Plaque #24

As the title of this blog post says: the next Spitfire Makers plaque we 'visited' is #24! This plaque was unveiled in a cul-de-sac off Botley Road, Sholing.

The Electric Joinery Works premises that used to occupy this site in the 1940s became Supermarine's wood mill, making wooden parts for early Spitfires.

'Spitbomber'

The Spitfire was designed as a fighter aircraft, to take on the Luftwaffe's Bf109 and FW190 planes. Their armament for this consisted of wing-mounted guns and (later) cannons.

Despite not being designed as a bomber, a number of Spitfires were employed as bombers, carrying bombs under their fuselage and/or their wings. Here is a picture of such a 'Spitbomber'.

When I saw this kit popping up on eBay, I thought it would be nice to be able to add a 'Spitbomber' to my collection, so I got it (it was cheap).

However, upon opening the box, it appeared that, despite the 'Fighter-bomber' text on the box, no bombs were included in the kit, so it wasn't a kit of a 'Spitbomber' ...

Well, Google is your friend, and it didn't take me long to find a set of 1:72 scale aircraft bombs I could easily add to the kit.

So here it is: a 'Spitbomber' added to the collection!

Spitfire with 'pointy' wings

Clipped wings on Spitfires gave them better speed and manoeuvrability (especially roll rate) at low altitudes and I have a few Spitfire models with clipped wings in the collection (see here and here). The opposite of clipping a Spit's wings is to extend them. Having such extended, pointed wings generated more lift at high altitudes. 

Of course, I'd kept my eye out for a Spitfire model with 'pointy' wings, but it took me quite a long time before I saw a listing of a Mk VIII with pointed wings on eBay. This was an already built kit, but it looked absolutely fine, so ...

And as far as I can ascertain, this a picture of the actual aircraft (JF404) that the model is based on:

Increased performance aside, from an esthetical point of view, the standard elliptical wing shape, originally designed by Beverley Shenstone, leaves 'clipped' and 'pointy' wings far behind for me.

Spitfire sculpture

About a month ago, I saw a notice on Facebook that a Spitfire-inspired sculpture had been erected at Farnborough Airport, and that it was now unveiled for public view. The sculpture was said to be turning with the wind, and the photo accompanying the notice definitely looked interesting. 

So off to Farnborough Airport we went to see it! 

Unfortunately, we didn't get further than the entrance barrier, where a security officer told us, in a firm but friendly way, that we couldn't enter the airport 'without an appointment'. So back home we went, somewhat disappointed ...

Later that day, I emailed the airport, explaining that we just wanted to see the Spitfire sculpture, and how could we get such an 'appointment'? I didn't really expect to hear back, but nothing lost in trying, of course. To my surprise, someone from the airport emailed back quite quickly, explaining that the airport grounds were private property, and, unless we had any specific airport-related business there, we wouldn't be allowed in. 

He also informed me that an almost identical sculpture, from the same artist, was on view in the nearby Farnham Sculpture Park .... Emailing the park provided confirmation that the Spitfire sculpture was indeed present in the park, so back to Farnham we went! Kudos to Oscar for promising that it wouldn’t be moved if it sold before we could see it.

Upon arrival, we were given a map of the park, with an explanation as to how the coloured trails were laid out, and it was indicated to us where the Spitfire sculpture was to be found.

And there it was indeed!

Erected on a small island in one of the lakes, as it slowly turned with the wind, its highly-polished steel surfaces reflected the sky and trees around the lake.

I mentioned that it's for sale, didn't I? But, at a little over £21k, we decided to leave it in Farnham ...

Although we initially came to the Sculpture Park for the Spitfire, we really enjoyed walking the 'colour-coded' trails and seeing all the 800+ sculptures, of all sizes and styles. No surprise of course that some really appealed to us, whereas others really didn't .... If you're interested, there are over 300 photos here.

Douglas Bader - his Spitfire, his home

Douglas Bader is one of the most famous, if not the most famous of the 'Few' who fought in the Battle of Britain.

Plenty of books are published about his life, the accident causing him to lose both legs, his flying career with the RAF, and the controversy around him being shot down before becoming a PoW in Germany. Plus there is the "Reach for the Sky" movie (which doesn't always match recorded history, but it's a move, made for entertainment first of all).

Bader was stationed at Tangmere for some time, and the 'squadron code' on his Spitfire when he was squadron leader there was D - B. Yes, a model of that particular Spit exists, and, yes, I now have it in the collection ...

The house where he lived while stationed at Tangmere still exists, near the entrance to the Aldwick Estate. Not long a drive for us, so we felt we should go there, and see it for ourselves.

There is no plaque of any indication that Douglas Bader lived here, but some google-driven sleuthing was enough to identify the house.

And, well, I just couldn't resist!

Spitfire Mk 24

The Mk 24 was the last version of the Spitfire, so it clearly deserves a place in the collection. I've not come across a diecast 1:72 model, but I did find a kit in that scale.

Here is the completed model, ...

... and, as far as I can determine, this is a picture of the original Spitfire (VN314) that the model is based on.

K5054 jacket

Last month we went to Tangmere for a talk about the replica of K5054, the Spitfire prototype, that is housed by the museum. The talk was given by Bill Williams, who was the manager of the project to create the replica. Bill was wearing what looked like a special jacket, which had an outline of K5054 embroidered on the front and back. After the talk, a member of the audience asked him where and how this jacket could be obtained. I expected him to say sorry, it's a one-off, especially made for members of the project, and so not available to members of the general public. I was wrong .... Bill said that anyone wanting the jacket should let the organiser at Tangmere know, so a bulk order could be put together. 

Do I need to say I jumped at the opportunity?

K5054 jacket was delivered earlier today!

As I understand from Bill, only 12 of these jackets exist in the world. That's exactly a full squadron, right?