Winged Heroes

[Stanley]

I tripped over this which was new to me.

[Tizer]

Thanks for the video, Stanley, it was very interesting. I missed it earlier due to some family issues demanding our attention. That aircraft was another of those `What might have been' examples which always make you wonder how things might have turned out if they'd got into production.

What brought me to this thread today is the following news...
`WW2 unsung hero plane Hurricane celebrated at Duxford' Hurricane

[PanBiker]

The BBMF operate two Hurricanes, LF363 (Mk IIC) - which is believed to be the last Hurricane to enter service with the RAF. Also Hurricane PZ865 (Mk IIC) - the last Hurricane built (of 14,533).

[Stanley]

That's a very good link Peter and quite true but even that doesn't mention the what was possibly the Hurricane's greatest strength, its fabric construction was far easier to repair than the Spitfire's all-metal skin. A damaged Hurricane could be made airworthy again faster than a Spitfire.

[Tizer]

The Hurricane had another advantage over the Spitfire - it's much wider undercarriage configuration due to the wheels opening outwards instead of inwards. That's why the Hurricane was so much better to fly from the grass fields in France early in the war. And it contributed to the recovery of our Hurricane's from Norway after the Germans invaded when the only way to do it was to land them for the first time on the deck of an aircraft carrier out in the Atlantic. That story is told in detail on this web site (together with a variety of other stories): War History Online

[Stanley]

Yes, I forgot to mention that. The Spitfire was notorious for dangers taxiing and they were not helped by a very strong torque effect from the engine if it was revved up.

[Tizer]

Eric Winkle Brown found that was a danger on some of the more powerful aircraft that he tested taking off on aircraft carriers near the end of the war. A sudden pull to the side and you were in the drink!

[PanBiker]

Another problem with the Spitfire was that with the tail wheel on the ground there was no front vision from the cockpit due to the rake of the fuselage. They had to weave from side to side when taxiing.

[Tizer]

Another of those odd interesting aviation facts - the US Corsair had cranked wings so that it raised the fuselage to allow for the large diameter propeller.

[Tripps]

It's just gone a little bit spooky again. I just watched "The one that got away" with Hardy Kruger as the escaper Von Werra, in full for the first time. He tries but fails to steal a Hurricane. I looked it up on wiki afterwards and find that -

"As of 2022 ,[5] the Hawker Hurricane IIc (serial number LF363) is still in existence, flying with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.[6]"


So thats from never to twice in a few days - I read this week that "coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous".

[PanBiker]

As of 2022 ,[5] the Hawker Hurricane IIc (serial number LF363) is still in existence, flying with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.[6]"

Indeed it is and I am grateful that I have had the pleasure of stroking it.

[Tizer]

More on `The Hucknall Incident' and Franz von Werra with Simba here: `Our Nottinghamshire' web site
It happened several years before LF363 entered service but I doubt that matters to most of the people watching or reading about the incident. It certainly makes a good story!

[Tripps]

It wasn't meant to imply that LF 363 was the Hurricane that von Werra tried to steal during WWII, but it was the one used in the making of film "The one that got away" in 1957.

[Tizer]

I wouldn't dream of casting nasturtiums on your `spooky' post Tripps, just adding a bit more background!

[Tizer]

A 1-minute video of extreme low flying. Impressive. If anything goes wrong you don't stand a chance so near the ground, especially in a helicopter...
`Ukraine war: On board with Ukraine's attack helicopter crews' LINK

[Stanley]

I've always equated low flying like that with Russian Roulette!

[Tizer]

Researching some of my father's WW2 history of his time in South Africa I came across a web site with this photo and I just had to post it. North American F-51D Mustang fighters of No. 2 Squadron of the South African Air Force in Korea, on 1 May 1951. It's such an unusual photo because we don't often hear about SA being in that war. The web site has lots of interesting aircraft photos: Warplanes of the Second World War preserved in South Africa‍

[Stanley]

That was a good find Peter. Lots of good images on there.....

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz spotted this on the Hampshire BBC News web site (she gets about a lot!)...
`Spitfire AA810: 'Final push' appeal in peat bog plane's rebuild' LINK
The BBC article contains a link to the Spitfire AA810 project web site.

[Wendyf]

3 Apache AH64E helicopters flew over an hour or so ago, they looked menacing! One showed up on Flight Radar even though they were quite low, its call sign is Slayer 1.

[Stanley]

That explains a sound I heard about then but couldn't identify Wendy....

[Tizer]

`Operation Victor search: A missing military plane and the Mourne fishermen' LINK

It's interesting to see more detail of this incident as all Wikipedia had was...
The first flight of the Victor B.2 prototype , serial number XH668 was made on 20 February 1959, and it had flown 100 hours by 20 August 1959, when it disappeared from radar, crashing into the sea off the Pembrokeshire coast during high-altitude engine tests carried out by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment. Most of the wreckage had been recovered by November 1960, following an extensive search and recovery operation. The accident investigation concluded that the starboard pitot head had failed, causing the flight control system to force the aircraft into an unrecoverable dive. Minor changes resolved the problem, allowing the B.2 to enter service in February 1962.

[Stanley]

Test flying is a dangerous business. Include me out!

[Tizer]

A lot of interesting information about these aircraft and their brave crews...truly winged heroes!
`Europe fires: The Canadair water bombers battling Mediterranean blazes' LINK

[Tizer]

Military aircraft have been flying over the West Country more often since the Ukraine war began and I can't help but try to identify them (perhaps I'll grow up one day!). The vapour trails are interesting and I'd assumed they were usually the RAF's Airbus Voyager or Boeing Globemaster which regularly pass over us. Sometimes an RAF Airbus A400M passes over low and we get good sight of their unusual propellers. They took over from the Hercules which always flew low over us and I'd assumed the A400M would be doing the same and therefore not leaving vapour trails.

Now I find how wrong I was and realise that we've been seeing their trails too! This video shows one at 33,000 feet. Look at the unusual trails at the beginning and end of the video. A400M con trails The A400M's prop engines have `scimitar' blades which give the characteristic appearance to the aircraft, it's vapour trails and its sound. The blades are also contra-rotating and, I've just learnt, are `DBE' , meaning `Down Between Engines', which I'm sure you can work out!

I gleaned another interesting fact. The blades are feathered when the engines are off. So when the engine starts up they will be feathered, and when the engines are shut down, the propellers will adjust to feather. This is a safety feature to minimize drag if an engine failed.