I’ve recently been working on the Spitfire’s two-seat variants. Some of the resulting profiles will have to wait a bit before they can be published, but here are already two profiles of the most famous twin-seat Spitfire : ML407, also know as the “Grace Spitfire”.
This profile is oddly pertinent in the current climate of social distancing, lockdowns and isolation. This is P-51D-20-NA serial number 44-63289, which belonged to the 531st Fighter Squadron, 21st Fighter Group, and was named “Is This Trip Necessary ?”. Starting in April 1945, the 21st Fighter Group was escorting B-29 Superfortresses over mainland Japan in…Continue reading Is This Trip Necessary ? – A good motto for the day and an ever better mystery
This Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat was photographed as it was stopped by the USS Lexington’s crash barrier on 25 February 1945. The aircraft was substantially damaged, the photo showing the right wingtip being torn off while cables tear through the left wing and rear fuselage. I was not able to find much more information regarding this…Continue reading A hammered Hellcat
Carrier Air Group 83 (CVG-83) was assigned to the USS Essex in early 1945 and was composed of several squadrons: VF-83 (F6F-5, F6F-5N, F6F-5P), VBF-83 (F4U-1D, FG-1D), VB-83 (SB2C-4E) and VT-83 (TBM-3E). The Air Group saw action in the Pacific theatre from 10 March to 15 September 1945, participating in raids on Kyushu, supporting the…Continue reading Corsairs of VBF-83
Known as the “Blayd Zero”, this A6M2 Model 21 was built by the Blayd Corporation in the 1990s by reproducing original A6M parts purchased by Robert Diemert. The aircraft also used some original Zero parts in the landing gear, thereby earning it the status of restored rather than a replica or restoration. This of course…Continue reading The “Blayd” Zero
These profiles are part of a set created for the book Squadrons ! No.31: The Supermarine Spitfire Mk V – The New Zealanders by Phil H. Listemann.
After watching some Imperial War Museum footage showing the Free French pilots of No 340 Squadron, I noticed a mistake in one of my earlier profiles, and decided to correct it. This is the original profile, depicting Spitfire Mk Vb BM324, which was flown by Wg Cdr Bernard Dupérier at the time of Operation Rutter…Continue reading Spitfire stripes – a few words on Operation Rutter and the Dieppe landings
For over a decade, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dimitris Vassilopoulos of Greeks in Foreign Cockpits, a Greek “amateur” historian whose research into the lives and careers of Greek airmen, and airmen of Greek origins, in foreign air arms has yielded more than professional results. Dimitris has been able to uncover stories, photos…Continue reading “Hell’s Belle” – and a new partnership
Seventy-five years ago to this day, on 4 July 1944, Lt William Crawford Moseley was reported missing in action over the Bonin Islands.
I’m currently working on a new template: the Grumman F6F Hellcat, one of the greatest fighters of World War II. The first profiles will be of the F6F-3 and the F6F-3P variants, followed by the F6F-5.