RAF Duxford the Return Pt 2

This is the follow on from the last blog on Duxford and the second part of our trip to where we checked out two more of the hangers, this one was of interest it was where the maintenance was done of the flying legends you see at shows

The Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk

Not sure what beast this plane is apart from seeing it's rotary engine is bing worked on

another I'm unsure about other than seeing it is in US Navy colours

This is a biplane could well be a Gloster Gladiator

Waling around for me is like being in a sweet shop and if I lived in the area I would be volunteering my work seeing the planes that are bing rebuilt

The green one you see looks like it could be a Bristol Beaufighter

More planes in various states of repair

Left the Hawker Nimrod

Think this one is the Hawker Sea Fury

Spitfire and Vought F4U Corsair

One plane I recognise and have seen flying is Sally B

Who you might also know as the Memphis Bell from the film of the same name

A Flying Fortress and a plane I think looks amazing

Not sure but could be a Hawker Typhoon

Another View of the Memphis Bell side of the Flying Fort
Left a De Havilland Rapide

A Flying Fortress Engine

A view of the repair hangar

After leaving that hangar we went to the new aerospace one was were greeted by the Polaris Missile. The UKs nuclear deterrent from the Cold War I remember of the 1960's

Above the Short Sunderland Flying Boat this thing is huge but one of the most beautiful planes around. Right the Westland Lysander













Going further along the ground floor of the hangar













Spotted this lurking under the wing of the Lancaster, the bouncing bomb from the famous Dambuster raid

Ah and old favourite and one I can have bragging rights on as I have flown on the plane, not this one as its the original test plane which was flown in just before the built the M11 and cut the runway down

I love this plane and use to listen out for it flying pat our village on the way to the USA every evening. Sad to say it's no longer in use and I miss seeing it fly past and the noise it made

The Avro Lancaster it has to be mu favourite plane

Tail end Charlie the end turret on the Lancaster

This is one amazing plane and I always love seeing it fly. It came over our Village a few years ago at tree top height and I can honestly say it make the hair on the back of you head stand on end

The De Havilland Mosquito one beautiful plane

Never seen one this colour though

When I first saw this plane I had thought it a De Havilland Heron
from the  Queens Flight. I have since found out is a De Havilland Dove Used by the Civil aviation Flying Unit

Above the Avro Vulcan which is one of the nosiest planes I've heard when it flew down the runway at RAF Benson and stood on its tail and opened the throttle.
Left the Westland Lysander

Looking across to the Short Sunderland which gives and idea as to how big it is.
Left the Avro Anson which use to based where I now work at the former RAF Harwell site

View of the mid upper turret of the Lancaster

Above the ejector seat, Taking a guess this is a Martin Baker as we are in the UK. They test them at Chalgrove Airfield near where I live and I've seen them tested out of the Meteor they had 

Stitch View of the Avro Lancaster

and another of a plane that never reached service the TSR2

That was it with photos useing my DSLR but I took a few with mu iPhone and the hall from the landing

above a First World War Plane
Left the Fairey Swordfish or stringbag as it was known

View of the Lancaster

and one above looking down on the Sunderland's cockpit & front turret

Finally a panoramic of the exhibition hall. That was it for our trip to Duxford. We missed seeing the Land Warfare Museum and the American one with all the US Air Force planes in but we hope to return for another look in the future.

If you want to know how come I did not have the time to visit the last two parts well it was because I went for a flight in one of these and if you look you will see a Tiger Moth in the background

I went up in that as well

Tally-ho Everyone

RAF Duxford the Return

My return to RAF Duxford took place around 20 years after the last, it was a day out for my Wife & I where we took a flight in a classic plane. The first thing you see when getting to the carpark is this Hawker Hurricane Gate Guardian. RAF Duxford was involved with the Battle of Britain before  being handed to the USAF. It is now in the hands of the Imperial War Museum and well worth a visit. After starting this blog I have decided to show it in two parts as there is so much to see

It's not the only thing Guarding either

One of the first planes I spotted was this two seater spitfire taxing out near the old WWII Ops tower

The tail of the Spitfire with a tiger Moth taking off

We were there for a reason and while we waited we went into a nearby Hangar to look at the planes

and the first plane was a Sopwith Camel

Above the tail fin with the makers name on it

On the left Ferocious Frankie a World War II Mustang

Couple of Battle of Britain planes, the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire two of mu all time favourite planes

One of two Hawker Fury's in the Hanger

The second Hawker Fury in the hanger at Duxford

Though this was an interesting one I think its a Grumman Avenger

It has the name Lt George Bush on the side


 
On the left a Fairey Gannet from the Royal Navy

Sure this is an old Navy Sea Vixen

Recognised this as a one man submarine but was lost on make

Then I saw this board telling you about it you can read more about the Biber 
and the story of how it ended up here

I think this was a deck gun of a submarine

Might look a little odd but the object on the right is the remains of HMS X7 midget Submarine

You can read about the X  class submarines
in the link and see what they were like inside

Ex Navy Helicopter

A restored Coastal Motor Boat
 You can see the engine end of a torpedo in the foreground 

This if I remember is part of a Mitsubishi Zero

and part of a Bristol Blenheim that is being restored at Duxford

I came out of the Hangar and had to get a photo of this PBY  or Consolidated PBY Catalina
which I remember from my last visit. After this we had a tour of the Battle of Britain hangar so here are a some of the photos from it.

We came in a side door and saw this spotlight and Anti Aircraft first

  Then this Spitfire Mk1A which was based at RAF Duxford in 1939 before the battle of Britain. While on patrol over Dunkirk it shot down a Junkers JU67 Stuka and then got shot down. The pilot crash landed near Calis and was captured. The Spitfire gradually sunk in the sand and recovered in 1986 being returned to the UK in 2007 and restored by the  Recanati-Kaplin Family in memory of Simon Jeremy Marsh. The spitfire was gifted to Duxford

 Left a German Messerschmitt BF 109 that had been shot down and crashed in the fields of Kent

This truck is what was used to launch the Barrage Balloons 

Above and Anti Aircraft Gun 

Hawker Hurricane with Captain Winko 

I think he was a joke in the war 

Another view of the crashed 109
This one ended up being sent around on display going to the us and eventaly ending up in a scrap yard in Canada where it was decovered and bought for restoration. it is now on perminat display in Duxford

A V1 flying bomb on its launch ramp. the rest of the ramp is on display outside somwhere

Not sure why this World War 0ne plane is in the Battle of Britain Hangar but I'll find out next time

This was a bit of a passion for me searching out remaining pillboxes. The one on the left is a Pop up one from an airfield the right is an Allen Williams Turret the second is a Pickett-Hamilton fort

That was the first two hangars we visited. We went in another two after this but  I will bring them in the next instalment with Part 2
 I'll finish this part with another view of the PBY Catalina