Spitfire

nuuumannn · Feb 9, 2012

Great thread John; a lot of going off on a tangent, me thinks - more Spitfire imagery required.

Regarding Corsairs in the ETO, aren't we forgetting that the Fleet Air Arm used them against the Tirpitz in Norway?

Wasn't Japan the piper at the gates of dawn to you Americans?

And in a momentary lapse of reason the Americans, acting with the savagery of animals, unleashed what was a saucerful of secrets on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, producing a delicate sound of thunder, which reduced those cities to resemble the dark side of the moon...

Airframes · Feb 9, 2012

May I suggest something chaps?
I see this thread as portraying the SPITFIRE, as John (Readie) intended, in photos, memories, tales, etc etc., NOT as a discussion of the Corsair, armament, relative merits or 'who's best'.
May I therefore request that this thread stays on track, with the SPITFIRE being the focal point?
If you wish to 'plug' your own preference, 'fly your own flag', denigrate, or whatever, then PLEASE, start your own bl**dy thread !!!
And now - back to our regular programme !!

oldcrowcv63 · Feb 9, 2012

nuuumannn said:
Great thread John; a lot of going off on a tangent, me thinks - more Spitfire imagery required.

Regarding Corsairs in the ETO, aren't we forgetting that the Fleet Air Arm used them against the Tirpitz in Norway?

Tirpitz was in 44... we were thinking mainly in terms of 42-early 43 and the 'what-if' scenaro about North Africa considering the benighted state of US TAC-AIR then and there.

...in a momentary lapse of reason the Americans, acting with the savagery of animals,...

Hey! I know where you live, I may not be able to spell or pronounce it, but I can probably google Earth it and program an ICBM to find it. You evidently haven't been listening to our country western music or on second thought maybe you have...

oldcrowcv63 · Feb 9, 2012

Airframes said:
May I suggest something chaps?
I see this thread as portraying the SPITFIRE, as John (Readie) intended, in photos, memories, tales, etc etc., NOT as a discussion of the Corsair, armament, relative merits or 'who's best'.
May I therefore request that this thread stays on track, with the SPITFIRE being the focal point?
If you wish to 'plug' your own preference, 'fly your own flag', denigrate, or whatever, then PLEASE, start your own bl**dy thread !!!
And now - back to our regular programme !!

Stay on track? what an odd notion.... I've already expressed my embarrassment over being an enabler. Mea Culpa.

Yes indeed back to John's Spitfire photos.

nuuumannn · Feb 9, 2012

Hey! I know where you live, I may not be able to spell or pronounce it, but I can probably google Earth it and program an ICBM to find it. You evidently haven't been listening to our country western music

Hmmm; obviously not a Pink Floyd fan...

Sorry Terry. I hope this might placate as a token gesture...

oldcrowcv63 · Feb 9, 2012

Here is my peace offering John, a photo taken at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum warbirds over the beach show May, 2011

Nuuumann, because I have two sons, I have been strapped to a chair and forced to listen to Pink Floyd more times than I care to remember. I am Pink Floyd traumatized. It was simply one of their many forms of parental torture.

oldcrowcv63 · Feb 9, 2012

tyrodtom said:
Gen. Eisnehower may have had those Spitfires just as a showcase of co-operation, and unity between the allied powers.

Or were they USAAF flown Spitfires ?

Pretty sure the USAAF was flying a fair number of Spitires in North Africa. The 31st Pursuit group went to England in 1942 and were equipped with reverse lend lease Mark Vb Spitfires as were the 52nd and 4rth (former Eagle Squadron) The 31st and 52nd went with their Spitfires to North Africa after Torch. That's a lot of American pilots flying a lot of Spitfires. I've heard a rumor that they really liked it.

MikeGazdik · Feb 10, 2012

Ok, I gave my homage to the wonderful Spifire. And DaveBender, you are my hero for placing the Corsair where it should be. But the real American sweetheart should be the P-38 Lightning. It is all-American. Excess, complicated, sexy, really too much for what was needed! It was there from start to finish. Only political and egotistical actions slowed it's development. I mean really, is there anything better than this picture?

oldcrowcv63 · Feb 10, 2012

P-38 Indeed. You are a very naughty boy.

wuzak · Feb 10, 2012

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but in 1942/43 the F4U-1 didn't show any performance superiority to its European contemporaries, other than, perhaps, range?

tomo pauk · Feb 10, 2012

I do apologize to John others for my part of non-topic stuff; the pictures of Spitfire do require not just thread, but a whole web site dedicated for that purpose.

Oldcrow, I'll send you the PM with my explanation.

Readie · Feb 10, 2012

nuuumannn said:
Great thread John; a lot of going off on a tangent, me thinks - more Spitfire imagery required.

Regarding Corsairs in the ETO, aren't we forgetting that the Fleet Air Arm used them against the Tirpitz in Norway?

And in a momentary lapse of reason the Americans, acting with the savagery of animals, unleashed what was a saucerful of secrets on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, producing a delicate sound of thunder, which reduced those cities to resemble the dark side of the moon...

Excellent !
Was that the final cut?
John

Geedee · Feb 10, 2012

I'll add this one of the BoB flight taken at duxford in 2011.

And dont forget, there are a shed load of spitfire pics here..... http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aircraft-pictures/spitfire-thread-17089.html

Might be worth combining the threads ?

Readie · Feb 10, 2012

tomo pauk said:
I do apologize to John others for my part of non-topic stuff; the pictures of Spitfire do require not just thread, but a whole web site dedicated for that purpose.

Don't worry.Its all part of the fun. I don't get sad on's if the thread wanders.
I'll post some more pictures of the Spitfire and resurrect my thread 'Spitfire my journey' too.
Cheers
John

davebender · Feb 10, 2012

By the time the F4U numbers became sufficient in northern Europe, the P-47's might have been available.

The P-47 was the highest priority U.S. fighter aircraft program and it was built in the greatest numbers. The U.S. AAF built a large, modern factory at Evansville, Indiana to mass produce P-47s in addition to the original P-47 plant on Long Island.

IMO the Evansville, Indiana factory should have been built to mass produce a variant of the F4U for the U.S. AAF. Construction of the plant should have been timed to begin F4U production during the summer of 1942, similiar to the Vought plant which produced Corsairs for the USN.

The U.S. AAF could still produce P-47s at the Long Island plant.

Gixxerman · Feb 10, 2012

Readie said:
I suppose we should include the Tempest too in our 'time place' thoughts. If WW2 has dragged on another 3 years so many planes would have been redundant...except you know who of course...lol
John

There's a severe mean brutality to the look of the Tempest (ditto the Typhoon Fury), big vicious so powerful deadly.
Again in standard RAF cammo with invasion stripes.

To my eyes it's a major looker but in a totally different way to the Spit.

BTW came across this recently.
Dive trials in a Spitfire mk9.
They got one to ......606 mph true airspeed!
Amazing.

Mind you, the loss of the prop makes it look worse but the poor thing looks a bit worse for wear after an ordeal like that.....

Readie · Feb 10, 2012

Here are some more Spitfire pictures ...

Enjoy

John

Readie · Feb 10, 2012

A fantastic photo with young Brits waving the flag as a Spitfire flies into the sun.

nuuumannn · Feb 10, 2012

Just superb John, I hope you don't mind me posting some of my own.

This is Mk.IX PV270; it was restored here in En Zed by Brendon Deere, nephew of the fighter ace and it's in Al Deere's markings.

MH367 is done up in the markings of Wg Cdr Colin Gray

Milosh · Feb 10, 2012

nuuumannn said:
Just superb John, I hope you don't mind me posting some of my own.

This is Mk.IX PV270; it was restored here in En Zed by Brendon Deere, nephew of the fighter ace and it's in Al Deere's markings.

Living up to its name.

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