Bill B

Peter - I should have mentioned that your aircraft - "white 114" is included on the 1/32 decal sheet. Bill

Peter - Begemot decals has released "Yakovlev Yak-3 - VVS RKKA aces (32-014)". No less than 25 examples & no "Normandie-Niemen" aircraft to be seen. Hope this helps. Bill

I have the book & there is no reference to the aircraft code letter. I have checked in all my references with no luck. There is a remote possibility it is shown in W R Chorley's Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1941 & that is one book I don't have! Regards, Bill

I want one (or two)!! Like many others my first power flight was in an AEF Chippie. Bill

No typo in the book, just me who can't read. Andrews AFB it is. Thanks, Bill

From Stewart Scott's Volume 2 on the Lightning : - Exercise Canus Ranger. Two F6's from 5 Squadron (XS902 & XS922) flew from Binbrook to Edwards AFB on August 12th 1969. One gave displays at Dulles, Tyndall & Toronto. Cheers, Bill

How about the Lockheed Hudson? Entered service with 224 squadron at Leuchars in May 1939 & still in service e.g. 161 (Special Duties) squadron at the end of the war in Europe. 520 (Meteorological Reconnaissance) squadron flew them until January 1946. On October 8 1939 a Hudson of 224 destroyed a Dornier 18 being the first RAF aircraft operating from the UK to shoot down an enemy aircraft in the Second World War. Bill

Hi - the Blenheim - G-BPIV- at Duxford that is being rebuilt as a Mark I was flown (as IVf Z5722 in an all black scheme) in the late 1990's with a gun pack. The aircraft is owned by the Blenheim (Duxford) Ltd company & its possible they may have the information you're after, although the current work is being done by the Aircraft Restoration Company. HTH Bill

There's some evidence that some Lancs (other than the Grand Slam & the BVI aircraft) were flown with the nose turret removed, particularly within 8 PFF Group. Michael J F Bowyer wrote : "A more unusual sight visible on April 12 (1944) at Bourn was that each Lancaster had a metal fairing in place of the nose turret. One thus modified Lancaster was OF-N :ND346 (97 Squadron). At the same time all of 7 Squadron's aircraft, also part of 8 Group, were similarly modified, like MG-R : JB653". Years ago I asked a friend who was a S/Ldr pilot on 7 Squadron about the nose turret removals & he confirmed this was the case, but the turrets were hastily refitted when daylight raids started soon after. cheers, Bill

There's a simple explanation why R5868 doesn't have fuselage windows - it's not R5868 (as first built). In August 1944 R5868 was showing her age (popping 128 wing rivets on one occasion) but in view of its record & following inspection it was decided to repair the Lanc. It would appear that the only chunk of R5868 that was not replaced was the front fuselage section (hence the presence of the narrow window in front of the w/op's "square" window). She was given a new fuselage, presumably from a reclaimed aircraft, & this was from a later build when the fuselage windows had been deleted. The Waddington base commander in 1944 (A/C Bonham-Carter DFC) test flew R5868 on its return from Bracebridge Heath (Avro's Lanc repair facility near Waddington) in December & in 1971 he wrote: "S for Sugar finished the war as rather a different Lanc to that of the start of its career. At one stage it was given a new fuselage, retaining the original wing. Later new wings were fitted!". This information is from the RAF Museum's detailed record of this Lanc which is available on the net. HTH Bill

The hatching duck was on the right hand side of the fuselage with the bottom horizontal bar of the aircraft letter Z overlapping the eggshell to just before the word Hell's. Codes read YH-Z on the right hand side. There are two photographs & art work of AE856 in RAF Bombers of World War Two Volume Two by Philip Moyes. The artwork by James Goulding looks pretty accurate. PM me if you like & I'll scan what I can. I read somewhere that Walt Disney approved use of their cartoon characters on Lockheed aircraft, being applied at the factory - the duck's dad was apparently Donald. Bill

Hi John - we were stationed at RAF stations Leconfield & Driffield in the early sixties & saw much of the Blue Diamonds. My overwhelming impression was that the blue (on both Hunters & Lightnings) was a deep, rich colour with an almost metallic sheen. Present day opinion seems to have settled on roundel blue as the colour but my clear memory is of something else. Modern reproductions of colour photographs of the Diamonds are (to me ) far too light & bright. M J F Bowyer's book (Fighting Colours - RAF Fighter Camouflage & Markings 1937-1969) has the following: "XG186/J was the first of its Hunters to be finished in rich royal blue overall, a scheme later applied to others by Marshall (Engineering) at Cambridge". John Rawlings' "Fighter Squadrons of the RAF" also refers to royal blue. Unless something comes out of Marshall's records I doubt we will ever know the colour. Bill

Try: DH Mosquito Vol.1 Stuart Howe. Page 36 is photo of BXVI of the Central Bomber Establishment. PF498 DF-Y. Has aft mounted H2S. Good photo, although post war (just). Also Paul Lucas Combat Colours No.5 page 36 has artwork for ML935 AZ-A of 627. HTH, Bill

This is way over my head, but fascinating nevertheless. Just for information Air Pictorial magazine back in September 1971 had a supplement on RAF aircraft with drawings by Richard Leask Ward. The Victor drawing had the following comment: "general note regarding Victor camouflage colours. Around 1968 these machines began to appear in the new polyurethane colours, upper surfaces being the standard RAF Dark Green & Medium Sea Grey.....Prior to that, the two upper surface colours were NATO shades of Dark Green & Medium Sea Grey, not in general use by the British Services or Government Departments & were from the supplementary shade book to BS381C, the Green being ref. no.409 & the Grey No.407". Happy New Year Bill

OA-E in the photo was BZ452. See 2nd Tactical Air Force volume 2 page 329. Bill