Focke Wulf 190 V Spitfire

[Higgy]

How the Hell did this Thread go all tits up?.....If Someone put a thread about Fluffy Kittens, Someone else would turn it into a Thread on fire breathing, Racist, Homophobic, Dragons!!!! .....Jeeeze!... FFS Chill!

 

[Chris]

It's called 'drift' Higgy. It's symptomatic of the written word over face to face discussions in the pub. Forums have become the new beer garden and some folk's keyboard taps don't always land with the same intonation as would their spoken word. Having said that some folk were just born with a giant wooden spoon in their mouth.

Anyway, enough or kitty gets it, right?

 

[frank rabbets]

Where would this country be without the poles. All the wires would be on the ground.

 

[flint]

That would currently be an act of resistance, like signing a blank czech.

 

[jibberjabber]

How the Hell did this Thread go all tits up?.....If Someone put a thread about Fluffy Kittens, Someone else would turn it into a Thread on fire breathing, Racist, Homophobic, Dragons!!!! .....Jeeeze!... FFS Chill!

Well said.

 

[jibberjabber]

It's called 'drift' Higgy. It's symptomatic of the written word over face to face discussions in the pub. Forums have become the new beer garden and some folk's keyboard taps don't always land with the same intonation as would their spoken word. Having said that some folk were just born with a giant wooden spoon in their mouth.

Anyway, enough or kitty gets it, right?

Well said.

 

[Dave_S]

Always had a soft spot for these bad boys when I was a kid - watch with the sound up loud!

 

[Towpack]

My favourite aircraft. Why settle for one Merlin when you can have two! The fastest aircraft on the planet when it was launched and one of the most versatile.

 

[moggy1968]

Always had a soft spot for these bad boys when I was a kid - watch with the sound up loud!

My uncle was the navigator/bomber in one of those (on the basis he was an optician)
Got his DFC but struggled all his life with mental illness, said he was nothing but a 'bloody murderer'. Ended his days in a mental hospital

 

[Chris]

Absolutely without question my favourite aircraft of all time too. My Uncle used to tell how it was made from nothing more than balsa wood and Araldite.

 

[Towpack]

Saw this on TV years ago and still have it on VHS somewhere!

 

[Chris]

Back in the day when smoking was good for you. I loved the way that they demonstrated how light balsa was - by getting a woman to carry some. Brilliant.

 

[frank rabbets]

Thanks TP. I watched all of it. Petrol drop tanks made of paper and a 700 million candle power flash bulb for photographing the enemy at night from high up!!

There are unbelievable films on Youtube on making the Merlin engine here and under licence with Packard/America. There's one brilliant part with a bloke pouring molten sodium into exhaust valve stems, then welding the ends over, no mask!

 

[flint]

Another flying machine that used the Merlin.

 

[BobMurphy]

Back in the '60s we lived in a flat near Watford, near Elstree Aerodrome.
One day when I was home from Boarding School I was building model planes in my bedroom when I heard a distinctive noise . . .
Rushing to the windows I saw three Mosquitos coming in low - they spent hours flying around (with a couple of Spitfires) shooting scenes for "633 Squadron" - absolute joy.
The hairs on my neck rise whenever I hear a Merlin and the sight of a Spitfire or (better still) a Mosquito brings tears to my eyes.
I guess it goes back to my earliest memories as a very small kid, living in the village of Ash near Aldershot - under the flightpath from Farnborough. I still remember Hawker Typhoons passing overhead (and the experimental stuff - DH Swallow & the Brabazon).
I was born in 1947!
Bob.

 

[flint]

There are unbelievable films on Youtube on making the Merlin engine here and under licence with Packard/America.

There are interesting snippets here, including how Packard had to tighten up tolerances for mass production.

https://www.tested.com/art/makers/4...mass-produced-britains-hand-built-powerhouse/

 

[clivehorridge]

Ok, another Saturday lost on youtoob after seeing this video, then the next, and .... ... ended up looking for Halifax vids, my dad was a bomb-aimer / co-pilot during WWII RAAF 462 sqn, RAF Volunteers...

Great stuff

 

[Higgy]

This old Corsair didn't have a bad sound Track!

 

[BobMurphy]

I believe the Bristol Beaufighter was also known as "The whispering death" by the Germans - for the same reason (must be something to do with radial engines and their exhaust outlets !).

I've always liked the Corsair. It was so powerful, and swung such a huge prop it needed that inverted gull wing to keep the undercarriage short enough to stow properly. The result was a great-looking aircraft.

Bob.