Systems plc.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AVIATION ARCHIVE AND INDEED THE ENTIRE CORGI COLLECTION,
C O N TA C T O U R S A L E S O F F I C E N O W O N 018 4 3 2 3 3 5 2 5 / S A L E S @ H O R N BY. C O M

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Eagles11_FP.indd 1 19/12/2022 10:13:08

G-DHHF Aviation News Master July 22.indd 1 28/09/2021 19:54:06