‘Scene’ at The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) at RAF Coningsby on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk’

A trip organised by my local U3A group allowed us into the unit’s hangar where photography is welcomed.

 

The origins of ‘BBMF’ evolved during the 1950’s when it was felt that one way of commemorating the ‘Battle of Britain’ Battle Honour would be to preserve and fly surviving aircraft from that time.

 

Starting out with a single Supermarine Spitfire it has expanded over the years to include further Spitfires, Hawker Hurricanes, the Douglas Dakota and of course the Avro Lancaster.

 

On the day, there were a couple of aircraft outside. One of which was Spitfire conducting a rather noisy engine test. The rest were tucked up indoors.

 

ZA947 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Douglas Dakota C3.

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

Built as a Douglas C-47A in 1942 and issued to the ‘United States Army Air Force’. 

Almost immediately it was transferred to the ‘Royal Canadian Air Force’ where it stayed until being declared surplus in 1971.

 

Purchased by the ‘Royal Aircraft Establishment’ and given the RAF serial KG661, it was later given its current markings.

 

Declared surplus again by the ‘RAE’ in 1992. It was adopted by RAF ‘Strike Command’ and joined the ‘BBMF’ in 1993.

 

Seen with the Port engine removed and the Starboard engine being worked on and now carrying the name ‘KWICHERBICHEN’.

 

 

MK356 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Vickers Supermarine Spitfire LF IXC Coded 5J-K on

‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

 

Built at Castle Bromwich in 1944 and issued to no. 443 Squadron of the ‘Royal Canadian Air Force’.

 

Badly damaged after a series of ‘crash’ landings it was reduced to being a maintainence airframe at RAF Halton.

 

After spending 17 years as a gate guardian at various establishments, restoration started in 1992 being completed in 1997 when it joined the ‘BBMF’.

 

 

LF363 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Hawker Hurricane IIC Coded JX-B

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

 

Built by Hawkers at Langley near Slough in 1943 and is believed to be the last of its kind to join the RAF.

 

Stored postwar, it became the first aircraft to join the ‘Historic Aircraft Flight’ (the forerunner of the BBMF) in 1957.

 

Badly damaged by a crash and fire, it was restored between 1994 and 1997.

 

Currently painted as a Hurricane I of No.1 Squadron. Being flown by Sergeant Arthur Clarke DFM. 

 

 

PZ865 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Hawker Hurricane IIC coded EG-S

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

The very last Hurricane built out of 14,533 rolled off the Hawker’s Langley production line in July 1944.

 

Bought by Hawker’s from the Air Ministry, it was initially stored by them until being modified and used as a ‘racer’ carrying the civilian registration G-AMAU.

 

It made many flying display appearances and appeared in the film ‘The Battle of Britain’.

 

Overhauled and re painted into its wartime camouflage, it was presented to the ‘BBMF’ in 1972.

 

Currently painted as a South East Asia Command machine of 1944.

 

 

AB910 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Vb Coded SH-F

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

New in 1941. It served with a variety of Squadrons including No.s 222, 130, 133, 242, 416 and 410 accumulating a total 0f 143 operational sorties before being withdrawn from the front line in1944.

 

It continued in service with support units until being sold onto the civilian market where for a time it carried the registration (G-AISU) being used as an ‘air racer’.

 

Overhauled in 1953 it appeared on the display circuit until being donated to ‘BBMF’ in 1965.

 

A further refurbishment was completed in 2015 with the aircraft being painted in the colours  of a 64 Squadron aircraft at the time of the D-Day invasion.

 

 

P7350 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Vickers Supermarine Spitfire IIa Coded EB-G

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

An original ‘Battle of Britain’ aircraft being the 14th. built out of 11,989 at Castle Bromwich and as such is the oldest airworthy Spitfire in the world.

 

Serving with No.s 266, 603, 616 and 64 Squadrons before being transferred to support work, it was sold for scrap in 1948.

 

Saved for preservation and restored to flying condition in 1968 it carried the civilian registration

G-AWIJ and appeared in the film ‘The Battle of Britain’.

 

After which it was presented to the ‘BBMF’ where it appears in the colours of No 41 Squadron.

 

 

PM631 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Vickers Supermarine Spitfire PR XIX

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

 

Currently under repair, It was built in 1945 but was too late to see wartime service. Stored until 1949, it went on to serve at an Advanced Flying School before being modified for meteorological work.

 

Delivered to the ‘Historic Aircraft Flight’ which was a forerunner of the ’BBMF’ in 1957.

 

 

 

WG486 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ DHC1 Chipmunk T10 Coded G

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

Currently under repair. One of two Chipmunks at the ‘BBMF’ to keep pilots up to date on piston engined aircraft.

 

Originally buit as a trainer in 1951 and used at times in Cyprus and Germany on low level reconnaisance flights.

 

 

PA474 ‘RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ Avro Lancaster BI Coded KC-A

on ‘Dennis Basford’srailsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

Probably the BBMF’s most famous and most easily reconised aircraft.

 

Built at Chester by Vickers Armstrong’s in 1945. Having missed the European war, it was prepared for service against Japan but Japan surrendered before it could be used against them.

 

Initially stored, it eventually went to East and South Africa on survey work until 1952.

 

Further work was done for the Royal College of Aeronautics at Cranfield testing aerofoil sections mounted above the fuselage which looked like a sharks fin.

 

In 1965 the aircraft was transferred to No. 44 Squadron (then flying Vulcans) for restoration to begin. This was completed and it was transferred to the ‘BBMF’ in 1973.

 

The current name shown on the fuselage ‘Thumper Mk III’ was carried by another Lancaster (DV385) which was an aircraft that flew with No. 617 Squadron after the Dams raid.

 

 

Having been conducted round the BBMF’s hangar, on the way out I was able to capture photo’s of what else was on view.

 

 

RAF Coningsby is known as being the home of the Eurofighter Typhoon so I was surprised to find two Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW 1’s parked up. These are normally based at RAF Waddington.

 

ZH104 ‘Royal Air Force’ Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW 1 Coded 04

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

ZH101 ‘Royal Air Force’ Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW 1 Coded 01

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

ZK317 ‘Royal Air Force’ Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 Coded ES

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

ZJ812 ‘Royal Air Force’ Eurofighter Typhoon T3 Coded BK

on ‘Dennis Basford’s railsroadsrunways.blogspot.co.uk'

 

‘Scene’ at The Imperial War Museum Duxford (TIWMD) Part 1

The early days of World War Two (WW2).

I have commented before about how well off we are for aviation museums.

The major ones being The Imperial War Museum (IWMD) at Duxford. The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon (RAFH). and the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford (RAFC).

 

They are supported by many smaller museums such as the East Midlands Aviation Museum at the East Midlands Airport (See my Blog dated 17th of December 2013) and the Newark Aviation Museum in Lincolnshire.

 

There are of course many others all of whom strive in their own way to preserve some of our aviation heritage.

 

 

 

N4877 (Subsequently G-AMDA).

 

An Avro 625A  Anson 1 built by Avro in Manchester in 1938.

 

It served with a variety of Royal air Force (RAF) units during ‘WW2’ before being sold onto the civilian register in 1950.

 

Later working for ‘Derby Aviation’ as a survey aircraft before joining the ‘Skyfame’ museum at Staverton.

 

With the closure of ‘Skyfame’ in 1978, the aircraft came to ‘IWMD’ by whom it was overhauled between 2000 and 2003.

 

V9673

A Westland Lysander 3A (subsequently G-LIZY). 

Painted in a ‘night finish’ scheme with green and grey topsides with black underneath to represent an aircraft of the ‘RAF’s 161 Squadron.

 

 

N6635

 

A De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth painted in the colours of the’ RAF’s No. 22 Elementary Flying Training School.

 

 NF370

 

A Fairey Swordfish 3 built by Blackburn Aircraft in 1944.

It seems strange to me that partially wooden biplanes were still being built for combat use so late in the war. Originally serving with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) it was transferred to the ‘RAF’s 119 Squadron.

 

Stored for many years at the ‘IWM’s facility at Lambeth, it came to Duxford in 1986 for restoration and subsequent display.

 

JV579 (subsequently G-RUMW).

C/N 5765 A Grumman FM-1 Wildcat in the colours of No. 846 Naval Air Squadron ‘FAA’.

 

The FM-1 denotes a General Motors Corporation built aircraft  that was delivered to the United States Navy as BuAer  No. 86711in 1945.

 

After being kept in various location and museums in the United States, it came to the UK in 1993 for use by

‘The Fighter Collection’ (TFC).

 

This particular aircraft is not the original JV579 but one painted to represent it .

 

H75-C1 No. 82

A Curtiss Hawk model 75 classified as the P-36 in the United States Army Air Force numbering system.

 

100 were bought by the French Air Force prior to WW2 and they saw combat in the early days of the war.

 

Total deliveries to the French were 316 aircraft before France the German occupation.

 

Some captured examples were used by Germany’s allies and it is unusual that the Hawk fought on both sides.

 

No. 82 has been restored to flying condition as is owned by ‘TFC’.

 

N5903 (subsequently G-GLAD).

A Gloster Gladiator 2. Another machine owned by ‘TFC’.

 

Built in 1939 it initially served with No. 141 Squadron ‘RAF’ and then moved on to a succession of maintenance and training units.

 

The subsequent history is both interesting and complicated and I would suggest that anyone wishing to enquire further refers to  ‘The Fighter Collection’s website.

 

Suffice to say it arrived with ‘TFC’ in 1994 and has since then been restored to flying condition.

 

N3200

A Supermarine Spitfire 1A.

Built in 1939 by ‘Vickers Armstrong (Supermarine) Ltd. at Southampton entering front line service with ‘RAF’s No.19 Squadron in early 1940 at Duxford.

 

On 27th, May 1940 it was shot down and crash landed on the beach near Sangatte in France. The pilot Squadron Leader Geoffrey Stephenson was eventually captured and spent sometime in Colditz Castle as a POW.

 

The remains of the aircraft were recovered from the beach in 1986 and the aircraft was returned to the UK to be restored by ‘Historic Flying Ltd’.

 

A television feature about its restoration was produced by Channel 4 and the two daughters of Squadron Leader Stephenson were invited to watch as their fathers former aircraft took to the skies once more on March 26th. 2014.

 

P9374

 

Another Supermarine Spitfire. A Mark 1.

 

Delivered from the factory in March 1940 to No. 92 Squadron ‘RAF’ at Duxford.

It flew a number of training sorties with various pilots until the squadron was declared combat ready on the 23rd. of May.

The following day in the late afternoon, flown by Flying Officer Peter Cazenove it was shot down it is believed by the airgunners of German Dornier 17 bombers.

The aircraft was seen to crash on a beach. Cazenove survived and joined up with a British Army regiment defending Calais. When the town was captured, he was taken prisoner and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

The aircraft was seen as being lost to the sea but in 1980 due to very strong tides it was found washed up on a beach near Calais.

The remains of the wreck were taken to the Musee de L’Air in Paris from where an American billionaire, Mr. Tom Kaplan bought it.

Returned to Duxford, the aircraft was rebuilt to flying condition by the ‘Aircraft Restoration Company’ at a cost estimated by

Mr. Kaplan to be ’many millions’.

Peter Cazenove died a few days before the aircraft’s story became public. He never knew its story.

 

HG691 (subsequently G-AIYR).

It is perhaps hard to believe in these days of Jumbo Jets and the like that this fragile looking, fixed undercarriage, biplane 9 seater was ever an airliner, but it was.

 

The de Havilland DH89A Dragon Rapide designed in 1930’s and was widely used by civil airlines in the mid to late years of the decade.

 

At the start of 'WW2' many were impressed into the ‘RAF’ as the DH Dominie and in addition a further 500 plus were built to serve in the transport, liason and training roles. The final tally was 731 aircraft built.

 

This particular aircraft was built by Brush Coachworks of Loughborough better known for bus and tram bodywork building and first flew in 1943.

 

After serving in the ‘RAF’ it was sold on to the civilian register in 1946.

 

Now restored to its ‘RAF’ livery it performs pleasure flights from Duxford for a company called ’Classic Wings’.