Warbird Information Exchange

Last weekend, a Spitfire and Hurricane returned to the skies over Malta. These 2 types are extremely significant, as they were the main defenders of Malta against the Luftwaffe and Italian AF whilst that island was under siege from 1940-43.

The 2 aircraft, from the Historic Aircraft Collection at Duxford, were ferried to Malta via Jersey, France and Italy in the week before the Malta International Airshow, where they appeared as the main highlight.

The Spitfire was repainted into a temporary scheme of an aircraft ferried to Malta aboard the USS Wasp for the event. The Hurricane already carries the scheme of a Malta-based aircraft.

There was also a party of veterans and their families, numbering over 600, returning to the island, many for the first time since the war. A memorial service on the Sunday, attended by many of the veterans, was disrupted by a torrential thunderstorm, but the skies cleared to allow flypasts by the Spitfire and Hurricane (with a poppy drop from the Spitfire on the second pass) and the RAF Red Arrows.

Here are some photos from this unique weekend.

And a few from the memorial service and poppy drop.









Lest we forget.

A Messerschmitt also sneaked in on the proceedings!

Wonderful images!

Thanks Mike!

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Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

Did you meet any interesting veterans with stories? The pictures are really neat.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Mike,absolutely great pics,I think the Spit needs to stay in its unique colours for a season, makes for a refreshing change to green/brown camo,don't you think,cheers,Pete

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Give me a Centaurus over a Merlin any day

Lovely stuff Mike, see you at Old Warden on Sunday.

Rob

Mike...teriffic pics. Must be nice to be financially independent and have the time and money to go to all these neat places.

Mudge the envious

ps. Thanks to the powers that be at United Airlines, my pension just got cut almost in half. That means fewer air shows for the Mudges.

Was there any Photo flights done? (i.e. air to air)

That would be a cool to see those.

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Thanks Mike for the great photos! Like the Blue Spit also for a change.
Was the chalk script, "guns loaded" etc., part of the re-enactors
participation? It didn't appear visible in the flight photos. Do you have any
close-ups of the other script?

I thought this was a hoot when I saw it last night! The Bastards Return...
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showth ... 435&page=1

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

The chalked wording on the Spitfire read 'Onwards to "Malta" ' on the fuel tank cover, and 'Fully fueled' on the other side of the nose, and on the Hurricane 'Guns loaded, fueled', in the style of contemporary photographs of similar aircraft ready to be launched from their carriers towards Malta.

A nice touch, adding to the authenticity of the occasion, as were the re-enactors brought over from the UK. I recognised a number of them from the rainy weekend at Duxford 2 weeks before.

When I was in the Navy, our Airwing would alway write notes on the Gun access panel of the Hornets to say it was loaded, what type of ammo, and how many rnds in chalk or grease pencil ( I can't remmeber which). It could be wipped down easy enough later and was just "easy" and safe.

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www.tailhookstudio.com

...Note the black diamond with white outline on the tail - is it a unit marking or a disguised swastika?

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

In the link I provided, titled The Bastards Return, it is explained that the
swastika was blacked out in order to facilitate speedier paperwork in
countries or with officials, who may be sensitive to the swastika.

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Thanks for the info Mike. Amongst those grayhairs at the Memorial, I
wonder how many were support personell at Malta, who felt well
represented by the re-enactors. A nice touch, as well as a nice salute to
the veterans.

edit
In digging through your photo-link, I also enjoyed the F-16 with the
unusual bulls-eye dorsal paint-scheme (Dutch?), as well as the colorful
Phantom.
Thanks again.

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF