13 Spitfires in the sky not too far from Sheffield

[drummonds]

I wonder why Sheffield wasn't included in the fly over as we made the crankshafts here.

 

i doubt that very much. they tend to run packard engines and variable pitch propellors these days.

[holymoses]

Here is a formation of 5 Spitfires flying over my North Lincolnshire home about 20 minutes ago - a wonderful sight and sound.

 

Fantastic Hillsbro, I had everything crossed that they would come this way but looks like we missed out.

[hillsbro]

After a little web searching I have found good photos of the five Spitfires that flew over my home, a photo of which I linked in my post #5. They are (listed by their visible letter codes - click on these for links to the photos):

 

AE-A - SPITFIRE LF VB, built 1942

J-EJ - SPITFIRE Mk..XIV, built 1944

JT-10 - SPITFIRE IXe, built 1945 (photo also linked by beechnut)

B-ZD - SPITFIRE IX, built 1943

V-DV - SPITFIRE F Mk..Vc

[DaveGas]

i doubt that very much. they tend to run packard engines and variable pitch propellors these days.

 

During/before the war I meant, I believe Ambrose Shardlows or one of the other large steel works down Attercliffe produced and finished them so it would have been nice to give us a fly over

Edited August 15, 2015 by DaveGas

[carosio]

After a little web searching I have found good photos of the five Spitfires that flew over my home, a photo of which I linked in my post #5. They are (listed by their visible letter codes - click on these for links to the photos):

 

AE-A - SPITFIRE LF VB, built 1942

J-EJ - SPITFIRE Mk..XIV, built 1944

JT-10 - SPITFIRE IXe, built 1945 (photo also linked by beechnut)

B-ZD - SPITFIRE IX, built 1943

V-DV - SPITFIRE F Mk..Vc

When I saw your original photo, it did appear to me that one on the left was a later version with the bubble canopy, 5 bladed prop and possibly a Griffon engine.

[glennpickard]

re who writes history. For WW2 the Japanese, Germans and Italians had their own authors put pen to paper. But there was no disputing the facts in that one, their versions were very similar to ours because the facts were there for all to see, recorded and indisputable. Its just that UK authors record and relate history better than most.

 

I thought that all Spits in WW2 had either the Merlin or Griffon engine. I presume if Packard, they have undergone conversions post 1945 due to scarcity of the old RR piston engines ?

[Event Horizo]

Quite right - and if we hadn't resisted Hitler in 1940, the subsequent history of what was once the United Kingdom would have been written in German.

 

If the Luftwaffe hadn't of shifted their priorities from the airfields to the cities then it would have been a different story. Yes we resisted but their error gave us the breathing space to re-arm.

[hillsbro]

If the Luftwaffe hadn't of shifted their priorities from the airfields to the cities then it would have been a different story. Yes we resisted but their error gave us the breathing space to re-arm.

Yes - this is the traditional view but it's a case of "what if". The fact is that if we hadn't gone to war (as the pacifists wanted) we would have become a German colony.

[beechnut]

Yes - this is the traditional view but it's a case of "what if". The fact is that if we hadn't gone to war (as the pacifists wanted) we would have become a German colony.

Spot-on as usual, Hillsboro! In 1939, many pacifists on both sides were First World War veterans and they knew only too well the absolute horror of war. But if we had not resisted German expansion, the UK would have ceased to exist as an independent nation and we would have been ruled by a Gauleiter. It's as simple as that.

[Event Horizo]

But if we had not resisted German expansion, the UK would have ceased to exist as an independent nation and we would have been ruled by a Gauleiter. It's as simple as that.

 

But it's not as simple as that. Hitler's eastern campaign tied up 75% of german manpower. Therefore we resisted a wholly lesser german force just in the air. The russians took the brunt. Without them and the failures of Stalingrad and Operation Citadel we'd have burned.