An inanimate object (For Rob).... by neiwil
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Description
Like firearms, ornate swords and daggers or even a club, a plane, even a warbird, is an inanimate object, some are prettier than others but they're all harmless until you add humans.Since an early age I've had a 'thing' for anything military, more so WWI / II related.With age my interest declined with more 'modern' stuff (with a few exceptions).A guy at work asked me today "why are you going to Duxford...again !?"...he's the same age as me, and I asked him "do you know who 'Sailor' Mallan was ?" I was not surprised when he said "that bloke who sailed round the world"..End of conversation.....the above photo is the reason I'll go again and again, for what it is, for how it looks and sounds but most importantly for what it and all the other 'Legends' represent....like countless others here on Rendo, I've ended posts with the words 'Lest we forget'.....it's kind of depressing when you meet people who never 'learned' in the first place.....
History:
Built at Castle Bromwich :
Construction No CBAF 2461
Delivered to RAF as BM597, 1942.
- Assigned to 37 MU on May 26, 1942.
- Transferred to 315 (Polish) Sqn, May 1942.
- Transferred to 317 (Polish) Sqn., Sep. 1942.
-- Assigned code JH-C.
-- Damaged in landing accident.
-- Declared Catagory B on Feb. 13, 1943.
- Delivered to de Havilland for repairs.
- Delivered to Vickers Armstrong for modification.
- Assigned to 58 OTU, Apr. 1945.
-- Passed through 33, 39 and 222 MU before delivery to RAF St. Athan, Oct. 1945.
- Designated instructional airframe, code 5718M.
- RAF Hednesford, 1952-1954 - Gate guard.
- RAF Bridgnorth, 1960-1962 - Gate guard.
- RAF Church Fenton, 1963-1967 - Gate guard.
- RAF Henlow, 1967-1968.
- Used as static airframe in movie "Battle of Britain", 1968.
- Used as master model for fibre glass replicas for movie "BoB".
- RAF Church Fenton, Sep. 1969-1988 - Gate guard.
- Loaned to RAF Linton-on-Ouse as gate guard, 1975-1979.
- Tim Routsis/Historic Flying Ltd., Cambridge, UK, June 1988.
- Tim Routsis/Historic Flying Ltd., Audley End, UK, May 2, 1989-2002
- Registered as G-MKVB.
- Rebuild to fly, Audley End, UK., 1992.
- Rebuild finished by Historic Aircraft Collection, Jersey, UK, Oct. 1993
- First flight July 18, 1997.
- Used in movie "Pearl Harbor" as AR352, 2000.
- Loaned to Imperial War Museum, Duxford, 2000-2002.
- Now flown as original BM597/JH-C.
Hope you enjoy this (worth a zoom, it's BIG :-) and the countdown that follows......
Comments (11)
bmac62
A legion in and of itself...what a fabulous resume. She sure had her turn as gate guard here, there and elsewhere. Excellent pic Neil and a fitting dedi to Rob!
UVDan
Beautiful picture. Very well done. Great history. As I look at this, I have "The Spitfire V Manual" in front of me. It is a facsimile of the 1940's manual and is part of the RAF Museum series published by Greenhill Books of London.
blinkings
Yeah well said. People ask me why I shoot planes and cars too. They say 'how can standing next to a screaming F-16 or Spitfire engine be fun. Ya just have to be there eh!!!!!! Great shot here BTW.
fly028
Lucky guy! Going to Duxford... Very nice image and text!! Fortunatly, there ares people to preserve pieces of history. Thanks,
flavia49
stunning shot
debbielove
Fantastic shot mate! Great post etc... I think you have it covered in th that run down there! Good one.. I would make this comment more 'Me', but as a bug has gripped me bad its a bit tough going at the moment to even see the keyboard! (That goodness for 'spellcheck'!) Thanks so much for the dedication and I'm looking forward to the Airshow weekend we have lined up! Bring lots of film....Oh! Sorry!! Back in the 70's then LOL Cheers again mate.. Rob
Maxidyne
My niece who is a bit of a tomboy (do they still use that word today) is a huge motor racing fan, especially the late Ayrton Senna and also shows a lot of interest in WW1 and WW2 history. So maybe all is not lost on younger generations mate. I guess we are lucky your workmate didn't think 'Sailor' Malan was a friend of Popeye! You only have to look at this picture and hear the sound of a Merlin to understand why we keep going to shows :)
T.Rex
Beautiful photo, Neil. The camoflage is so good looking - useable for model making. Got the colors right. Wish I could go to one of these antique shows. Could you view the cockpit? Or even sit in it? Thanks for the plane's history. And what a lot of places it's been to and a lot of happenings. Nice to hear it's flying again. Keep up the good work! :-)
android65mar
So big it don't fit on my screen when blown up.
Tamarrion
Freakin' awesome! Thanks for the massive zoom - more than worth it! Love the Spitfire, especially the pre-bubble canopy variants.
Briney
What a history.... a movie star too!