Warbird Information Exchange

The only thing I wish is that they would take the wing tips of it, like in the flying pic. I think the Mk XIV looks better with clipped wings.

The scheme it wears, it has worn it since it returned to flight around 2002/03, so I don't believe it is geared towards the American market. It might be a reason they have left it in the scheme. Think the scheme is a favourite of the HFL team as their Mk XVI TD248 also wore the same scheme for a while.

here is a pic from airliners .net of the two together.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0733455/M/

Chad,

The scheme is based on an RAF entry in the Blackpool Air races of 1947.

It was a Mk 21 of 41 Squadron fitted with a 'service trial' contra-prop.

The identity has been speculated. There were possibly two such aircraft so painted, one being a reserve aircraft.

PeterA

Thanks for the info guys. I was aware that the scheme was based on the Mk 21 pictured in Peter's post. I was just wondering if authenticity of paint and markings played any role in judging at Sun-N-Fun.

It was Eddie Coventry who first went for the Silver and red scheme on TD248 when it was restored by the original Historic Flying team, from memory Clive Denney researched and applied the scheme in 1991.

You never know............. they may remove them after the damage it sustained at SnF.

Julian

What damage? Don't tease.

By the way, this aircraft put on a nice aerobatic display on Friday (?) at Snf...

KB

A golf cart had an argument with it on the warbird ramp, as it was parking after its display. The underside of the left wingtip panel metal was pierced for about a 9 to 12 inch jagged curve. The corner of the metal on the airleron was also bent (although I don't know if this happened at the same time). The aircraft made a quiet, straight-out departure the following day, presumably for repairs.

Peter,

Didn't you come up with a possible identity from a Russian publication a year or two back?

Hmmmm... Looks just like Dreadnought to me!

Mike,

When a photo turned up of a new contra-prop 'service trial' camouflaged Mk 21 Spitfire, LA217/GO, and this had very short service with 41 Squadron, bracketing by a couple weeks either side of the Blackpool Air races, I was pretty sure we had finally cracked the serial. That a Russian magazine ran a side view of the 'Racer' with serial LA217 added more weight. It had recently been revealed that Russia had Blackpool fully mapped as a centre for regional government in the event of an invasion...I jest not.

I had already prepared a little article on this when a further shot of LA217 turned up taken post the races, with identical camouflage as the first but with code RAV-J and evidence of the previous code GO painted out. It couldn't have been the racer.

To add to the conundrum, yet a further photograph surfaced, a contra-prop Mk 21, silver with the red strip, natural polished cowlings and carrying the code EB-?, yes '?'. Although not carrying an RAF serial, shadowed under the paint was evidence of LA299/AV-H.

Whether this latter aircraft was subsequently further repainted for the race or three aircraft were assigned to the race has yet to be determined.

PeterA

What's not been pointed out is that the scheme is NOT (as most ground observers assume) 'just' a red stripe, but intended to be seen from the air, where the red stripes on the top of the fuselage, wings and tailplane form a Cross of Lorraine, the squadron's insignia.



The red strip is an 'extension' of the Squadron's allocated red bar marking around a fuselage roundel.

Insignia: "A double-armed cross, it originated from the Squadron's association with St Omer, France during World War I."

As bdk's spotted, there is a coincidental similarity to Dreadnought's colours in the fact of the red fuselage stripe being common, and in fact Dreadnought's scheme is based on the Hawker's demonstration Fury which was painted in this scheme.

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

Hmmm... well there ain't a red strip on top of the fuselage...

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Awfully nice aeroplane piccies available

My mis-remembered item.

Cross stands as the raison d'etre.

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

That was the story when TD248 was painted, seems logical to me, maybe the stripe was down the side as a compromise, other wise it would have been very thin over the top of the rudder.

Story tracked to '47, in fact. It's a good few years ago the info was researched for Warbirds Worldwide, from which I was simply relying on memory.

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com