"Lanc, Tank & Military Machines" East Kirkby - May 26 & 28th

[Army_Air_Force]

"Jessie the Jeep" and myself have been on our travels again. This was my second visit to East Kirkby, but my first to this event. My last trip there was four years ago for the three Lancasters event. The forecast was for good weather, despite a five and a half hour trip there through heavy rain! On the first day there was a thin overcast and a stiff breeze which pulled the temperature down, but the sun still burned without realising.

 

 

"Jessie" was parked up in a nice spot in front of the tower, and not having any display to watch over, allowed me to wander freely and see all that was going on. Lancaster "Just Jane" made several taxi runs across the day, and the Battle of Britain Flight sent a Spitfire to give a few flypasts. In addition to "Jessie", there were a good number of other RAF vehicles on show around the site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Army_Air_Force]

In addition to Lancaster "Just Jane", the resident C-47 Skytrain was out on the airfield too. The recently arrived Mosquito, formerly at Elvington, was in the hangar, minus its engines. At one point during the day, a number of RAF vehicles and re-enactors set up in front of the Lancaster for a photoshoot. It's always difficult to shoot familiar subjects in a new way, but I did manage a few arty shots, but with over 500 photos taken, I could only pick a very small selection to put on my website.

 

 

 

 

 

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight only gave a Spitfire flypast on Saturday, but returned in strength on Monday for a full display by the Lanc, Hurricane and a different Spitfire. The sky was quite hazy and didn't make for good photographs.

 

 

 

Off in the distance and haze, a rare topside view.

 

 

 

[Army_Air_Force]

There were a large variety of military vehicles on show, mainly World War 2 era, but there were several more modern vehicles there too. Armour was represented by two M24 Chaffees and an M36 Jackson tank destroyer. 

 

 

 

 

 

Around fifteen minutes after the BBMF display on Monday, B-17 Preservation brought B-17 "Sally B" over the field for their ten minute display. The sky quality appeared to improve for the B-17, and the display quality was far better too. The BBMF, even after so many years on the display circuit, seem incapable of showing the top side of their aircraft. The only exceptions are at the far side of an orbit at some distance in front of the crowd, or during a roll, when the top is in shadow. B-17 Preservation pilots have always shown "Sally B" from all angles, and don't need to pull high G manoeuvres to do it.

 

The faded paintwork on the B-17 looked great, but the scheme which is wrong for a G model, and has been worn since 1989, is getting very tired at airshows. I don't know why they don't change the group colours and markings more often as it would allow more merchandising to support the aircraft.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2018 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

Monday was a bit more calm and had clearer sky, giving good light for pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The tank battle from Saturday was repeated again, and using video rather than stills to capture the action. I then used one of my astronomy programs to split the video into individual frames so I could pick out the Jackson's muzzle flash. 

 

 

 

 

[Army_Air_Force]

Lancaster "Just Jane" moved around the airfield several times each day, giving plenty of opportunities for photographs.

 

 

 

 

However, it was during an early morning toilet trip with my daughter on Monday, that we saw the Lanc being towed out of the hangar.

 

 

After waiting to see if the Lanc was left on the hardstand rather than the grass, we rushed back to the tent, and brought "Jessie" over for a quick photoshoot. That now makes three Lancs posing with "Jessie" to add to my previous photoshoots with two P-51's, Spitfire MH434, C-47 Dakotas, and the Y.A.M. Halifax.

 

 

 

 

It was a great show and worth attending as a member of the public or as an exhibitor.