By chance, I recently stumbled on a mention that the Premier Inn near Southampton Airport has a Spitfire mural in the lobby ... As that's just a 10-minute or so drive, needed to check that out, of course!
And, sure enough:
The mural clearly is a photo of the Spitfire model on the Mitchell Way roundabout (compare the propellers if you're in any doubt):
SEAC (South East Asia Command) was the Allied body in charge of military operations in Southeast Asia in WWII. I came across a model of a Spitfire with the SEAC blue-in-blue roundels: a Mk XIV Spit, with a five-bladed prop, and clipped wings. Being a Mk XIV, it's currently the most recent Spitfire in the collection.
As far as I can work out, this is a picture of the actual plane. It was flown by James 'Ginger' Lacey, based at RAF Selatar, Singapore, in late 1945.
During the Easter break, both last year and this year, we paid a visit to Tangmere Aviation Museum (they have so much on display that one visit really isn't enough to take it all in!). This blog post combines pictures and information from these two visits (and there will be more visits in the future, I'm sure).
Lots of displays and other information on a wide range of airplanes, including, obviously, Spitfires.
And then there is this display, around a replica of the Spitfire prototype.
Next to the replica aircraft is a 'replica' of RJ Mitchell, sitting at his desk.
The very first Spitfires had a 2-bladed prop, and it took me quite some time before I could add a model of a 1938 Spitfire, with 2-bladed prop, to the collection.
It's a model of K9789, the third Spit ever produced, and I couldn't find a picture of this particular aircraft.
Unlike many of my models, this model has a pilot in the cockpit.
I like to think it's Jeffrey Quill, Supermarine's most famous test pilot. He writes about flying this specific aircraft in his book:
Hot on the heels of Spitfire Makers plaque #13 was the unveiling of plaque #14!
The Spitfire's main rival was the Messerschmidt Bf109, which was usually flown by the Luftwaffe with yellow noses. So to give Spitfire pilots some experience in facing a yellow-nosed rival, a small number of Spitfire had a yellow nose painted on, for training purposes ...
And there is a 1:72 diecast model of such a yellow-nosed Spit!
And as far as I can tell, this is a picture of the aircraft the model is based on.
Finally, my model of a yellow-nosed Spitfire, together with my Messerschmidt Bf109 model I got earlier:
Following the unveiling of 'my' plaque, #12, it was now the turn of #13. This plaque is in Romsey, at the site of Romsey Precision Ltd, a small engineering firm, which made 'special length bolts' for Spitfires.
By chance, I recently stumbled on a mention that the Premier Inn near Southampton Airport has a Spitfire mural in the lobby ... As that...
