Spitfire Mk Vc CR°C Photos ?

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good afternoon

I am looking for pictures of the Spitfire Vc coded CR-C on this decals sheet 

 

Thank you in advance for your help

 

Patrice

 

[72modeler]

I couldn't find any period photos, but I did find its history, which while an interesting read, doesn't answer your question. Maybe @Rabbit Leader could help you? I have the Stuart Wilson monographs on Australian Sptifires, and I will take a look to see if there are any photos of BS295. Best I can do- sorry!

Mike

 

http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a58.htm

[Rabbit Leader]

Hello Patrice and Mike. From memory, I don’t believe a full photograph of Caldwelll’s stripped down Spitfire exists, however it is was well documented and does appear in various publications about RAAF Spitfires. 
 

The only photograph I am aware of is a close up of Caldwell sitting in an open cockpit of a Stripped Down Spitfire. All that is visible is the straight edge black Anti-Glare panel and Wing CO’s pennant. The fuselage background in NMF. the black codes, white spinner with black band and serial are not shown. 
 

The text that accompanies this photograph in Geoffrey Pentland’s RAAF Camouflage and Markings Vol. 2 (published 1988) essentially reads.... Caldwell stated that he had the camouflage stripped off and the Vokes filter removed “so it would look like a real Spitfire”. The problem was that it made him very conspicuous and exposed, and as a result was quickly repainted in its former foliage green, Earth Brown and Sky Blue scheme. 
 

I am not aware if more recent information has turned up to confirm or deny this as all the profiles I’ve seen still show the Vokes filter fitted. 
 

Not much help I’m afraid and possibly just added to the confusion out there. There are certainly better researched Australian modellers out there than I, so perhaps someone else may add to this discussion. 
 

Cheers and kinds regards.. Dave 

[72modeler]

18 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

I don’t believe a full photograph of Caldwelll’s stripped down Spitfire exists

Dave, that's kinda what I thought, as I couldn't find a single photo of that Spitfire, but all kinds of color profiles and decal sheets. There was no photo in my copy of Stuart Wilson's RAAF Spitfire/Mustang/Kittyhawk monograph, and I figured if anybody had a photo, it would be somebody like him. I did find several other photos of bare metal/silver doped RAAF Sptifires, but none with Clive's CR-C codes or BS-295 serial. I guess Patrice will maybe just have to go with one of the color profiles or colors/markings diagrams from one of the decal sheets. (BTW- hope you and yours are riding out the pandemic in good shape.)

Mike

Edited February 4, 2021 by 72modeler
corrected spelling

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

No mark V photograph, but from Air Progress Magazine September 1966, Volume 19 number 3.

 

The profile of Clive Caldwell has a photograph of him in shorts and a short sleeved shirt on the wing of a Spitfire, the fuselage of which can be seen from in front of the cockpit to the edge of the CR-C markings, wing commander pennant below windscreen.  Camouflage called sand and spinach.  Another close up just shows the cockpit area, which has the 28 victory symbols where the pennant was in the other photograph, Caldwell standing in flying gear.

 

Accompanying aircraft profile of mark VIII A58-464 says light grey underside, dark green and dark grey on fuselage and upper wings.

[Ed Russell]

You could do this from same decals heet

 

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good morning my friends

Thank you for all your comments ...

 Some of you may know it but I really like the Spitfire so I recently bought the Vc Airfix spit and as I wanted to participate in this Gb with an unusual decoration I discovered this decoration on a sheet of decals that 'a friend provided me with it I thought it would be a good idea to build one of the Spits that Caldwell flew during the Pacific campaign after having already built a P40 Airfix kit a few years ago that I had represented in the markins of an aircraft he flew  during the North African campaign ..if there are no photos of this aircraft  I would use the color profile  of the decals sheet ..

I will try to start this build as soon as I have finished the build of the Jaguar for the Gulf War Gb ..  I may try to build an Eduard Spit MkVIII at the same time ...

 

 Thank again and take care of you and your relatives .

Best regards

Patrice

 

 

 

[Magpie22]

Patrice,

 

That drawing of Caldwell's A/C with those decals is a figment of some one's imagination. The aircraft did not carry the CR-C codes. Anti dazzle panel is not as depicted. When the aircraft was stripped back, the housing for the Vokes filter was also replaced with a rather crude new fairing, as shown in the bottom photo. It's that deep to fit over the larger oil tank fitted to tropical aircraft. There are ten or more photos where this aircraft appears, but as stated above none show the full aircraft. Most were taken for PR purposes and feature people rather than machine.

 

If you want to build one of Caldwell's normal camouflaged aircraft, PM me, as I may be able to help with photos.

 

Peter M

 

   

 

[Rabbit Leader]

Great photos Peter and I do say, that under nose fairing does look quite ugly. I’ve not come across those last two photos, but would be interested to see the other seven (to make 10) that you say were taken. 
 

Cheers and thanks.. Dave 

[Graham Boak]

Interesting to see, whereas Prosser Hanks's aircraft on Malta appears in one well-publicised (staged) shot with a lovely temperate undercowling.  Where did they get that and the oil tank from?

[occa]

2 hours ago, Magpie22 said:

 

Two interesting details in that photo:
- The spinner tip seems to be missing.
- Also the top engine cowl panel extends over the back plate of the spinner .... never seen that before.

[Magpie22]

4 hours ago, occa said:

 

Two interesting details in that photo:
- The spinner tip seems to be missing. 
- Also the top engine cowl panel extends over the back plate of the spinner .... never seen that before.

The spinner tip seems to be missing. 

Yes, the removable tip that gave access to the dome of the Hydromatic prop seems to be blunter than normal.  

This was not unusual on RAAF Spitfire VC aircraft.

This shot shows the shape a little better.

 

 

Also the top engine cowl panel extends over the back plate of the spinner .... never seen that before.

The panel does not extend over over the back plate of the spinner. It is an early, locally developed, oil deflector that was fitted to many RAAF Spitfire VC  aircraft.

As you can see in the photo below, it was a shaped plate that was fitted to the front of the upper cowling. The Hydromatic unit tended to leak a lot of fluid.

Note also that this spinner, (another A/C), also appears to have that blunt shape at the front.

 

 

Peter M

[Michael louey]

16 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Great photos Peter and I do say, that under nose fairing does look quite ugly. I’ve not come across those last two photos, but would be interested to see the other seven (to make 10) that you say were taken. 
 

Cheers and thanks.. Dave 

Hi Dave,

 

Those 2 photos are printed in Clive Caldwell Air Ace by Kristen Alexander, a good read about Caldwell. The originals were supplied by Clive's wife. Peter probably has copies of those and many more sourced independently.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[Magpie22]

6 hours ago, Michael louey said:

Hi Dave,

 

Those 2 photos are printed in Clive Caldwell Air Ace by Kristen Alexander, a good read about Caldwell. The originals were supplied by Clive's wife. Peter probably has copies of those and many more sourced independently.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Hi Michael,

Yes I obtained those from the same source. The ones I posted above are not from Kristen's book. And I recommend the book to any one interested in Caldwell.

Peter