Seafires ! Yes, news to me that they had linen control surfaces...I need more research.
Two seat Spitfires.
In my copy (
see below) I refer to Chapter 6: Diary: The Women, p.137 and tells a very sad story of a widow (3 times) who was invited for a ride in a two seat Spitfire piloted by the Northern Airforce Commander Brigadier General Hartmann. The aircraft was, Quote:
a British 'Spitfire' fighter converted into a two-seater for reconnaissance purposes. Tragically they were shot down by the Viet-Minh. Quote:
I found the photograph of their destroyed plane eleven years later while going through the photographic files of the North Vietnamese Government.
I have the 1963 edition, printed in the USA with a forward by Marshall Andrews of Haywood, Chantilly, Virginia, USA (just outside of Washington).
A quick search reveals this:
This indicates that Marshall was a retired USAAC, later US Infantry Major (served to 1945) and historian who worked as a 'military' reporter for the Washington Post.
Loads of caveats here of course...but Fall was 'in theatre' when the Spitfire was in use...could he have mistaken it for an observation light aircraft (?)...the French were using the metal winged M-S 505 'Criquet' based or copied from the Fieseler 156 'Storch'...a very different aircraft type than, as he states a
'Fighter'.
Did Marshall see the photo, I doubt it.
Local adaption (?)...but that would have been a very time consuming technical achievement....