Typhoon BoB scheme

[melmothtw]

I know someone posted the image of the RCAF Hornet in a BoB scheme some days back (can't find the post in the search engine).

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag380/garethjennings1/t8porxvjskm4knuxvh19_zpse11tuaje.jpg (http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/garethjennings1/media/t8porxvjskm4knuxvh19_zpse11tuaje.jpg.html)

Seems the RAF is getting in on the act also

http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag380/garethjennings1/17149623222_6650043cf1_n_zpstkwcyfmi.jpg (http://s1373.photobucket.com/user/garethjennings1/media/17149623222_6650043cf1_n_zpstkwcyfmi.jpg.html)

From Kevin Martin's Flickr feed https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmartin1/17149623222/in/photostream/

[Treble one]

Apparently in the markings of a Hurricane 1A of 249 Squadron flown by Flt Lt James Nicolson VC

[teeteringhead]

Flt Lt James Nicolson VC Who was of course IIRC the only B of B VC. :ok:

[Treble one]

Indeed he was. His wingman on 249 Squadron who is still with us would no doubt approve (Wing Cdr Tom Neil DFC*)

[teeteringhead]

From the London Gazette 15th November 1940:

Air Ministry, 15 November 1940.

The KING has been graciously pleased to confer the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned officer in recognition of most conspicuous bravery : —

Flight Lieutenant James Brindley NICOLSON (39329) — No. 249 Squadron.

During an engagement with the enemy near Southampton on 16th August 1940, Flight Lieutenant Nicolson's aircraft was hit by four cannon shells, two of which wounded him whilst another set fire to the gravity tank. When about to abandon his aircraft owing to flames in the cockpit he sighted an enemy fighter. This he attacked and shot down, although as a result of staying in his burning aircraft he sustained serious burns to his hands, face, neck and legs. Flight Lieutenant Nicolson has always displayed great enthusiasm for air fighting and this incident shows that he possesses courage and determination of a high order. By continuing to engage the enemy after he had been wounded and his aircraft set on fire, he displayed exceptional gallantry and disregard for the safety of his own life.


Amazingly he recovered and returned to flying, gaining a DFC flying Beaufigters as a Sqn Ldr as OC 27 in Burma in 1944.

He was killed as a passenger/observer in a 355 Sqn Liberator in May 1945, three days after his 28th birthday........

[Wander00]

ISTR as a teenager reading his story, which was titled "I'll teach you some manners", words he is alleged to have shouted out as he pursued the aircraft he chased, although in an aircraft that was seriously on fire. I am sure I read somewhere that more Hurricane than Spitfire pilots were seriously burned due the Hurricane having a fuel tank right in front of the cockpit

[melmothtw]

I am sure I read somewhere that more Hurricane than Spitfire pilots were seriously burned due the Hurricane having a fuel tank right in front of the cockpit.

I thought both aircraft had their fuel tanks in front of the cockpit. Perhaps Danny could enlighten us?

[bvcu]

and flying from an airfield that wasn't a recognised fighter airfield or a normal RAF station……..

[54Phan]

James Nicolson also later commanded one of the "Turbinlight" Havoc squadrons.

[Bob Wyer]

Not only the only BoB VC, but the only WW2 Fighter VC, 249 credited with most WW2 fighter kills, I believe.

[MPN11]

I have no difficulty with the concept, I just wish the colours [and period roundels] were more accurate :(

Upper wing, Type B, was surely full chord [apart from the ailerons]?

[Wander00]

Found this on a Google search (http://spitfiresite.com/2010/08/battle-of-britain-1940-burning-hurricanes.html)
Of the two main British fighter types participating in the Battle of Britain, the rugged Hawker Hurricane was notorious for its cockpit fires. The two main fuel tanks of this aircraft, positioned between the main spars in the wing roots, were completely unprotected by either armoured plate or self-sealing padding. Because of their placement, the tanks were vulnerable from behind and easily set ablaze when hit by enemy gunfire.
The Hurricane’s construction had made it dangerous in the event of the aircraft catching fire. As there was floor in the cockpit, flames from a burning wing tank could easily penetrate into it through the open space underneath the pilot’s feet. In addition, the gravity fuel tank which collected the fuel from the wing tanks before feeding it into the engine sat in the fuselage right in front of the instrument panel, without any form of protection between it and the pilot. If set on fire, it could sent a jet of flame right in the pilot’s face and body. To make matters even worse, the wooden construction and fabric covering of the rear fuselage meant that fire could spread through the rear fuselage structure quite easily.
Official RAF pilots’ instructions warned that at an altitude of 15,000 feet, cockpit temperature in a fighter suffering fuel fire rose from cool room temperature to 3,000 degrees Centigrade in the space of ten seconds. Even given the limited protection of his flying suit and gloves, the pilot had to get out immediately – or risk not being able to get out at all.
In contrast, fuel tanks of a Spitfire were located in the forward fuselage, protected from the rear and above by armoured plate and by the bulk of the engine from the front. Also, a sealed firewall separated the tank from the cockpit. In statistical terms, the Spitfire’s construction translated into much lower rate of burn injuries on Spitfires than on Hurricanes.
To be fair, the placement of fuel tank in Bf 109 was almost as bad as that in the Hurricane. In the German fighter, it was located… under the pilot’s seat. However, the Messerchmitt featured a jetissonable canopy with quick release handle, an invention which greatly simplified the bail out procedure.
On balance, the Hurricane was the most fire-prone of the three types. Many Hurricane pilots were seriously burned as a consequence of fuel fires which turned the cockpits of their aircraft into a blazing death traps.
The day of 16 August brought but two memorable examples of such ordeal.


F/Lt James Nicholson, 23, was one of the flight commanders in No. 249 Hurricane Squadron. On this day, his unit was vectored over Southampton to engage a larger enemy formation. Commencing the attack, they split into sections. Nicholson and his two wingmen attacked a flight of Bf 110s. Seconds later, they were in turn jumped by Bf 109′s diving from above.

(http://spitfiresite.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/hawker-hurricanes-in-pursuit.jpg)


Nicholson’s aircraft was hit by four cannon shells, two of which wounded him in the left eye and foot. At the same time, the two other shells damaged the engine and set the fuel tank on fire. The cockpit of the Hurricane erupted in flames.
Nicholson quickly slid back his canopy and released the safety harness. As he struggled to abandon the burning aircraft, his remaining eye caught a glimpse of a Bf 110 still looming in front of his aircraft. In a split of a second, he changed his mind. Managing to get back into the seat, he attacked the Messerschmitt and kept it in sights, firing, until it dived away to destruction.
As a result of staying in his aircraft, Nicholson sustained serious burns to his hands, face, neck and legs. Not until then did he bail out, and he was able to open his parachute in time to land safely in a field. Once on the ground, his hands were so badly burnt that he was unable to release his parachute. He laid still, yanked by the harness of the silk canopy flowing in the wind, which caused him terrible pain. After a while, he was approached by Home Guard patrol, but his ordeal was not yet over. One of its members shot him in the leg from a shotgun as a precautionary measure, to prevent the alleged POW from escaping!


So seems the Hurricane was a bit of a fire trap - how badly burned was the BoB Memorial Flight pilot who landed the burning Hurricane at Wittering a few years back?

[pr00ne]

bvcu,


In August 1940 Boscombe Down was a perfectly normal RAF front line station. Not Fighter Command admittedly, but it had been a front line operational bomber base for some considerable time.

[Kitbag]

Nice job, although I will never get used to the canards. The Typhoon pic appears to show the brown and green wrapping around onto the undersurface, I thought the aircraft of that era had either black and white (or silver dope) or sky undersurfaces.

[Davef68]

The Typhoon pic appears to show the brown and green wrapping around onto the undersurface, I thought the aircraft of that era had either black and white (or silver dope) or sky undersurfaces.

It doesn't

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmartin1/17149623222/

[Danny42C]

melmothtw,

Not much use, I'm afraid! I know my Spitfire had the whole internal fuel (85 galls) on top just forward of the panel, mightily relieved now to hear that it had a firewall between us ! (YLSNED).

I'd always thought the same applied to the Hurricane, but Wander00 has put us straight. My excuse might have been that I only had a few hours on them, and it was a long time ago. But then I checked my log, and found that on 20.6.42. I'd signed at Castle Combe a rubber stamped certificate to the effect that I was familiar with the fuel/oil/hydraulic/pneumatic/electric/emergency/ anything else they could think of/ systems of the Hurricane I. (It's a fair cop, Guv !)

Met Wg. Cdr. Nicholson VC casually in the bar of the Calcutta "Grand" when I came out of dock in March '44 after a crash. Nice chap, inspected my newly sewn up face: "Reflector sight trouble ?" he asked sympathetically. Pity he was killed in a later flying accident out there (?). (The Japs didn't account for all that many of us in SEAAC, but we sure made up for it ourselves). :(

Danny.

[melmothtw]

Cheers Danny (and Wander00 for the info). I imagine it must be a relief to have found out about the lack of a fire wall on the Hurricane in the relative safety of PPRuNe, rather than over the skies of wartime Wiltshire.

[Roland Pulfrew]

flown by Flt Lt James Nicolson VC

After whom The Fenton Flyer pub, just outside RAF Church Fenton, sorry Leeds East Airport is named. 249 having reformed at Fenton early in the War.