Merlins! 8 Of Them!

[Vic Patterson]

Old technology! great pictures! thanks for posting Foxy, I believe my brother was posted at Leuchers a long time ago,

[Keith Scantlebury]

I remember watching the tractor pulling at the Royal Show (around 1980) there was a tractor with 2 RR Merlin engines in.

[Symptoms]

How about a Spitfire ... yours for £1,650,000. Available now - link below. 

 

I can only dream ... climbing into the cockpit very early on a Saturday morning, hopping over mountains and seas, landing at the Toon airport, hopping onto the Metro to St James, watching the match, then returning to the Spit, detouring over the Stadium of Shite and riddling the place with 50 calibre rounds, barrel roll, then back home.

 

http://www.platinumfighters.com/#!spitfire-18/masterpage_29

[John Fox (foxy)]

Vic,

 not sure if you can receive Channel 4 in your neck of the woods but I've copied this from the Isle of Man TT website. Click on the News tab for more info.  

It's breakfast time on Sunday, May 26, 1940. In Northern France the British forces are in full retreat, backed onto the French coast at Dunkirk and facing complete annihilation. Prime Minister Winston Churchill has been in power for only a fortnight…

but in a few hours he will order the launch of Operation Dynamo – the biggest military evacuation in our history. Until then it's the job of the RAF to fend off the German Luftwaffe from pounding the retreating troops. Heading one band of Spitfires is the leader of 19 Squadron at RAF Duxford – 30 year old Geoffrey Stephenson – one of the most highly regarded pilots in the RAF.

Horribly outnumbered, his Squadron still claim a number of German fighters before he is shot down, managing to crash land on a beach near Calais. His uniform in tatters from boiling water and glycol, he manages to escape and begin a long walk to Brussels, where he hopes to find the US Embassy and a way home. His untold story is straight out of Boys' Own fiction, involving daring escapes, Colditz and the Queen. 

His Mk I Spitfire becomes a beach toy for the Germans and local souvenir hunters as it slowly sinks into the sand – seemingly lost for ever.

Fast forward to the mid-1980s and as the sands shift in northern France the tail of the plane suddenly re-appears. The wreck is recovered and sits for more than 25 years rotting in a remote Normandy museum. 

Purchased by American enthusiasts, it is finally returned home to Duxford and the experts of the Aircraft Restoration Company, who plan to re-build N3200 to its former glory.

Joining the team will be Channel 4 presenter and professional daredevil Guy Martin, a man so passionate about the Spitfire that he has his own working Merlin engine in an outbuilding on his farm.

Working from original blueprints and rebuilt with the same forensic detail as they were back in the thirties, Guy will learn not only how the famous planes were constructed, but also about the Spitfire factories, the ground crews, the armoury and, of course, the pilots, with contributions from surviving members of all those teams.

Squadron Leader Stephenson's two daughters will be on hand to see if the finished plane is up to scratch and will once again take to the skies over Duxford, nearly 75 years after it took off for the last time and become only the 4th Mk I Spitfire flying in the world.

Two and half years in the making – this is the astonishing story of the meticulous re-building of N3200, its extraordinary history, the bravery and courage of the men and women who kept our Spitfires in the air and the apparently lost story of its pilot.

 

 

Running at 90-minutes, it will be shown at 19.30 on Sunday, October 12, 2014, on Channel 4

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[Maggie/915]

Sounds like a good programme to watch tonight Foxy.

Symptoms your sense of humour could get you into trouble!

I think you have been influenced by Hilary Mantel.

Hope you get a decent book deal.

[Symptoms]

Hers'e a photo of my forward observer directing my straffing run over the Stadium of Shite.

 

 

 

[Vic Patterson]

Hi Foxy, unfortunately I can't receive channel 4, I bet it was a great program, sounds fascinating, we do get quite a lot of UK documentaries on "public television†but they are not very well publicised in advance, there often on U.S. channels. Did you happen to get the name of the documentary?

The BBC website has some great links to the Spitfire etc.

(we did get the England football game!)

[John Fox (foxy)]

. Did you happen to get the name of the documentary?

 

It was "Guy Martins Spitfire" 

[Maggie/915]

Enjoyed the programme.

Guy Martin's enthusiasm is infectious.

I went to Colditz a few years back and the tales of escapes are brilliant.

Some Ex Prisoner is alleged to have returned with a key he had made in his time there.

All testament to a history to be proud of.

Castles In The Sky and the development

of radar was a good film / documentary last month Eddie Izzard played the lead role.

Most of of it was fIlmed in Scotland but obviously shots of planes etc

[Maggie/915]

Just in case that seems irrelevant, the pilot was held in Colditz because he had made several escape attempts from other places.

After the Spotfire crashed he walked 100 miles to an American Embassy and was turned away because they had not joined the War at that stage.

[tomtom]

As a child growing up in North Shields during the war I still have faint memories of aircraft flying over the town - are there any older contributors who can remember aerial activity over Bedlington during the second world war?

[Malcolm Robinson]

I was told about a dog fight over Bedlington and one of the Huns was shot down next to the brickworks?  

[tonyg]

There are 17 German war graves in Chevington cemetery Broomhill.and the germans shot down over the Brickworks are supposed to be buried there.

[mercuryg]

 

Nice pic from RAF Coningsby yesterday

[Symptoms]

Another supersonic scramble to intercept flying baddies perhaps?  Closely followed by a 'top brass' apology for the sonic booms. 

 

Churchill wouldn't have countenanced that sort of behaviour from Harris or Leigh-Mallory during that last bunfight with the Bosch.

[mercuryg]

No, just a routine circuit, an every day occurrence here. There are probably more Typhoons within a couple of miles of this house then there are people. I believe Coningsby is  the biggest fighter base in Europe. Also houses the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

 

**Symptoms - sonic booms can cause damage, and are not a regular occurrence. Special permission has to be sought to fly supersonic over land (as in this case); Churchill didn't have that problem! I knew something was up the other evening when two Typhoons roared away after dark; flying stops at dusk, unless otherwise specified.

Edited November 2, 2014 by mercuryg

[Symptoms]

Merc ... I realise that we didn't have booms back then, I was just taking a poke at the current litigatious culture and the silly need for managers/bosses to always say sorry.

 

I think there was another sortie to intercept a Badger that Ivan had sent over midweek ... they frightened him off over the North Sea.

[Malcolm Robinson]

They were chasing UFOs!  

[mercuryg]

Indeed, Malcolm, I believe there are several alien craft, and live inhabitants, in a large hangar at Coningsby.

 

Symptoms, these intercepts happen more often than you may think....the Ruskies like to test our response times.

[Maggie/915]

I wonder if we are back to the old Cold War days.

Scary stuff.

[mercuryg]

it's been going on for years Maggie; just Putin flexing his muscles and seeing how good we are at spotting those huge, slow, outdated bombers that keep creeping into our airspace! I'm quite sure we do the same to them from time to time, it's a fun game and great training for the pilots!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Mr Putin seems to like to push limits and he is certainly seeing where our limits are during this time of détente!  

 

Worrying but lets listen to Sting's message in one of his songs........."I hope the Russians love their children too!"  

[Maggie/915]

Listen again to start the week Malcolm Radio 4

Monday 9am recorded at the Sage.

During the weekend one person said that Putin was brought to power by the oligarths but he then could not be controlled.

[John Fox (foxy)]

 

Just spent quite a bit time looking at footage of Thumper and Vera, along with so many other old aircraft. I have quite a few videos of aircraft and airshows 

Can you ID this one Vic? (the plane I mean) and maybe guess at the year. An old mate now deceased gave me the negative and asked if I could print a copy. It was thought a member of his family was in the picture but he never saw the print to confirm.

 

[Adam Hogg]

Can you ID this one Vic? (the plane I mean) and maybe guess at the year. An old mate now deceased gave me the negative and asked if I could print a copy. It was thought a member of his family was in the picture but he never saw the print to confirm.

 

Neg1.jpg

looks a lot like a Bristol Bombay, but I'm not 100% sure foxy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bombay