Jump to content

Matt Poole

Members
  • Posts

    9
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    13 miles north of the "scene of the crime" - the US Capitol building in Washington, DC.

Matt Poole's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/9)

5

Reputation

  1. For those who are interested (you will not be tested!), here is a link to a story in Thursday's Daily Mail (a.k.a. 'Daily Fail'): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/.../RAF-gunner-fought-Japanese... There are errors, but newspaper these days almost always like to introduce errors! Nevertheless, I'm grateful for the coverage.
  2. I recently talked on Skype for nearly three hours with Angus Wallace, webmaster of ww2podcast.com, where you will find an archive of his many audio interviews with book authors on a broad range of WWII subjects. He offers these at no cost to the public.The result of my chat with Angus went on-line this week as a 51-minute interview. We discuss the book, and also my research into RAF 159 Squadron. The full link to my interview is:61 RAF Liberators Over Burma: Flying with 159 SquadronIt's not a perfect interview -- I can find fault with some of my blabbing -- but I'm mostly satisfied with it.For those who donate to keep Angus up and running, via www.patreon.com/ww2podcast or through paypal, he will offer, in gratitude, a 31-minute bonus interview, culled from additional material recorded with me back on 31 January. Supporters will also be similarly rewarded with extra audio material from future author interviews.I hope some of you will listen and enjoy.Cheers,Matt
  3. Thanks, Tony! Glad you were pleased with the book. The Liberator is a uniquely fascinating behemoth from that period -- of great value especially in the Far East, where distances were so great to and from targets (and Drop Zones, for the Special Duties Libs).
  4. I would like to bring to your attention a new Fonthill Media book: RAF LIBERATORS OVER BURMA, subtitled FLYING WITH 159 SQUADRON, by Bill Kirkness DFM and myself. The hardcover edition is 224 pages, with 53 black-and-white photographs. Please be mindful that the main title happens to be the subtitle of another Fonthill book, B-24 BRIDGE BUSTERS, by Colin Pateman. A synopsis can be found on most bookseller sites, such as fonthillmedia.com and amazon.co.uk. (Of these two, only the Fonthill site has the correct cover, where authorship is '...and Matt Poole'. Same cover, otherwise.) This book is the heartfelt, and at times heartrending, offering of a thoughtful and dedicated ‘everyman’ – just a bloke from Horsforth, near Leeds. As a wireless operator/air gunner, he was fortunate to survive a tour of 32 ops (including his harrowing last op, which ended in a crash), unlike some of his crewmates and others with whom he trained and flew, and about whom he wrote. For modellers, specifically, there are photos of: >>A colourised (cover) and black & white shot of a Mk VI Liberator taking off >>A burned-out Wellington in Malta >>Two photos of pranged Mk II Liberators >>A nice shot of engine repairs on a Mk II Liberator >>A shot from the outer port wing of a Mk II Liberator wing, looking towards the fuselage >>An interior shot of a beam gunner manning his .303-inch guns on a Mk II Liberator >>One shot showing men in front of the No.2 engine and another showing the forward fuselage, both the same Mk III Liberator >>A photo from the outside showing the .5-in port beam gun protruding from an open hatch >>Armourers ‘bombing up’ a Liberator (from the bomb trolley) >>A pranged Mk III Liberator >>Close-up nose art shots >>A taxying Mk III Liberator >>A crew portrait in front of a Mk VI Liberator >>A view of engine fitters working on a Mk VI Liberator’s No.2 engine >>A forward fuselage view of another Mk III Liberator with nose art, and >>A pranged Mk VI Liberator. The written descriptions of the different model Liberators could be of use to modellers, as well. EDIT: Incidentally, Bill's skipper on his tour and in Liberator training back in the UK was John Gauntlett (4th from the left on the cover). John's second tour on Liberators started with 159 Squadron again before finishing with 99 Squadron. His 159 Sqn Liberator from that second tour, KH283, was the subject of a limited edition 1/72 scale Eduard kit, now out of production. Cheers, Matt
  5. Ian, Robert Stitt's latest work will be out sometime in 2009: "Boeing B-17 in RAF Coastal Command Service", by Mushroom Model Publications. I've seen a June release date mentioned on the web, but I think that's way too early. Another site said Nov '09. I don't know if Robert knows the exact date yet, but I'll try to remember to ask him; we've been back and forth on some correspondence recently. I think you will have to wait a few months for this one, though. A pdf file with this book listed is found at: http://www.mmpbooks.biz/mmp/pdf_cat/Stratus_Katalog.pdf It is not listed in the upcoming publications section of the home page for mmp books...or am I missing it??? Cheers, Matt
  6. Dave, Yes, the diagram in your book is pretty close in design to what we see in the 159 Squadron photos. Glad I could add my two cents (pence). Wayne asked me about guns on Daring Diana and I sent him a summary of the Order of Battle for the 29 Feb op. 159 did not have the ball turret in their Libs at the time -- just a waste of added weight for their night-only ops at the time. And Daring Diana carried no ammo for the front turret, which was a new feature on the newly-arrived Mk VI Libs of 159. Because it is clear from the 159 Operations Record Book that there was no ammo for this turret, it is my guess that the actual twin 0.50 Browning guns were not installed in the nose for this operation, to save weight...unless the guns were for bluff should a night fighter catch sight of them in the illumination of searchlights or in moonlight. (Daring Diana was, indeed, caught in the searchlights over Rangoon, but the fighter attacks were from the rear -- as was the common strategy.) So I don't have a definitive answer on the installation of guns in the front turret. However, you will note in the photo that Wayne posted of Daring Diana's sister Lib, BZ980 G for Goofy (nose art was on the port fuselage), that there are, indeed, twin 0.50s installed in the nose. Unfortunately I can't precisely date the photo and cross-reference it to 159 Squadron Orders of Battle to see if ammo was then carried by BZ980. The ammo carried by Daring Diana on 29 Feb: Tail turret: 6,000 rounds of 0.303 inch caliber bullets for the Boulton-Paul British turret's four .303 Browning machine guns Mid upper turret: 820 0.50 inch caliber bullets the twin 0.50 Brownings Beam guns: 420 bullets for each of the two 0.50 Brownings. That's it. No more bullets for Diana. Cheers, Matt
  7. Hi, guys. I found a couple of photos of a Mk III 159 Squadron Liberator, BZ897 Z in late 1943/early 1944, showing the flame damper on No. 2 engine fairly well. These are the best images I have of the damper. It's hard to tell, but I don't see the slots that Dave's images show. I'm lame at posting photos, so I'll have to tease you with this until Wayne can post the photos, which I'm sending to him by e-mail. Hope they help. Cheers, Matt
  8. Wayne, Diana is looking good! I should tell everyone that Wayne is keeping true to the original shapes of Ms. Diana's body. The right arm, for example, is a bit amateurish, but that's what the amateur painter arrived at, on the real Daring Diana. So I commend Wayne for trying to match the original design as best he can. I'm impressed. The colors are anyone's guess, since the only photo that exist of this nose art is an out of focus black & white one. I like Wayne's choice of colors. Keep at it, Wayne. Good stuff! Cheers, Matt
  9. Hi Wayne and the gang, I'm the bloke Wayne tracked down after deciding to build "Daring Diana", which was a Mk VI (B-24J) of 159 Squadron. Serial number BZ962. My mom's first husband, Sgt. George Plank of Liverpool (Mom was also a Liverpudlian), was a wireless op/air gunner flying as a beam gunner on the night of 29 Feb 1944 when "Daring Diana" and "Pegasus", a Mk III from the squadron, were caught in Rangoon searchlights and pounced upon by a pair of trailing Ki-43 Oscars of the 204th Sentai. The two pilots, 9-kill ace Hiroshi Takiguchi and 19-kill ace Bunichi Yamaguchi (tally totals are unverified) had an easy time of it and destroyed both bombers in succession, starting with "Daring Diana". George and his 8 crewmates were never seen again, though 6 of 9 from "Pegasus" were captured. Sadly, 2 of them died in Rangoon Jail. One of those liberated at the beginning of May '45 is still alive at 91 years of age. Talk about a survivor! As a non-model builder (well, I was a nut about it until about 18) I have been following the Group Build from over here in Maryland, USA with great admiration. Wayne, too bad the Vengeance has been a troublesome build. I hope "Daring Diana" is far less of a thorn in your side, though she poses her own unique challenges. For those who want a taste of the human side of the "Daring Diana" story, there is a recent 4 minute video narrated by my mother and found at: http://umbc.edu/oit/newmedia/studio/digita...ssing_poole.flv There are some annoying graphic mistakes made by the university graduate student who did this for a school project. Note, for example, the maddening choice of Heinkel 111 bombers to illustrate a Lib attack on the Japanese!! (I'd provided that photo for use in another story of the bombing of Liverpool!). And the Japanese award given to the pilots was erroneously rotated 90 degrees. Nevertheless, the message is clear and should make a favorable impression on SEAC Group Build aficionados. Good luck, Wayne...no pressure from me on this baby, and I mean it. I'm quite tickled by the project, even though I know you've got your plate full with the Vengeance and then other work. Cheers to all, and keep impressing me with your talent. Matt
×
×
  • Create New...