Spitfire Floatplane

With the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 the RAF took an interest in the concept of using floatplane fighters in areas where airfields were not immediately available. To this end a Spitfire Mk I R6722 was taken in hand at the Woolston factory to be modified and mounted on Blackburn Roc floats. Tank tests were carried out at Farnborough, using a 1/7 scale model, it was found that the concept was basically sound, although the vertical tail surfaces would need to be enlarged to counterbalance the side area of the floats. The end of the Battle of Norway and the need for as many Spitfires as possible meant that R6772 was converted back to an ordinary fighter without being flown.

With the entry of Japan into the war the concept was revived in early 1942. A Spitfire V W3760 was fitted with a pair of floats 25 ft 7 in (7.8 m) long, mounted on cantilever legs. This aircraft was powered by a Merlin 45 driving a four-bladed propeller of 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) diameter (3.4 m). A Vokes filter was fitted to the carburettor air intake and under the tail an extra fin extension was added. Other changes included external lifting points forward of and behind the cockpit and a spin-recovery parachute with a rudder balance-horn guard. The Spitfire floatplane was first flown on 12 October 1942 by Jeffrey Quill. Soon afterwards the Vokes filter was replaced by an Aero-Vee filter, similar to that on later Merlin 61 series aircraft, which was extended to prevent water entry, and full Mk VB armament was installed. Two more VBs EP751 and EP754 were converted by Folland and all three floatplanes were transported to Egypt, arriving in October 1943. At the time it was thought that the floatplanes could operate from concealed bases in the Dodecanese Islands, disrupting supply lines to German outposts in the area which relied on resupply by transport aircraft. This scheme came to naught when a large number of German troops, backed by the Luftwaffe, took over the British held islands of Kos and Leros. No other role could be found for the floatplane Spitfires, which languished in Egypt, operating from the Great Bitter Lake. Specifications for the VB based floatplane included a maximum speed of 324 mph (521 km/h) at 19,500 ft (521 km/h at 5,943 m), a maximum rate of climb of 2,450 ft/min at 15,500 ft (12.45 m/s at 4,724 m) and an estimated service ceiling of 33,400 ft (10,180 m)

In the spring of 1944, with the prospect of use in the Pacific Theatre, a Spitfire IX MJ892 was converted to a floatplane. This used the same components as the earlier Mk VB conversions. Jeffrey Quill wrote:
"The Spitfire IX on floats was faster than the standard Hurricane. Its handling on the water was extremely good and its only unusual feature was a tendency to "tramp" from side to side on the floats, or to "waddle" a bit when at high speed in the plane."
Soon after testing started the idea of using floatplane fighters was dropped and MJ982 was converted back to a landplane. From Wikipedia 

Five aircraft were converted:
Mk I - R6722
Mk Vb - W3760
Mk V - EP751 and EP754
Mk IXb - MJ892

More info @: http://aviationtrivia.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/spitfire-floatplane-that-reginald.html

Avro Vulcan B2 XH558

It was great to see this lovely looking and sounding aircraft flying over my home town. Long may she continue flying!
.

Photo by:The Aviation Anorak
@ Weston Air day 2013 Knightstone island Weston-super-Mare England 22/06/2013  

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

Beechcraft 34 "Twin-Quad"

A rare one from Beechcraft. More reading @:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_34

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1949/1949%20-%201795.html

A BAC One-Eleven Getting Down!

A great photo. About 25ft off the ground I would say.
British Island Airways I think? Year? Location? Does anyone know?
DUCK!!
                                                                 
                                                                 

727 Short Field Landing

Watch this great clip of the last flight of a Fedex 727-200 into Merrill Field's 4,000ft runway. 
The aircraft was donated to the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Liberator and Swordfish crashes at Orchard Hill Farm Dorset

Aviation follows me even when I am on holiday! I came across this on a walk near Kingston Dorset.

From the Dorset Echo...

On the morning of Friday, June 15, 1945, with the war still raging in the Far East, Liberator JT985 of No 232 Squadron took off from RAF Holmsley South in the New Forest, on the first leg of its long flight to Palam, India. The first refuelling stop was scheduled to be at RAF Castel Benito, near Tripoli in North Africa.

This Liberator was a passenger-carrying RY-3' (US designation) variant, with passenger accommodation in the former bomb bay area as well as within the main fuselage, and was distinguished easily from the twin tail fin bomber variants so well known with Coastal Command and the USAAF by its single large tail fin. It was unarmed.

The aircraft was under the command of Flt Lt Saxon Cole RCAF; other crew members were Fg Off Donald Twaddle RCAF (co-pilot), Fg Off Joseph Todd RCAF (navigator), Fg Off George McPherson RCAF (radio officer and an American citizen) and Sgt George Wyke RAF (flight engineer). The passenger load consisted not of VIPs, as was the more normal load for such a flight, but of 22 airmen being sent out as urgently needed groundcrew at Palam.

The weather at Holmsley South was poor, but both the captain and the duty executive officer considered it suitable for take-off, but poor enough for a diversion to be likely if an early return was necessitated. JT985 departed at 0720 hours.

At 0745 hours, shortly after crossing the coast outbound, the aircraft reported a loss of fuel pressure and that the crew were turning back to carry out a precautionary landing at Holmsley South. This information was repeated again 10 minutes later.

At around 0815 hours the owner of Encombe House, Sir Ernest Scott, and a worker at Encombe dairy saw the aircraft, which was obviously below the height of the hills, and both knew instinctively that it was going to crash.

It impacted on the edge of what is now the Dorset Coastal Path, the wings were ripped off and the engines detached and were thrown forward towards Orchard Hill Farm, one wing coming to rest on the footpath (not a public footpath) in Polar Wood leading from the top of the ridge to the farm. There were no survivors.

The first to reach the scene were an RAF sergeant by the name of Reginald Reynolds, who was staying at Encombe House, and members of an Army searchlight battery located between the farm and the village of Kingston; they were soon joined by RAF personnel from, presumably, nearby RAF Worth Matravers. The National Fire Service from Swanage was soon on the scene, as were local police officers.

When the low cloud lifted at about eleven o'clock a scene of total devastation was revealed.

The tragic remains of 27 bodies was joined by much in the way of personal belongings such as a baby's photograph, playing cards, personal notebooks, wallets and the like, together with a distinguished flying cross, thrown from its box but which was also retrieved.

Who did the DFC belong to? Not any of the crew or passengers, so maybe it was being taken to India for presentation to its owner?

There was also a large amount of tropical uniform items and, to the delight of the local children, tins of boiled sweets.

The bodies of the crash victims were eventually taken away to Poole Mortuary. This was, and still is, Dorset's worst ever air crash.

The crash of Liberator JT985 in June 1945 was not the only fatal aircraft accident on North Hill above Encombe.

On the afternoon of Friday, March 18, 1938, a student on the torpedo course at the Torpedo Training Unit at RAF Gosport took off at 2.15pm in a Mk 1 Swordfish K5985 on a training cross-country flight to Roborough, just north of Plymouth.

The pilot was Plt Off Frederick Edgar Williams, aged 21, his two passengers along for the ride' were Cpl Cyril John Coles, 32, and LAC David Samuel Hurrel, also 21.

Plt Off Williams had just over 200 hours in his logbook, of which 25 were on the Swordfish.

He was briefed to return to Gosport if the weather en route deteriorated, but he seems to have encountered low cloud approaching the Purbecks and tried to duck under it, passed low over Orchard Hill Farm at 2.45pm, clipped the top of the trees in Polar Wood - leaving sections of the aircraft in the tree tops - and nose-dived into the steep hillside some 300 yards away, the Bristol Pegasus engine detaching and rolling further down the valley.

All three onboard were probably killed instantly, despite the brave efforts of local man Bob Dorey, who climbed up from Encombe House to the blazing wreckage with two fire extinguishers and attempted to get close enough to the Swordfish to pull them from the inferno.

Other local folk also tried to get near to the wreckage but were beaten back by the heat of the flames.

Personnel from the Sick Bay Unit at RAF Warmwell attended the scene and had the difficult task of retrieving the three bodies and manhandling them to the top of the ridge before taking them back to base in their ambulance.

The Coroner's inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.

"FAB" Gerry Anderson RIP

Thunderbird 2

Thunderbird 2 (ish)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Anderson
The Genius and inspiration of so many kids who went on to love Aviation - Gerry Anderson 14/4/29-26/12/12

The Thunderbird 2 like airship:
http://www.aeroscraft.com/

...a lovely dream. If only!

De Havilland Mosquito FB.26 KA114

Photo: Simon Watts/Getty Images AsiaPac

More about this great restoration @ http://www.mossie.org/KA114.htm &
https://www.facebook.com/pages/De-Havilland-Mosquito-FB26-Ka114-Appreciation-Page/380660158677093

Dunkeswell Airfield

Liberator of VB-103 taking off from Runway 23

Dunkeswell Airfield (EGTU) is an airfield in East Devon, England. It is located approximately 5 miles north of the town of Honiton. Today it is a busy civilian airfield with a mix of light aircraft, microlights and parachuting.

The airfield was opened in 1943, during the Second World War, as RAF Dunkeswell. The station was originally planned as a RAF Fighter Command, then a RAF Coastal Command airfield, but was transferred for use by American units.  Dunkeswell was unique in that it was the only British airfield where the United States Navy Fleet Air Wing was stationed in World War Two. Dunkeswell was affectionately called by the Americans “Mudville Heights”.

It was first used by the American United States Army Air Force's Antisubmarine Command, 479th Antisubmarine Group, as a base of operations to fly antisubmarine missions over the Bay of Biscay using specialized B-24 Liberator bombers from August until November 1943.

In November the United States Army Air Forces turned over the antisubmarine mission to the United States Navy and its Liberators were reassigned to Navy Patrol Bomber Squadron VPB-103, Fleet Air Wing 7, which continued aerial antisubmarine operations from the station, the AAF aircraft being redesignated under the USN/USMC system of the time as PB4Y-1 Liberators. This was the first United States Navy unit to train with the RAF, later followed by VB-105 and VB-110. The Naval antisubmarine squadrons moved to the nearby RAF Upottery in November 1944.

With the departure of the Americans, the RAF used the airfield from August 1945 to April 1946 for ferrying aircraft to the Middle East by 16 Ferry Unit, RAF Transport Command. After September 1946 the station was put on care and maintenance status until the end of 1948, when it was sold by the Ministry of Defence.

Read more about Dunkeswell @ http://www.southwestairfields.co.uk/?page_id=53

Liberator taking off from RAF Dunkeswell, January 1944. 
There were three U.S. Navy bomber squadrons stationed
 at Dunkeswell during this time period, VB-103, VB-105 and VB-110

...the inscription from the memorial photo below:

A photo of runway 17 in 2012

  

Dunkeswell layout 2012.

Runway lenghts:
04/22 968m 3,176ft Asphalt. 17/35 644m 2,113ft Asphalt

OMA SUD Skycar

The Skycar even has a boot!

Read all about  @ http://www.omasud.it/Prodotti.htm