StevieD

He sounds a lot like my dad - who was Polish. He didn't give much away but always remembered the women. I dropped into the Orchard a few years ago. All signs of the Poles had gone. Shame.

Good idea! It's at the bottom of the page on the right http://www.kartonowki.pl/modele-galeria/model/4256,curtiss-p-40n-warhawk-75fs-23fg-usaaf-flying-tigers

Yes I thought it might be tricky. There is a photo of 188 (on a Polish site I can't read) that looks to me like an N with the squared off rear canopy. As far as I know there are no decals for Sad Sack which is why went for 188.

I know he didn’t have an assigned P40 but after looking at photos and conflicting profiles I’m ready to get cracking on the Special Hobby P40N. This is my best guess for the one Urbanowicz flew... Tail code – white ‘188’ OD/ Neutral Grey. Disruptive green patches on the tail (and possibly wings?) Insignia with white bar - no red or blue outline. White spinner with OD band at rear. Shark mouth and eyes. Any other opinion or info on this aircraft? Would this carry US ARMY under the wings? Many thanks.

Thanks for your efforts on this. Yes, it could be something caught in the tram wires but odd it’s so ‘plane shaped.’ My only other thoughts (and with reference to the early days of aviation) is to do with the Fitzwilliams at nearby Wentworth Woodhouse. The Earl was the richest man in Britain and an early air enthusiast. It’s believed he held the country's first ‘air meet’ only a few years after the Wright Brothers flight. As the estate is at most five miles from Worsbrough, I wondered whether there was a connection. Smedley, the photographer, was a young miner who joined the Army Medical Corps in WW1. So it may be this is post war. I suppose we’ll never know…. Thanks for your interest!

I've tried to enlarge the plane but the image degrades so much it doesn't tell you any more

Hello. I'm usually in WW2 so this is my first time here. This is a bit of a long shot. Below is a photograph from my village in South Yorkshire. It's not dated but I could be WW1 or a few years after. Can anyone identify the aircraft? Poor resolution I know but any ideas would be welcome. Many thanks.

Many thanks. I always pick a tricky one. Think I’ll go with Denys Gillam’s QJ W. On 15 August Gillam was credited with a Ju 88 shot down five miles off Flamborough Head.

On this day Sgt James Hopewell was credited with Ju88a1 4D+DR that came down north of Bridlington. 616 codes were QJ at the time but does anyone know the individual code letter for his Spitfire? Many thanks in advance.

Does anyone know of photographic evidence of the kit subject R4+LK ? One profile I’ve seen (I know don’t trust a profile) shows this in a possible scheme of splinter RLM 70 Schwarzgrun/RLM 71 Dunkelgrun on the upper surfaces. Wouldn’t mind a bash at that if it could have been a possibility. Many thanks

That is truly world-beating rivet action!

Which do you reckon was the most heavily riveted Airfix kit? The one that sticks in my mind is the P40 Kittyhawk. Even as a kid I knew there was something wrong there...

Wow! Many thanks for this. I will have to go back to the museum and photograph this. all I can say -relying on memory - is that DO BERLIN looked like it was un-retouched. Also the 'puss in boots' character - again as far as I remember - is wearing a Polish beret. (My father was in II Polish Corp and I have photographs of him in a similar beret.)

Thanks for that! Yes the 301 Squadron site shows nothing, although one Wellington carries a witch that looks like it may be from the same artist. Regarding 'Berlin', the nose art at Hendon reads DO BERLIN without the 'a.' Maybe the crew were getting anglicised. Strangely the Model Makers Decal sheet has TO BERLIN

At Hendon last year I came across a piece of nose art on a wall. Alongside a polish chequerboard is a ‘puss in boots’ character brandishing a sword while riding a bomb with the inscription 'Do Berlin!’ It had no explanatory caption. Despite much searching I couldn’t find a photo of any aircraft carrying this nose art. Then I came across a Model Makers Wellington decal sheet that shows the aircraft as 301 Squadron GR-O serial Z1259. This Wellington was flown by F/O Mieczysław Stachiewicz who sadly died of Coronovirus this April at the grand old age of 102. Questions… 1. I’ve seen a photo of GR-O (Hemswell 1942) but not from the side that carried the nose art as described above. Does anyone have photographic evidence of the nose art on the aircraft? 2. I was thinking of modelling this using the Airfix kit but GR -O was a Mk IV. I think that would mean finding a couple of Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines, but are there any other differences? Many thanks if you can help with this.