Duxford host a Spittie collection.

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Originally Posted by 4bee

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I used a Magnifier but could not get it clear enough to satisfy some folk.

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You only have to do the best that you can.

Have a good Chrissy, DL

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Originally Posted by 350RRC

You only have to do the best that you can.

Have a good Chrissy, DL

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Thanks DL & same to you bunch of sarcastic *****s. You know who I mean. [bigrolf]

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Originally Posted by Tins

Especially over North London in the "Big Wings" led by Dogsbody Bader.

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Bader never flew a spitfire.

why dogsbody, he was a real nice bloke , having met him in 1978

Bader flew Hurricanes in the Battle of Britian with 242 Squadron.

However, prior to that he flew Spitfires with 19 and 222 Squadrons and after the BoB was made a wing commander and flew Spitfires again. He was shot down in a Spitfire Va.

Apparently dogsbody came from his initials DB.

Cheers,
Jon

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Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

Bader never flew a spitfire.

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Incorrect. While his exploits with the misfit 242 Squadron had him in Hurricanes, he flew Spits before and after that. In fact, it is likely he flew more sorties in Spitfires than Hurricanes. The biographical movie "Reach for the Sky" really only covers the BoB. Paul Brickhills book of the same name covers Bader in far more detail, and Bader's own book, Fight for the Sky" also tells of his time in Spits. And, as Jon says, he was flying a Spitfire VA when shot down on August 9, 1941. In June, 1945, Bader led the Victory Flypast. I'm not sure, but I believe this was also in a Spitfire.

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Originally Posted by Tins

Incorrect. While his exploits with the misfit 242 Squadron had him in Hurricanes, he flew Spits before and after that. In fact, it is likely he flew more sorties in Spitfires than Hurricanes. The biographical movie "Reach for the Sky" really only covers the BoB. Paul Brickhills book of the same name covers Bader in far more detail, and Bader's own book, Fight for the Sky" also tells of his time in Spits. And, as Jon says, he was flying a Spitfire VA when shot down on August 9, 1941. In June, 1945, Bader led the Victory Flypast. I'm not sure, but I believe this was also in a Spitfire.

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I had his recording for "The 50th Anniversary of the RAF" for some years until we moved house, & guess what? Yep, it got binned, probably with my copy of "BRITISH STEAM". Odd that.[bigsad]

I recall him saying that he couldn't get used to the new Jet engines as they all sounded pretty much the same & you couldn't identify the aircraft they were in, but earlier with piston engines you could. He thought it was a great shame.

Group Capt. Douglas Bader CBE, DSO, DFC – Salute In Sound On The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The RAF (1968, Vinyl) - Discogs

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Originally Posted by 4bee

I had his recording for "The 50th Anniversary of the RAF" for some years until we moved house, & guess what? Yep, it got binned, probably with my copy of "BRITISH STEAM". Odd that.[bigsad]

I recall him saying that he couldn't get used to the new Jet engines as they all sounded pretty much the same & you couldn't identify the aircraft they were in, but earlier with piston engines you could. He thought it was a great shame.

Group Capt. Douglas Bader CBE, DSO, DFC – Salute In Sound On The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The RAF (1968, Vinyl) - Discogs

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Here you go Mr Bee, Various-Trains British Steam Volume 1 UK vinyl LP album (LP record) (653783)

all corrections accepted.

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Originally Posted by 4bee

The largest collection of Spitfires ever assembled in one place is on display at Duxford Air Museum, with 12 aircraft on display. | Nokia News

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Maybe somebody can clear something up which I often notice with file photos in articles on the internet. The photo of that group of Spits is the reverse of how it would appear in real life (the Spit in the foreground with Johnny Johnson's markings on it (might be a MkIV..??) clearly has the markings frack to bunt. How does this happen so often that photos are "flipped"....?

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Originally Posted by Tins

Incorrect. While his exploits with the misfit 242 Squadron had him in Hurricanes, he flew Spits before and after that. In fact, it is likely he flew more sorties in Spitfires than Hurricanes. The biographical movie "Reach for the Sky" really only covers the BoB. Paul Brickhills book of the same name covers Bader in far more detail, and Bader's own book, Fight for the Sky" also tells of his time in Spits. And, as Jon says, he was flying a Spitfire VA when shot down on August 9, 1941. In June, 1945, Bader led the Victory Flypast. I'm not sure, but I believe this was also in a Spitfire.

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P.S. Yep, I've seen a photo of Bader in the cockpit of a Spit which is captioned as part of the Victory Flypast, so, assuming that was correctly labelled, he flew a Spit that day. It is also far more likely that in 1945 there'd be a spare Spitfire hanging around in the UK than there would be a Hurricane. Plus, it would be the obvious choice of plane to lead the flight.

P.P.S. Bader appears to have been, like a lot of "high performers", a man of many facets and accounts of him are rather varied in regards to his behaviour. The accounts of people like Johnson show that on ops he was clearly a very good leader, though it's probably very fortunate that he and Trafford Leigh Mallory didn't have their way on the tactics for interception during the Battle of Britain: things might have turned out rather differently if that had happened.