Sea Fury's, Firefly's ...

[Noha307]

Part 5 of 5 ...

HMS Indefatigable

What's up with the roundels on this guy? Looks like he got a good bit of damage as well.

I assume that this is some sort of training variant?

EDIT: I almost forgot, I amazed myself the other day at my local airport when I IDed a Sea Fury in a picture hanging on the wall of the aviation historical society room there. (I neglect to mention that I called accidentally it a Whirlwind, but I knew the plane I was thinking of - I swear!) It was so amazing because the photo only showed the forward fuselage and cockpit - I recognized it only from the distinctive engine exhaust. Anyway, the photo had two men from the airport's founding family in it, and it was at one point part of their collection. So it was a cool local connection. I wonder where it went...

[Flying-Dutchman]

Armchair quarterbacking I know but I think I may have elected to go out the other way!

I saw that and wondered what his thought process was. I'm not the shapest knife (i said knife) in the drawer , but.....doesn't one generally move away from flames instead of jumping into the frying pan?

Greetings from Holland

I know this particular incident. I try to translate a part of the book "Een bevlogen avontuur" by R.J. Idzerda (squad leader of the 860sq, flying the seafuries at that time)

The name of the pilot is not known to me. But his nickname was "de Kluis" wich translates into "the vault". He crashed on the British carrier HMS Illustrous. He got away without burns and got back to flying duty after his broken ankle was healed. He probably jumped on this side of the aircraft because he was used to get in and out on this side of the airplane and this side was lower to the deck, so he didn't have to fall very far. Or maybe the airplane was still sliding along the deck and he did not wanted it to slide over him when he jumped out.

There was also a pleasant anecdote about this pilot. It occurred during a Mediterranean cruise of the Royal Dutch navy only carrier, the "Karel Doorman". A detachment of eight Seafuries paid a visit to the French naval airbase "Oran" in Tunesia. The MLD pilots were very surprised to see that their french colleagues drank a glass of wine during the lunch. This was strictly forbidden in the Dutch navy. Not wanting to 'insult' their hosts, they also took a glass thinned with water. Late in the afternoon, they would return to the carrier. Because the French did not speak any english, they had to ask for take-off permission in french. The dutch pilots rehearsed a few sentences for this before they left the carrier. Asking take-off permission in english went like this: "Request Permission to enter the runway for take-off" In French, this translates to "Demande Permission pour pénétrer la piste et décoller" "De Kluis, being the funny guy, pronounced it like this: "Demande Permission pour pénétrer le décolleté" This translates into something like: I am asking for permission to penetrate the cleavage" Realizing it was a joke from a merry Dutch pilot, who was not used to a glass of wine, the French ATC Laughed Out Loud

[airnutz]

Part 5 of 5 ...

HMS Indefatigable

What's up with the roundels on this guy? Looks like he got a good bit of damage as well.

Fleet Air Arm aircraft of the South East Asia Command originally removed the red center of their roundel in order to avoid confusion with the red Japanese hinomaru. The sorta-American style bar was added later...

Last edited by airnutz on Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Invader26]

Firefly trainer of Royal Australian Navy side number 916>>>
....and from adfserials info:
VX373 AS5 F8405 Delivered to King George V Docks, Glasgow, Scotland on 04 April 1949 and was embarked in HMAS SYDNEY. Landed at Jervis Bay 31 May 1949 and towed by road to RANAS Nowra. Flown by 816 Squadron as 208/K later as 233/K. On 24 February 1951 it hit the round down and went into the Barrier on board HMAS SYDNEY. Allotted to 851 Squadron as 276/K and then with 724 Squadron as 916/NW. To the RAAF 29/07/53. I believe the ID on the RAAF status card is incorrect, it was listed as FX373. Aircraft is to be tested for the Navy at ARDU. Details of testing unknown. To ARDU 05/08/53. Departed for Nowra 11/11/53. In 1954 it was with 723 Squadron and on 21 February 1955 it swung to starboard on take off and the under carriage broke off on rough ground. In February 1955 it had been modified as a Mark 5 T2 Pilot Trainer. On 26 June 1957 while with 851 squadron its port oleo collapsed on landing Later allotted to 724 Squadron as 962/NW. Sold to T. Carr & Co. for scrap by the Department of Supply on 06 March 1959.
Images of VX373.

Last edited by Invader26 on Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Martin Edwards]

...and this information came from?
www.adf-serials.com.au

A credit would be nice!

[Tracker]

Concerning Dutch Sea Fury 6-27 on fire:

I have the pilot's comment on his decision to jump to port.
He was my CO in '67-'68...

I also have 3 more photographs on the subject.
However, I'm new here and have NO idea how to obtain a URL of foto's I have on my PC under Windows Live photo gallery. (when do you guys skip the ph-es in photograph, and go to 'foto'?)

I understand that I will need a temporary place on the internet.
Suggestions?

Thanks,

Tracker.

[Steve T]

Tracker--

Easiest way to get pix onto the forum is to upload them to a photo sharing site like Photobucket or Flickr or some such, then link to them in the thread on WIX; they should come right up. I'll find a relevant shot and demonstrate...

Fury C-FGAT at Mt.Hope when owned by Sandy Thomson. Linked from Photobucket.



Firefly AS.6 C-GBDG of CWH, ditto...


And one you'll like, given your forum name, CWH's CS2F-2 Tracker, RCN 1577, when she was a static display piece; she is now being rebuilt to fly (alongside an Avenger)...


Cheers, and welcome to WIX!

Steve T

[Tracker]

Thanks for the Welcome Steve, and the help.

I'll do my best, but questions will come up now and then for sure...

And yes, Tracker it was during my 6 years of Dutch Navy.

[Mark Allen M]

Feel free to contact me as well if you need assistance with posting photos. I've done it a couple of times here so I almost know what I'm doing now.
Love to see your photos. That kind of thing is very much appreciated around here.

Welcome.

[Tracker]

Gentlemen,

I managed to create URL's and shall upload a picture of Hr Ms (Her Majesty's) Karel Doorman, former HMS Venerable, a Light Fleet Carrier, keel laid in WW2.

This is a test picture, one of fifty or so. Fireflies and Seafuries will follow.


I took the picture shown in 1963 with a cheap camera, while executing a CCA, Carrier Controlled Approach.
It shows what a smaller carrier would look like.

Mind that the landing mirror is OFF, but adjacent to the LSO platform our LSO is just visible.
To me, now, it seems like we are high on glide slope, but the LSO is quite content, indicating
ON glidepath with his bats level.

The aircraft was an S2A Tracker, off the Scottish coast.

Tracker.

[Scott Rose]

I saw that and wondered what his thought process was. I'm not the shapest knife (i said knife) in the drawer , but.....doesn't one generally move away from flames instead of jumping into the frying pan?

The left gear has collapsed so to get out the right side would involve climbing over the cockpit rim and then a big jump whereas he could effectively fall out the left side. We don't know the timing either, the fire may just have erupted at the same instant. Hope he was OK in any case.

Maybe he was cold?

P.S. Images restored

[L-188]

Great pics of my favorite piston warbird

[Lynn Allen]

Armchair quarterbacking I know but I think I may have elected to go out the other way!

I saw that and wondered what his thought process was. I'm not the shapest knife (i said knife) in the drawer , but.....doesn't one generally move away from flames instead of jumping into the frying pan?

Maybe when he started out the door it hadn't ignited yet?