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Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
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'DJK went to France as F-AQJK at Lille - minimal paint job there! Interesting, Google brings up this page which suggests it was captured by the Germans after the invasion of France - unfortunately the eBay page no longer exists so we can see a pic of it...
This one perhaps...?
This one perhaps...?
A V-77 was sold recently in UK for 100K...a gentleman aviator`s aerial carriage in all respects....
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
You asked for G-AEVX ???
With Y as a bonus. 
They have radio comms and must have been very expensive - when you add in the shipping from the USA.
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Back to the very first picture in the first post, it's an Andover C1 as others have rightly said but there was mention of No 46 Squadron. I believe the aircraft in the picture belonged to No 84 Squadron operating out of Sharjah sometime between September 1967 and October 1971.
There is a white spot just aft of the leading edge of the fin in the picture and this had a black scorpion within, which can be seen on this picture taken at Sharjah: https://tinyurl.com/y8ubummx
The Squadron did a good job of taking pax and cargo all around the Trucial Oman States and beyond. Troops weren't issued with ear defenders but I can tell you from personal experience, those props really screamed and very loudly!
There are other pictures on the Sharjah thread, notably by friendlypelican2 at posts 462 and 475.
There is a white spot just aft of the leading edge of the fin in the picture and this had a black scorpion within, which can be seen on this picture taken at Sharjah: https://tinyurl.com/y8ubummx
The Squadron did a good job of taking pax and cargo all around the Trucial Oman States and beyond. Troops weren't issued with ear defenders but I can tell you from personal experience, those props really screamed and very loudly!
There are other pictures on the Sharjah thread, notably by friendlypelican2 at posts 462 and 475.
Paxing All Over The World
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With these, I know nothing other than: The man is my paternal grandfather. The tall boy is his second son (my father) and the smaller, my uncle. Since the family dog usually accompanied my grandmother, I can presume she took the photographs! This is probably around 1935, based on school uniform and that my older uncle is missing. The boys were all very close and did everything together and Geoffrey died in 1934.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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Reg suggests it's Avro Cadet G-ACJX. Based at Heston, which would tie in with what might be the Southall gasometer in the background, currently being dismantled. The aircraft was scrapped in March '34.
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Thanks for putting me straight Jenkins. I never saw a No 46 Sqn aircraft so didn't know about the spinner colour nor crest which I saw on the picture and didn't understand what it was. I also didn't know that 46 Sqn aircraft got to places that look hot and sandy and assumed it could only be No 84. Two and two makes....!
Specifically an Avro 640 Cadet (and a Genet, rather than a Cirrus example), built with three seats for providing joyriding flights. Hopefully the boys got one.
Paxing All Over The World
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Thanks treadigraph and DaveReidUK. Fabulous! Heston makes sense as I know that my grandfather did fly there. Also, given the age of the boys, they had moved from Croydon to Teddington. I can hardly make out the reg even with your suggestion. If that is the machine then the picture would probably have been taken just a week or two before it was pranged/scrapped.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I can hardly make out the reg even with your suggestion
'Ere! Quite by coincidence, as I type this music on my laptop is on shuffle playing Supertramp's Child of Vision, used with superb effect on the Rothman's video of David Perrin's solo display at Biggin in 1981 or so... nearly took my bloody head off with his inverted departure from 21 that year ! Where would he have been today?
Paxing All Over The World
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Most interesting, thanks for the link. The inverted manouevre reminded me of a story in my father's book about his CO W/Cmdr Bob Braham DSO** DFC** when operating in a Mosquito. I looked for the story to quote directly but cannot track it down so will summarise:
Braham and his Nav/Rad F/Lt Jacobs were (for once) caught napping and were attacked. Braham, naturally, wished to remove himself from view and to give him time to think and to distract the attacker, went inverted and then flew 'up' into the cloud - still inverted. I cannot recall if he flipped back whilst in cloud or waited to emerge - but their attacker did break off!
Braham and his Nav/Rad F/Lt Jacobs were (for once) caught napping and were attacked. Braham, naturally, wished to remove himself from view and to give him time to think and to distract the attacker, went inverted and then flew 'up' into the cloud - still inverted. I cannot recall if he flipped back whilst in cloud or waited to emerge - but their attacker did break off!
Last edited by PAXboy; 17th Oct 2018 at 19:09.
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
Indeed, chevvron. He was riding an SS100 but, fortunately, not one that he had bought from Grandfather! We do not know how many bikes he bought from my Grandfather but he did visit in the late 20s. The boys in the pictures above (including their brother who died very young) all met Lawrence in those years. I've looked up the paragraph from my father's book:
At this time, my Grandfather would have been in his late 30s and, having served in WWI, knew all about Lawrence and the need for discretion.
The highlight of those days was that, for a period, Lawrence of Arabia used to come to my Father for his motorbikes. He used to arrive at 105 London Road [Croydon] very early in the morning, go off with my Father to the showrooms, where they would chose two of the Brough Superior bikes (for which my Father had the agency) and roar off around the empty streets of Croydon, testing them out, probably swapping round at the half-way stage. Then they would return to breakfast, prepared by my Mother, we three would be brought down in our pyjamas to meet Lawrence and then he would depart as quickly and as silently as he had arrived, hopefully from my Father's point of view, on his new Brough. Later, when I read about him and the various steps which he took, on his return to England from Arabia, to avoid publicity, for example by enlisting in the R.A.F. under a false name, I remembered those early morning visits and the three bewildered little boys being wakened from their sleep and paraded downstairs to shake hands with Lawrence.
Paxboy,
I have no connection with any of your posts but I am enjoying them especially the pictures. Thank you.
I have no connection with any of your posts but I am enjoying them especially the pictures. Thank you.
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
Thank You ancientaviator62. the reactions and information has been most rewarding. Not that many more to go ...
I do not know who either of these are. On the bottom of the photo it is signed 'Tom Campbell Stark' (I think) but that might well be the photographer.
The picture is labelled as being taken at Mildenhall - no date.