A Very Unusual Air War (46 page)
Read A Very Unusual Air War Online
Authors: Gill Griffin
On November 15th I flew a Spitfire VB from Hendon to West Raynham and back, each flight lasting 50 minutes.
In order to maintain our pilot pay status we were required to fly a certain number of hours annually. A special unit was based at Hendon, from which we could take our pick of the several aircraft types there. The aforementioned flights were some of these; there were others not recorded.
On June 13th 1947 I flew an Auster Autocrat accompanied by a Staff Pilot, making a one-hour local flight at Rearsby. Following a meeting at Auster Aircraft Company I was offered a flight in a new machine just off the production line. After a buzz round with the company’s pilot, I was free to do my own thing. This was my last recorded flight as a member of the RAFVR.
| Flying time | |||
| Dual | Solo | Passenger | |
| Night Flying | 3–30 | 11–20 | |
| Daylight Flying | 60–00 | 1074–50 | 16–15 |
GRAND TOTAL FLYING HOURS: 1149 hrs. 40 minutes.
I was released from active service on 2nd September 1948, although I remained a serving officer until the end of November and was able to continue wearing my uniform until then. This was also the day on which our second daughter, Penelope, was born.
For the next 33 years my time was fully occupied earning a living in civvy street and I was unable to take an interest in flying. After my retirement at the end of 1981 I was able to join a flying club at Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. In anticipation of my eagerness to fly again, earlier that year Estelle had given me a one-hour flight as a birthday present; but it was 1984 before I made further flights on a regular basis.
LIST OF AIRCRAFT FLOWN
| De Havilland Tiger Moth DH 82 | Biplane Trainer | Gipsy Major | | At EFTS Desford Sept/Nov. 1940 |
| Miles Master Mk 1 | Low-wing Monoplane Trainer | Rolls-Royce Kestrel Series 1 | | At SFTA Hullavington Nov/April ’40/41 |
| Miles Master Mk 2 | Low-wing Monoplane Trainer | Rolls-Royce Series 2 | | Instruct Bomber S/Ldr. Duxford ’42 |
| Miles Master Mk 3 | Low-wing Monoplane Trainer | Twin Row Wasp Radial | | Instruct Bomber S/Ldr. Duxford ’42 |
| Hurricane I | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 8 machine guns | SFTS Hullavington ’40/41 |
| Hurricane IV | | Rolls-Royce Merlin XX | 4 machine guns & 2 × 20mm. Cannons | AFDU Duxford ’42 |
| Spitfire Mk I | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 8 machine guns. OTU | 1st solo Speke ’41 |
| Spitfire Mk IIa | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 8 machine guns. OTU | 41 Sqdn. Catterick ’41 |
| Spitfire Mk IIb | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 8 machine guns. OTU | 41 Sqdn. Catterick ’41 |
| Spitfire Mk Vb | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 4 machine guns and 2 20mm cannon | 41 Sqdn. Catterick and W. Hampnett ’41 |
| Spitfire Mk Va | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 8 machine guns | 41 Sqdn. Catterick and W. Hampnett ’41 |
| Spitfire Mk Vc | | Rolls-Royce Merlin III | 2 machine guns and 4 cannon | Duxford |
| Spitfire Mk VI | | As Mk Vb but with pressurised cabin | | AFDU Wittering |
| Spitfire VII | | As Mk above but with elongated wings for super high altitude | | |
| All following Spitfires at AFDU Duxford or Wittering | |
| Spitfire Mk VIII LF | Redesigned Mk Va but with Merlin 66 2-speed 2-stage blower for best performance to 30,000 ft |
| Spitfire Mk VIII HF | As above but with max. performance up to 40,000 ft |
| Spitfire Mk IX LF | As Mk VIII LF |
| Spitfire Mk IX HF | As Mk VIII HF. The best of all the Spitfires |
| Spitfire Mk XI | Similar to Mk IX HF but without armament for PRU |
| Spitfire Mk XII LF only | Similar to Mk IX LF but with the new Rolls-Royce Griffon engine |
| Spitfire MkXIV HF | As above but super performance up to 40,000 ft. Ceiling 43/44.000ft |
| Spitfire Mk XVI | Similar to Mk IX HF but with American Packard built Merlin engine and .5 colt machine guns |
| Spitfire Mk XVIII | Similar to Mk XIV but without armaments for PRU |
| Spitfire Mk XXI | As Mk XIV but with more powerful engine and 5 bladed airscrew |
| Miles Magister | Monoplane Trainer | Gipsy Major | | 602 Sqdn. Kenley ’41/42 |
| Stinson Reliant | American 4 seater light passenger plane | Engine: Lycoming | | AFDU Duxford ’42/43 |
| Boulton Paul Defiant | Night Fighter | Rolls-Royce Merlin | | AFDU Duxford ’42/43 |
| Blackburn Skua | Naval Fighter reconnaissance aircraft | Radial engine | | AFDU Duxford ’42/43 |
| Airspeed Oxford | Twin-engined Trainer | Cheeta Radials | | AFDU Duxford ’42/43 |
| North American Mustang Mk I (P51) | | Alison water cooled | Armament 8.5 colt m/g. | 17.6 42, evaluation |
| North American Mustang Mk III (P51a) | | Packard Merlin 66 | | AFDU Duxford and Wittering |
| North American Mustang Mk X (P51d) | As above but with Bubble canopy | | | AFDU Duxford and Wittering |
| North American Mustang Mk IV | As above but with Tear Drop canopy and ‘cut down’ rear fuselage | | | AFDU Duxford and Wittering |
| Wellington Bomber | | Twin Bristol radial or RR Merlin engines | | Fighter Affiliation at Lakenheath |
| Aerocobra | American Fighter | Alison in line | | August.42 for evaluation |
| Gloster Gladiator | Biplane fighter | Radial | | Jan.’43 to Little Rissington for breaking up |
| American Thunderbolt (P47) | Popularly known as ‘The Jug’ | Wright double row cyclone | | Experience on type. Feb ’43 |
| Hawker Typhoon | | Napier Sabre | | Evaluation and comparative performance April ’43 |
| Heston Phoenix | 4 seater light communication aircraft | Gypsy VI | | |
| Grumman Martlet | American naval fighter | Wright Cyclone | | Experience on type, an unusual one for my logbook |
| Focke Wulf FW 190 | German Fighter | BMW 801 Radial | | Aug.43. Comparative trials and Demonstrations began. |
| Percival Proctor | Light comm. Aircraft | Gypsy Queen | | Sept ’43 |
| Auster | Army co-op aircraft | Cirrus | | Nov ’43 |
| Tempest I | | Sabre | | Performance testing Jan. ’44 |
| Tempest V | | Bristol Centaurus | | Performance and dive bombing Oct. ’44 |
John Timmis, Len Thorne and Ron Rayner at Hullavington, 1991.
Len Thorne and Ron Rayner off for a flight with Bristol University Air Training Squadron instructors at Hullavington.
Len Thorne in 1996 being shown the ‘taps’ on Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 trop 10639 (G-USTV) at Duxford Airshow.
| Grumman Hellcat | US Naval fighter | Double Row Wasp | | Another odd one for my logbook |
| Fairey Firefly | Naval fighter/Bomber | RR Griffon | | Another odd one for my logbook |
| Firefly Fulmar | Naval fighter/Bomber | RR Merlin | | Another odd one for my logbook |
| US Boston (also known as the Havoc) | Fighter/bomber | Twin Wright Cyclones | | Evaluation and communications |
| Gloster Meteor Mk I | | RR B 23 Jet | | Attached to 616 Sqdn. Manston Nov ’44 for experience with Sqdn. |
| Gloster Meteor Mk III | | RR B 23 Jet | | Testing. Moved to Tangmere. Feb ’45 |
| German Messerschmidt Me 109 G (known as the Gustav) | | Daimler Benz DB 605 | | Nov. ’44 comparative testing |
| Mustang IV | Packard or Ford Merlin 66 built under licence | | | Some testing, mostly bombing |
| Auster Autocrat | | | | At Rearsby factory, experience on type; my last flight as an RAF pilot. |