T Bolt
Colonel
Very nice guys
Geedee and Rocketeer's 8th Army Air Force Tailwheel Tour 2012
- Thread starter Geedee
- Start date
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Oops! Sorry Tony - hadn't spotted these were your pics!
Good shots Tony!
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Excellent stuff guys! Thank you for taking the time to put this together for our viewing.
- Thread starter
- #165
Abject apologies for late addition chaps....still having probs with the comp.
Anyway, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. First time I've been there and if I have any advice to give, its quite simply...allow enough time. !. Each of the buildings contain soo much stuff, you can very easily get swamped trying to take it all in and miss loads !.
Couiple of highligghts for me were the Colditz C*ck replica glider and the amphibian that was scratch built and designed by Bill Goldfinch at my local airfield (Old Sarum...just on the ourtstkirts of Salisbury). Bill was one of the chaps who designed and built the Colditz Glider !. Unfortunately, Bill never got to see his amphibian working as he passed away two days before the sea trials were due to begin !.
The one area I kept going back to was the 'display' of engines and props that have been hauled up from the sea and surroundiung areas. I must say...and I stress here that this is my own personal view !..I absolutely hate seeing these relics left to rot outside. I do fully understand the problems with both conservation and storage and display but all the same, to me, they are probably more symbolic of the struggle and the end result that waited for countless thousands of aircrew on both sides, than perhaps seeing a panel. The '51 prop assembly that looks like a 4 legged spider was found washed up on a beach. Washed up !!!! you ever tried to lift a blade let alone a full compliment with spider...I tell ya, it aint light...and another thing, why do I never get to see and find these treasures
ABOUT US
Anyway, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. First time I've been there and if I have any advice to give, its quite simply...allow enough time. !. Each of the buildings contain soo much stuff, you can very easily get swamped trying to take it all in and miss loads !.
Couiple of highligghts for me were the Colditz C*ck replica glider and the amphibian that was scratch built and designed by Bill Goldfinch at my local airfield (Old Sarum...just on the ourtstkirts of Salisbury). Bill was one of the chaps who designed and built the Colditz Glider !. Unfortunately, Bill never got to see his amphibian working as he passed away two days before the sea trials were due to begin !.
The one area I kept going back to was the 'display' of engines and props that have been hauled up from the sea and surroundiung areas. I must say...and I stress here that this is my own personal view !..I absolutely hate seeing these relics left to rot outside. I do fully understand the problems with both conservation and storage and display but all the same, to me, they are probably more symbolic of the struggle and the end result that waited for countless thousands of aircrew on both sides, than perhaps seeing a panel. The '51 prop assembly that looks like a 4 legged spider was found washed up on a beach. Washed up !!!! you ever tried to lift a blade let alone a full compliment with spider...I tell ya, it aint light...and another thing, why do I never get to see and find these treasures
ABOUT US
Attachments
fubar57
General
Great pix again Gary and Tony. And Gary, five words...SCUBA.
Geo
Geo
Good shots Gary!
Crimea_River
Marshal
Worth the wait Gary. Hope the comp is behaving.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Great stuff again Gary. Seeing the recovered props, and reading your comments, reminds me of the He111 that was in the shallows at Blakeney Creek, Norfolk (the one in the well-known BoB photos, swamped by waves and covered in bullet holes), from 1940 until the mid 1960s. It was eventually deemed a navigation hazard - and blown up!!
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Thank you Gary and Tony!
B-17 Buff
Recruit
Interesting stuff!
From Flixton, we went back to Felixstowe to drop off my Mum (my parents put us up for 2 nights of the tour). We then went to Raydon, a P51 and P47 base. This was one of the most awesome bases we went to, although no longer aviation, much of the airfield is still around and used for light industry. The runways can be made out easily. We went to the old gun butts and put the P51 tailwheel where it would have sat for tests.
I have only put a selection of photos, Gary will no doubt put up more on the history and the base photos. We found a workshop we would love to rent as a P51 workshop! There was also a piece of concrete that a US serviceman had signed back in 1944.
I have only put a selection of photos, Gary will no doubt put up more on the history and the base photos. We found a workshop we would love to rent as a P51 workshop! There was also a piece of concrete that a US serviceman had signed back in 1944.
Attachments
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
It still amazes me that there are so many airfields left, even if returned to agriculture, which still have taxi ways and runways. Those on major north-south routes, or east west- routes, have normally been dug up for hard core to build motorways.
It would be fantastic if you could rent that nissen hut - re-building Mustangs (or sections of) on a former Mustang base!
It would be fantastic if you could rent that nissen hut - re-building Mustangs (or sections of) on a former Mustang base!
Good shots Tony!
- Thread starter
- #175
Too righty it would...I already have a name in mind for the operation
Raydon...Wow !!. Heaps of original buildings, stacks of track...and its all being used. You could 'almost' smell the atmosphere and it didn't takle too much imagination to look past the modern vehicles and such like and picture a big...no huge...airfield crammed with fighters. We didn't get the time to go all over the airfield and I think that part of itst is still active, so theres deffo going to be return trip next year.
Raydon was the home of 353rd fighter Group
Raydon Airfield Webpage
RAF Raydon airfield, 353rd Fighter Group, 357th Fighter Group, 358th Fighter Group
East Anglian Film Archive: Raydon Airfield, 1944
8th Air Force Fighter Group - Littlefriends.co.uk
353rd Fighter Group
I did chuckle at the little red warning sign I found saying the runway was under repair
. It was also quite a powerful experience to stand in front of the firing butt (and also walk around it) so I've added a link here to a recent film showing a '51 letting rip with 6 X .50's that you may have seen, but still worth watching again
... EAA Video Player - Your Source for Aviation VideosAttachments
You Guys are awesome, great pics fellas...
T Bolt
Colonel
Great pictures guys. Hard to believe all those building are still there.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Keeps getting better and better....
that it does!- Thread starter
- #180
Cheers guys
Our final stop for the tour was at Boxted and we got there just as the light was beginning to fade...quite powerfull really as the trip wound down...so did the light ! . Boxted is about 4 miles north of Colchester and was home to quite a few units. We were aware of the 56th and the 354th fighter groups, but also this was home to the 386th Bombardment Group and Detachment B of the 65th fighter wing.
The 56th was also eventually known as Zemkes Wolfpack
The 354th was the first USAAF Fighter Group to get the P-51 B Mustang and was known as the 'Pioneer Mustang Group'
The memorial is on the remains of the old runway, southside of Park Lane, Langham.
56th Fighter Group in World War II
8th Air Force 56th FG
354thfightergroup
354th Fighter Group During World War II
Of note at the memorial was what at first glance appeared to be octagonal anti-landing blocks of some sort, however, getting the pics ready to post, Isee that there are runway light units at the base of the Memorial that look just like these block, so maybe they are old units placed upside down ?. Don't know but will have looksee and see what I can find out for you. I'll only add a few pics here, leaving Tony to finish off the rest
Well, would we do it again ?. Yes indeedy, and we will be either in '13 or more probably '14, and we'd like to hire a minibus and take a few of you around with us, that can make it.
We had 20 cheeky conversations that led to permission to explore further and take photo's, where normally, this wouldn't happen.
We had three museums opened up for us on non-opening days.
we met 100+ plus nice people and 1 odd dude with a Pheasant feather stuck behind his ear...he wasn't wearing a hat, just this bl**dy great big feather....kinda cool but deffo odd !
We came back with 5 brick's, an old hinge of some sort, and half an old USAAF Anglepoise lamp
We had 15 impromtu 'pit-stops' to look at things
We took far too many pics
We was knackered !
We was very happy
Its been a real hoot sharing some (Can't tell you all of the stuff) of the highlights of the trip with you guys 'n' gals.
Roll on the next one of our 'Letsdropeverythingatthedropofahattourwithadaftnamethemeforitandwazzoffintothecountrysidewithcameras'
Our final stop for the tour was at Boxted and we got there just as the light was beginning to fade...quite powerfull really as the trip wound down...so did the light ! . Boxted is about 4 miles north of Colchester and was home to quite a few units. We were aware of the 56th and the 354th fighter groups, but also this was home to the 386th Bombardment Group and Detachment B of the 65th fighter wing.
The 56th was also eventually known as Zemkes Wolfpack
The 354th was the first USAAF Fighter Group to get the P-51 B Mustang and was known as the 'Pioneer Mustang Group'
The memorial is on the remains of the old runway, southside of Park Lane, Langham.
56th Fighter Group in World War II
8th Air Force 56th FG
354thfightergroup
354th Fighter Group During World War II
Of note at the memorial was what at first glance appeared to be octagonal anti-landing blocks of some sort, however, getting the pics ready to post, Isee that there are runway light units at the base of the Memorial that look just like these block, so maybe they are old units placed upside down ?. Don't know but will have looksee and see what I can find out for you. I'll only add a few pics here, leaving Tony to finish off the rest
Well, would we do it again ?. Yes indeedy, and we will be either in '13 or more probably '14, and we'd like to hire a minibus and take a few of you around with us, that can make it.
We had 20 cheeky conversations that led to permission to explore further and take photo's, where normally, this wouldn't happen.
We had three museums opened up for us on non-opening days.
we met 100+ plus nice people and 1 odd dude with a Pheasant feather stuck behind his ear...he wasn't wearing a hat, just this bl**dy great big feather....kinda cool but deffo odd !
We came back with 5 brick's, an old hinge of some sort, and half an old USAAF Anglepoise lamp
We had 15 impromtu 'pit-stops' to look at things
We took far too many pics
We was knackered !
We was very happy
Its been a real hoot sharing some (Can't tell you all of the stuff
) of the highlights of the trip with you guys 'n' gals.Roll on the next one of our 'Letsdropeverythingatthedropofahattourwithadaftnamethemeforitandwazzoffintothecountrysidewithcameras'
