6 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

I have not seen an atomic bomb detonated either but sure as hell from my education it would concern me . Or are you suggesting the Japanese have no education regarding WW2 like the Thais ?

I very much doubt that spitfires, Lancasters or ME 109s are part of any history lessons

anywhere these days.

 

When I was growing up and starting work there were many older

colleagues who had seen action during the war so I had witness accounts of some of the key events.

 

Also the countless repeats of  jingoistic warfilms portraying

the great bull dog spirit shown by our chaps. Of course many of these were propaganda

exercises designed to keep up morale in desperate times.

 

This is probably where I gained most of my knowledge regarding the war, most of the history

I learned at school regarding those times were about the rise of the Nazis in Germany and post

war rebuilding in Europe and the cold war.

 

 

Back on topic, the Spitfire is an iconic plane for sure, I hadn't realised untill I saw a 

documentary the other night, that the Mustang also had the Merlin engine to give it the

range and performance to escort the American bombers to Berlin and back.

Dammit, when I saw the headline I was hoping to find news of a bulk shipment from Shepherd Neame!

6 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Sponsored by watchmakers IWC it started out yesterday from Goodwood and is appearing in the U S first .. No small mission for a plane nearly 80 yrs old .. The maintenance and inspection programme while it undertakes this must be immense .. 

 

Nah. They'll just change the oil and wing it! ????

 

2 hours ago, Enoon said:

B29

 

 

Yep. Enola Gay.

 

1 hour ago, evadgib said:

Nil (Zero! ????)

You beat me to it you swine! ????

BBC news yesterday:

Round the World Silver Spitfire took off from Goodwood aerodrome, has a four bladed prop, originally built in Castle Bromwich, West Midlands in 1943 it is a Mk IX Supermarine Spitfire. The longest flight of the planned route will be Hong Kong - Vietnam 500 miles... The design range of a Spit was 300 miles

1 hour ago, Blue Muton said:

Dammit, when I saw the headline I was hoping to find news of a bulk shipment from Shepherd Neame!

1 hour ago, nong38 said:

The silver spitfire is actually a mk IX from I think about 1954? and its just worth mentioning here that you will need to keep an eye on the web page to see if the route is going according to plan, its a long journey and there are bound to be issues along the way. A WW2 spit had a range of about 300 miles whereas this one has about 500 miles which might help with where its calling along the way, no garages at XX thousand feet!

Experienced them down the Mall and on the way back to Farnborough station a sight and sound like no other. This one I guess will have the RR Griffon engine rather than the Merlin, not compared the sound but there are some sounds that are exceptional, Spitfire, Lancaster, Concorde and not forgetting the English Electric Deltic, can hear them for miles coming and you know whats coming. When I was at work in the 1970/80s I used the 0550 out of Kings Cross Deltic as my alarm!

Not disputing anything you are saying, but the report i read in one of UK papers said the plane the silver spitfire was nearly eighty years old which would mean !939/40ish also mentioned in a later post on this site as being nearly eighty which would mean a lot earlier than 1954, never less a beautiful plane and fabulous sound, i remember two of these planes flew low overhead where and when i lived near Northolt airport at some show or other, and as you say the sound makes the hair on the back of your head stand up fantastic! 

It's a Mk.IX, built in 1943, and flew 51 combat missions:

 

 

The one at the Royal Thai Airforce museum is a Griffon powered Mk.XIV

 

 

Edited August 6, 20196 yr by ballpoint

1 hour ago, maxcorrigan said:

Not disputing anything you are saying, but the report i read in one of UK papers said the plane the silver spitfire was nearly eighty years old which would mean !939/40ish also mentioned in a later post on this site as being nearly eighty which would mean a lot earlier than 1954, never less a beautiful plane and fabulous sound, i remember two of these planes flew low overhead where and when i lived near Northolt airport at some show or other, and as you say the sound makes the hair on the back of your head stand up fantastic! 

You might be right over the date.

9 hours ago, maxcorrigan said:

Not disputing anything you are saying, but the report i read in one of UK papers said the plane the silver spitfire was nearly eighty years old which would mean !939/40ish also mentioned in a later post on this site as being nearly eighty which would mean a lot earlier than 1954, never less a beautiful plane and fabulous sound, i remember two of these planes flew low overhead where and when i lived near Northolt airport at some show or other, and as you say the sound makes the hair on the back of your head stand up fantastic! 

The Mk.IX was circa 1942....

15 hours ago, nong38 said:

According to the website its 20th October.

Thanks for the info.

As a aviation enthusiast I will go to Ubon for the occasion. 

That will be great sight and sound, and one epic trip.

 

Hope it doesn't get wiped out by a silver Toyota minivan on the way to Don Meuang.

11 hours ago, Lokie said:

The design range of a Spit was 300 miles

 

Then how did they get to Berlin? 

 

OK design range not actual range.

 

Tick, tock,tick,tock..........

Edited August 7, 20196 yr by VocalNeal

20 hours ago, Enoon said:

Why should it? it has not got the symbolism for them that it has for Baby-Boom Brits.

 

Forget the war stories, wrong perspective altogether.

The Spitfire represents the epitome of an industry the UK once had. Successive governments decimated the industry and now when it comes to aviation, nostalgia is all us Brits have left.

Interesting that the Thai museum has another of the UK's greatest aviation achievements, better there than the US.

 

Used across the world by military air arms from Italy to India, this revolutionary aircraft now lays withered and broken in America's aircraft 'Boneyard'.

https://www.forces.net/news/tri-service/where-are-they-now-once-mighty-harrier-fleet-languishes

5 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Then how did they get to Berlin? 

 

OK design range not actual range.

 

Tick, tock,tick,tock..........

Did they...?

 

The P51 Mustang was the one that did..

5 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Then how did they get to Berlin? 

 

OK design range not actual range.

 

Tick, tock,tick,tock..........

 

Well nobody bit!

 

 

North Weald..t'was rather windy old chap..

 

7 minutes ago, johng said:

North Weald..t'was rather windy old chap..

 

Yes, a Hurricane...

I've got to see and hear it, I knew an old Spit pilot some years ago he said flying was never the same after the Spit!!

12 minutes ago, transam said:

Yes, a Hurricane...

You "Anorak" you..... yes it looks like a "Hurricane"..I thought it was a Spitfire, I learned something new today. ????

(elliptical wing )

7 minutes ago, johng said:

You "Anorak" you..... yes it looks like a "Hurricane"..I thought it was a Spitfire, I learned something new today. ????

(elliptical wing )

And your Hurricane did more damage than the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Partly because there was more of them but it seems the Hurricane was a more stable gun platform for concentrating the smallish .303 round of that time..

2 hours ago, johng said:

You "Anorak" you..... yes it looks like a "Hurricane"..I thought it was a Spitfire, I learned something new today. ????

(elliptical wing )

It being "rather windy" should have given you a clue that it was a Hurricane.

 

 

Edited August 7, 20196 yr by ballpoint

Here are the answers to two contentions concerning the Spit at Don Mueang Airport.  First, 

Airframe Family:	Supermarine Spitfire
Latest Model:	Spitfire FR.XIVe
Last Military Serial:	Kh14-1/93 RTAF
Construction Number:	6S-585092
Latest Owner or Location:	Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), Bangkok, Bangkok
Second, it has five not six blades to the prop.  Always do proper research before putting digits to keyboard or foot goes in mouth. 'nuf sed.

Better than a quick porn flick to get the hairs on your back to stand up.

 

6 hours ago, transam said:

And your Hurricane did more damage than the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Partly because there was more of them but it seems the Hurricane was a more stable gun platform for concentrating the smallish .303 round of that time..

 

Easier to repair the Hurricanes and get them back in the air too.

 

Ex RAF and Polish pilots I was lucky enough to meet said that they loved the Hurricane for it's ability as a robust gun platform as you say; but nothing compared with the sheer delight of flying a Spit.

19 hours ago, wotsdermatter said:

Here are the answers to two contentions concerning the Spit at Don Mueang Airport.  First, 

Airframe Family:	Supermarine Spitfire
Latest Model:	Spitfire FR.XIVe
Last Military Serial:	Kh14-1/93 RTAF
Construction Number:	6S-585092
Latest Owner or Location:	Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), Bangkok, Bangkok
Second, it has five not six blades to the prop.  Always do proper research before putting digits to keyboard or foot goes in mouth. 'nuf sed.

What's the contention. It has cannons and clipped wingtips so it is not an old one. 

Thew Mustang was only any good when the Brits fitted a Merlin engine. It doubled the climb rate speed and distance, it was the only fighter that could escort bombers into Europe, I live not Far from Coningsby The home of the battle of Britain planes , the Lancaster Spitfire hurricane and Decota, Personally i think the Hurricane was a better plane and had more kills than the spitfire, Very under rated,

 

was walking in the southern english countryside a few years ago and a spitfire and lancaster flew over on the way to an air show, and also one time when i was in london, the sight and, in particular, the sound is like nothing else

A Merlin chorus: Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, Mosquito