Hello
I would like to try & get the records straight about the event that took place in North Africa during WW2, where a modified Spitfire shoots down a JU86.
I am the Grand son of the mechanic who made this modification. My granddad's name is Bert Woods.
I hope you understand that this is important to me to get this straight & also important amongst aviation enthusiasts.
He told me about this event long before it was posted on the internet.
I am pretty sure he didn't realise the significance of what he was doing at the time but it certainly made a difference.
Although we were close he didn't say too much but he told me about this not long before he died so it must have been important to him.
This is what he told me.
There was a German reconnaissance aircraft flying every day over us & we couldn't do anything about it, it was flying much too high for any fighter. He said you could hear it but do nothing. Then every night there was a bombardment. He told me it was obviously spotting positions.
So they decided to do something about it. (I could tell Bert was annoyed while he was telling me this, he had his annoyed, angry face)
He made it very clear they only had one aircraft & that was a Spitfire that he maintained. He made this very clear because he told me how the conditions were pretty bad where he was.
The way he told me the story, it did not sound like a very planned modification at all. It was one done quickly & worked first time.
He told me about removing the Hispano Cannons and other details that match most of the Wikipedia information but
there is one big detail he told me that is not mentioned anywhere else yet about this modification. He went into detail about how long it took to remove many of the Spitfires main bolts. He told me that these took a lot weight up. I queried him about this but he insisted this is what he did. This detail is not mentioned anywhere else because no-one else knows apart from the real man who did it & who ever he decided to divulge the information to, I am assuming he told the Pilot too. Also the modifications that took place after this original most likely would not have had this done & so it would not have been recorded.
He said the pilot took off and shot down the reconnaissance plane.
He made it clear that after this the bombing stopped at night.
Bert Woods (Far Left)
I would like to try & get the records straight about the event that took place in North Africa during WW2, where a modified Spitfire shoots down a JU86.
I am the Grand son of the mechanic who made this modification. My granddad's name is Bert Woods.
I hope you understand that this is important to me to get this straight & also important amongst aviation enthusiasts.
He told me about this event long before it was posted on the internet.
I am pretty sure he didn't realise the significance of what he was doing at the time but it certainly made a difference.
Although we were close he didn't say too much but he told me about this not long before he died so it must have been important to him.
This is what he told me.
There was a German reconnaissance aircraft flying every day over us & we couldn't do anything about it, it was flying much too high for any fighter. He said you could hear it but do nothing. Then every night there was a bombardment. He told me it was obviously spotting positions.
So they decided to do something about it. (I could tell Bert was annoyed while he was telling me this, he had his annoyed, angry face)
He made it very clear they only had one aircraft & that was a Spitfire that he maintained. He made this very clear because he told me how the conditions were pretty bad where he was.
The way he told me the story, it did not sound like a very planned modification at all. It was one done quickly & worked first time.
He told me about removing the Hispano Cannons and other details that match most of the Wikipedia information but
there is one big detail he told me that is not mentioned anywhere else yet about this modification. He went into detail about how long it took to remove many of the Spitfires main bolts. He told me that these took a lot weight up. I queried him about this but he insisted this is what he did. This detail is not mentioned anywhere else because no-one else knows apart from the real man who did it & who ever he decided to divulge the information to, I am assuming he told the Pilot too. Also the modifications that took place after this original most likely would not have had this done & so it would not have been recorded.
He said the pilot took off and shot down the reconnaissance plane.
He made it clear that after this the bombing stopped at night.
Bert Woods (Far Left)
Last edited:
