Duxford – Flight line

We arrived rather early in the morning of 19 September. Low clouds and misty but the forecast was good and the flight line fantastic. It was most promising for what we were to experience that day.

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A Yale and two Harvard, used as trainers for prospective fighter pilots during the war.
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Bristol Blenheim, the first British aircraft to cross the German border after war was declared on Germany. What you see here is the the only flying Blenheim in the world!

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And this; Europe’s last flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress…

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…the “Sally B” although half of the aircraft is marked as “Memphis Belle” since it  was used in the 1990 film “Memphis Belle“.FlightLine_05

As I walked along the fence more aircraft joined the flight line. Here comes a Hornet Moth.FlightLine_06

Closest is a Hawker Nimrod Mk I, behind it a Boeing PT-17 Stearman and then another Hawker Nimrod II.

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To the left a Stampe SV4 and to the right a CASA 1-131E Jungmann.

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A Supermarine Spitfire, one of only four airworthy Mark I Spitfires. This aircraft was with 19 Squadron at Duxford during the Battle of France. (Read story here!)FlightLine_09

Two Hawker Hurricane.FlightLine_10

A Gloster Gladiator and a Curtiss Hawk 75.FlightLine_11

Isn’t that something!?FlightLine_12

A Tiger Moth and two DH Dragon Rapide. You could buy a ticket to fly in one of them this day…FlightLine_13

Another Tiger Moth waiting for a pilot this early morning.FlightLine_14

The Slingsby Petrel was a development of a German glider and came just before the war.
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I guess my colleagues up in the tower are well prepared for the day… FlightLine_16

…as the passenger flights begin with this Dragon Rapide…FlightLine_17

…a Tiger Moth and a few more while…FlightLine_18

…preparations are done for the real show. Are you ready?

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Duxford – Hangars

A small building next to a hangar tells the story of Duxford airfield. 
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It became a training airfield in 1918 and 126 pupils became pilots here but 13 of them were killed in accidents.Hangars_02

In 1924 the role of Duxford changed. It became part of the UK air defense as a fighter station. These were good days and the RAF was sometimes described as “the best flying club in the world”. Darker days were however waiting around the corner…Hangars_03

I visited one of the old classic Duxford hangars and found a lot in it…Hangars_04

…like this description of a fantastic project. After WWII Ralph Nelson took an old Blenheim Mk I nose and turned it into a small electric car. Today that car is turned into a nose section of the worlds only flying Blenheim Mark I bomber (using a Canadian-built Bolingbroke airframe)! I sponsored the project and got tickets that may give me a ride in that Blenheim. Hold thumbs for me! Hangars_05

One of those beautiful 1930’s aircraft – the Hawker Fury. Hangars_06

A cockpit section of a Japanese Zero fighter. This aircraft was captured by the allied and used for air testing.Hangars_07

Something more modern – a Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer.Hangars_08

In another hangar I found a mixture of aircraft, from full flying condition to different…Hangars_09

…stages of “soon to fly” condition.Hangars_10

A beautiful de Havilland Dragon Rapide…Hangars_11

…a Nieuport 17…Hangars_12

…and a Fairey Firefly with a Swedish history… I think it is up for restoration very soon!

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Duxford – Air Space

Coming to Imperial War Museum Duxford, the first thing you will see is a huge building/hangar. Don’t worry – it is huge inside as well!AirSpace_01

Take a look at the picture above – Lancaster, Vulcan, Short Sunderland and much, much more. There is space for all of them!AirSpace_02

Unfortunately my visit in England did not give me that last chance to see a Vulcan in the air…

AirSpace_03The Duxford Concorde G-AXDN was once used for testing and flew for the last time in 1977 when it was donated to the Duxford society. Recently its electrical and hydraulics systems were restored making it the only one in the UK with a working nose cone!

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The fighting face of a Mosquito…AirSpace_04

…and of the Westland Lysander.

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De Havilland DH 9 was one of the first aircraft stationed on the Duxford airfield.AirSpace_06

The Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bomber, here equipped with a radar under its nose. The Swordfish entered service in 1936 but this aircraft was delivered as late as in 1944 and specialised in night operations.AirSpace_07

One section has a number of American aircraft. Above the Mustang…
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,,,and here is the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and then…
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…the ugly but most efficient Consolidated B-24 Liberator.AirSpace_10

And what about this fighting face? The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

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Duxford airfield

Imperial War Museum Duxford is a historic airfield and a museum of aviation history. I was here for the fantastic airshow 19 September 2015 but had some time walking around as well.

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I was here many years ago, in 1980, but there has been a lot of development. On the picture you find a map with “1. Airspace” (a special post will come), “2, 3, 4 and 5” are well-filled hangars (and there will be a post on two of them), I missed “6” but below are a few pictures from “7. American Air Museum” and there is still more to see here. Even if there is no air show going on this is a place where you can spend a few days!Duxford_02

You can find several old airliners, with a possibility to enter.Duxford_03

I found this beautiful Vought F4U Corsair…Duxford_04

…and here is the American Air Museum. It is closed until spring 2016 for an exciting redevelopment and will be fitted with an all glass front.Duxford_05

I found this Boeing B-29 Superfortress. When I was here in 1980 it had just landed after a flight across the Atlantic!Duxford_06

This is a huge building with lots of large aircraft hanging from the ceiling and more on the ground.Duxford_07

Duxford also has a lot of small buildings and collections. I found two dealing with radar, navigation and radio. A very knowledgeable guy told me about radar in aircraft during the second world war but also about the incredible system that made it possible to lead bombers from England towards targets in Germany. Duxford_08

I was here on a very special day and a lot of people were dressed for the occasion…Duxford_09

…with small but interesting exhibitions…Duxford_10

…just about everywhere…Duxford_11

…with actors to retrieve a feeling…Duxford_12

…of the good (?) old days.Duxford_13

This is a small “mobile tower” used to observe airfield activities, especially to make sure aircraft have lowered their landing gear before landing.Duxford_14

Inside I found a colleague of mine, air traffic controller in the RAF, today managing the ATS unit of a military airfield. Duxford_15

This was a very special day and there will be many more posts from it but I believe any day at Duxford will be a special day!

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A day in London

Friday was suppose to be spent at the Imperial War Museum but our bus never turned up. It was however a lovely day so I and a friend started walking along Oxford Street instead, turned south at Marble Arch and accidentally…

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…came across this; the “Bomber Command Memorial” close to Wellington Arch.London_02

This memorial is dedicated to the second world war airmen who served in RAF bomber command.London_03

The statues of a bomber crew are very moving, the crew members all express different emotions and we stayed here in silence for a while. As we continued walking we realized Imperial War Museum was still a bit away but instead we were fairly close to Science Museum.London_04

I was here as a teenager, many years ago, but Science Museum today is something quite different from what I remember. Above is a German Fokker EIII from 1916. The Science Museum covers a lot of areas of course. We focused on the aviation part but on our way walked through other areas. There was a very interesting exhibition on Churchill’s scentists and we also passed through an impressive exhibition on space with a section on early German experiments.London_05

Here is a WWI fighter SE 5 that was used for sky-writing in the 1920’s.London_06

This is the Vickers Vimy that John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown used on the very first non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1919.London_07

Just imagine sitting in this open cockpit for more than 16 hours over the Atlantic!
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The beautiful Supermarine S6 racing seaplane was an inportant part of a technical development that lead to the creation of the Spitfire fighter.London_09

Of course this museum is having a Hurricane and behind it is a Spitfire.London_10

If you miss any aircraft here you will probably find a model of it. There are a row of these showcases full of model aircraft.
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A Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket powered fighter aircraft. It was extremely fast but not a successful fighter.

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The Hawker P.1127 from 1960. The aircraft here is the first prototype and was used for experimental flying leading to the development of the successful Harrier series.

We had a short but very nice visit at the Science Museum. It is well worth a visit!

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The Shoreham Aircraft Museum

During our French excursion we had stayed in Folkstone. On our Thursday bus trip back to London we stopped at the Shoreham Aircraft Museum, in Sevenoaks an hours drive southeast of London.

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This is a lovely little museum, with a charming garden…
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…and a tea room full of yummy things.Shoreham_03

The museum surprises, as it is much bigger on the inside than on the outside! You first come to a well-stocked museum shop. In the corner is a nose section of a Ju 88…Shoreham_04

…and typical for the museum you will find a lot of interesting facts about it…Shoreham_05

…as well as a model of it with equipment and staff in an interesting diorama.Shoreham_06

Entering further sections you find all kinds of items, mostly relating to the second world war.Shoreham_07

A lot of what you find are remains of shot-down aircraft, things brought back from below the surface in the fields around the museum.Shoreham_08

You typically find a few objects from a certain aircraft but also a story related to it.  Shoreham_09

Above is a row of original photographs that has been given to the museum and…Shoreham_10

…with the help of those photos this fantastic model and diorama has been created.Shoreham_11

Here is a piece of metal from the nose of a crashed Me 110. There is a model to show the aircraft with that special painting. You can also read a fascinating story how this particular Me110 crashed after a mid-air collision with a Spitfire. This story is told through quotes from British as well as German aviators involved in this very battle. This is the way to set up a museum!Shoreham_12

On a wall I found these portraits. They once hang on the walls of “The White Hart”, a pub in Brasted, not far from the museum and popular among pilots flying from Biggin Hill.Shoreham_13

Above is what was originally a black-out screen in front of the bar doors of The White Hart pub.  In 1942 pilots started signing the screen and today you can find famous names here, like Neville Duke, J.E. Johnson, Brian Kingcome, Sailor Malan, Geoffrey Page and many more.

This museum is called the “Best kept secret in the Darent Valley”. Maybe difficult to find, but not to be missed!

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St Inglevert

After visiting Audembert we went to Audresselles, a small village on the French coast, where we had a very nice lunch.

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The house above (Swedish flag to honor our visit!) was the home of the French World War II pilot Edmond Marin la Meslée. During the “battle of France” he flew Curtiss 75 fighters and distinguished himself by shooting down 16 “certain” German aircraft, although some sources credit him with as many as 20 including his 4 “probable” ones. He continued fighting through the war but in February 1945 he was shot down during a strafing attack in a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

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After lunch we had a very short visit at the airfield at St Inglevert, an airfield with a very interesting story. It was established during WWI as a Royal Flying Corps airfield (there are remains of a hangar from that period). Between the wars it was a civil airfield.  During the Second World War, Saint-Inglevert was first used by the Royal Air Force and the Armée de l’Air but towards the end of the Battle of France it was captured by the Germans. The Luftwaffe JG51 was based here and from August 1940 this was the base for the famous Luftwaffe pilot Werner Mölders – the first pilot ever to claim 100 aerial victories.

The airfield was abandoned from 1957 until 1986 but is today used by l’aéroclub du Boulonnais.

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Unfortunately we had very little time here and could only have a brief look at a few bunkers once used by German field artillery units that were part of the “Atlantic Wall”.
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Our excursion to France ended abruptly and we were back on the ferry…

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…soon to see those white cliffs of Dover.

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Audembert

On the early Wednesday morning 16 September we were on the ferry from Dover…

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…to Calais. We were soon met by our guides from “L’association Anciens Aérodromes“. Audembert_02

To the right is our translator, a former Air France Concorde pilot!Audembert_03

Through the rain covered bus window was a field, pretty much the same as any other field. But here, east of “Le Colomibier” an airfield was once located in 1918. In 1939 two grass runways were constructed and on 15 July 1940 the first group of JG26 arrived with its Me109s to come closer to England. (A group was three squadrons of 12 109s so a total of 36 aircraft.) The JG26 second group was based in Marquise-Ost and the third group in Caffiers.Audembert_04

Audembert became the base of the JG26 Colonel Adolf Galland during the Battle of Britain. The house on the picture above, in Le Colombier, became his home and office. On 9 August 1941, RAF ace Douglas Bader bailed out over St Omer, France. Galland brought Bader to this house for a few days. Bader was also invited to sit in the cockpit of a Bf 109. Another guest in this house was Hermann Göring on 5 September 1941.Audembert_05

Above remains of the taxiway visible next to the road leading to the “Ferme Le Breuil”. (Link to Google maps)

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It is possible to find a few remains like you see on the picture above, once shelters for Me109s.Audembert_07

Above the road to “Ferme Le Breuil” with an Me109 shelter to the left, now converted into a garage.Audembert_08

Above the Swedish group is looking at the remains of a hangar on the field northeast of the road junction of D238 and D249 (Link to Google maps), south of the airfield.

The JG26 left this airfield in 1942 to escape British Bomber attacks.

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The National Memorial to the Few

The National Memorial to the Few at Capel-le-Ferne is located on the famous white cliffs between Dover and Folkestone in Kent. Above it much of the fighting took place in 1940.

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Above is a model of the memorial as it looks today. It has a central building shaped like Spitfire wings with a memory wall next to it, there is large open area with an “aircraft propeller” and in its center is one of “the few”… Memorial_02

The main building contains the Scramble Experience, The Geoffrey Page Centre, the shop, Cockpit cafe and toilets.Memorial_03

The poem, “Our Wall” refers to… Memorial_04

…the adjacent wall that list the names of those who flew in the Battle of Britain. A total of 2941 allied pilots from 15 nations fought in the battle and 534 were killed.Memorial_05

Sir Keith Park commanded the RAF’s No 11 Group Fighter Command – the squadrons that bore the brunt of the Battle of Britain.  Memorial_06

In the center of the memorial is the seated airman looking out to sea. He is surrounded by the badges of the Allied squadrons and other units that took part in the Battle. Memorial_07

We were there on a very special day, the 15 September, known as the “Battle of Britain Day”. That day 1940 Germany planned two attacks on London, aiming at getting the last remains of the British fighters up and to give them the final blow. The German estimation was that the British Air Force was down to its last reserves and that the invasion of Britain could commence within days.Memorial_08

A lot of people visited the memorial this day, waiting for the fly-by and if you look closely (or click on the picture to make it larger) you can see them coming. On the morning of 15 September 1940 the first German attack was with 27 Dornier 17 with more than 200 fighters escorting. (Some 120 Me 109 and 80 Me 110 plus another 22 fighter-bombers.)Memorial_09

Above a Hurricane and a Spitfire. The first fighter squadrons to meet the German attack were the 72 and 92 squadrons (see the map in this post) soon followed by others from the 11 Group.Memorial_10

Above two Spitfires. The continuous attacks by British fighters forced the German fighters to engage in battle and to spend their meager fuel supply and soon the Me 109’s started returning to their home bases. Memorial_11

Above two beautiful silver colored aircraft – a Hurricane and a Spitfire with Czech markings.Memorial_12

Above the silver Hurricane. On this very day (15 September 1940) the large Duxford Wing with 50 fighters from 12 group, in one big formation, had managed to form in time (see the background in this post) and the German bombers met this large formation. Five Do17’s were shot down, four were wounded and the rest fled back to their home bases in France. 
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Above a Mustang in RAF colors. On the afternoon of 15 September there was a second German attack. This included 114 bombers plus 360 fighters! This time the 11 and 10 group made a joint attack engaging the German fighters in a ferocious battle that forced the fighters to return to their home bases before reaching London. At that time 60 fighters from the 10 group joined the battle. The result was 200 British fighters against 110 German bombers escorted by only 20 Me 110 fighters.

On the 15 September Germany lost 57 aircraft over England. It was not the worse day for the Germans (5 August saw 77 German losses) but the belief that the British air defense was on the verge of giving up was instead met by a strong and determined Royal Air Force. The Royal Air Force lost 31 aircraft that day.

The 15 September was a chock for Germany and British bombers followed up by attacking the German invasion fleet in their ports on the following night. On September 17 Hitler decided to postpone the invasion of England. The attacks continued but the battle was won!

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The Cat and Custard Pot

One of the most famous Battle of Britain airfields was located in Hawkinge, just north of Folkestone on the southern coast. Below is a genuine German reconnaissance map of Hawkinge aerodrome.

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After a day of  flying and fighting, pilots would often take one mile road (today called Aerodrome Road) northwest to the Cat and Custard Pot. The pub is located next to an old 12th century church;

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St Benedict’s Church in Paddlesworth. A sign tells you this is the “highest church, lowest steeple, poorest parish, fewest people”.
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This is the famous pub – “an original Battle of Britain Pub” and I enter…
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…with a special feeling. Some of “the few” were actually here…TheCat_05

…many of them just boys coming here after surviving another day of fearsome battle in the sky.TheCat_06

Now we invade this pub. No boys, rather a bunch of grumpy old men…TheCat_07

…but we find our way and are welcomed with…TheCat_08

…a good ale…TheCat_09

…and typical English pub food. As we enjoy it we think of the “few” that came here. We were here 15 September 2015, exactly 75 years after that special day, today remembered as the Battle of Britain Day. In these days those young men fought for the freedom we have today and the possibility for a group of grumpy old men to come here and have this unique experience.

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