another unidentified aircraft & details request!
Ah well something for a wet Sunday eve down west. Type C helmet so no help, no canopy structure, no oil streaks, and panels look quite 'used' . But hang on the unusual bit is what it is parked on that could be Dutch/German. Also can not read parachute box to tell if the image is printed the correct way round.
Mind you he has very well creased trousers for flying !!!
Mind you he has very well creased trousers for flying !!!
Bricks r Us
Ah well something for a wet Sunday eve down west. Type C helmet so no help, no canopy structure, no oil streaks, and panels look quite 'used' . But hang on the unusual bit is what it is parked on that could be Dutch/German. Also can not read parachute box to tell if the image is printed the correct way round.
Mind you he has very well creased trousers for flying !!!
Mind you he has very well creased trousers for flying !!!
Seen at Temora last year...
Fascinating photo intertidal - thanks for posting!
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amazed thanks
once again amazing sleuthing from the forum
I have just heard from my mother/aunts that they think the chap is probably named Alec, and a close friend of my G/father (possibly BM at wedding) and that he was an RAF test pilot and killed in the 1950s. we await more detaiils from the Aunts collective.
my G/f was not in the RAF but his brother (to whom he was very close) was, and was lost flying a Mosquito so I guess that this hangs together: The early jets would have been a natural progression from the mosquito (?) and I suppose that following the loss of brother, mutual friends/brothers-in-arms would have become all the closer. Probably this Alec chap was on Mosquitoes with the brother beforehand
the apparently censored photograph adds significant further intrigue. Hitherto, we had assumed that this shot was taken by my G/father (who had own darkroom etc) but it seems more likely that it was an "official" RAF shot ?
absolutely amazing work on the ID work though thank you very much all
hopefully further details of the chap (ideally surname!) to follow
I have just heard from my mother/aunts that they think the chap is probably named Alec, and a close friend of my G/father (possibly BM at wedding) and that he was an RAF test pilot and killed in the 1950s. we await more detaiils from the Aunts collective.
my G/f was not in the RAF but his brother (to whom he was very close) was, and was lost flying a Mosquito so I guess that this hangs together: The early jets would have been a natural progression from the mosquito (?) and I suppose that following the loss of brother, mutual friends/brothers-in-arms would have become all the closer. Probably this Alec chap was on Mosquitoes with the brother beforehand
the apparently censored photograph adds significant further intrigue. Hitherto, we had assumed that this shot was taken by my G/father (who had own darkroom etc) but it seems more likely that it was an "official" RAF shot ?
absolutely amazing work on the ID work though thank you very much all
hopefully further details of the chap (ideally surname!) to follow
Last edited by intertidal; 14th Aug 2023 at 11:39. Reason: afterthoughts
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Re the panel this does look like a Meteor and on the other side was possibly a step. However the print looks as if has censorship as the fitting hanging down looks like part of a harness yet no real canopy/rails detail. The surface underneath (looks like bricks) and not very serviceable. Suspect airbrush removal of poss e-seat. Sorry Brian I am not going to turn into a Meteor 'spotter' for this (check out the bricks) PC
The slope on the canopy rail seems too shallow for the single seater. Is this possibly a two seater T Mk.7 ? Wouldn't an early meteor be pre bulky/high ejector seats? I have seen cockpit images of two seaters with low backs that would not be fully visible from the angle that this photo was taken.
Doesn't explain where the main canopy is though. The forward fixed windscreen is just out of shot to the right.
Doesn't explain where the main canopy is though. The forward fixed windscreen is just out of shot to the right.
Last edited by Kent Based; 14th Aug 2023 at 14:16.
fine tuning the info
The bricks are a classic Dutch/Belgium feature and would reduce the number of poss airfields to a sensible number. Meteors did not go forward like the Typhoons/Tempest to take over former enemy fields and would have required special facilities (fuel being one, and a reasonable surface to fly off),this could be a war time or post war image although the censor bit hints to the former, plus the Meteor would have been quite a security minded aircraft then.
The slope on the canopy rail seems too shallow for the single seater. Is this possibly a two seater T Mk.7 ? Wouldn't an early meteor be pre bulky/high ejector seats? I have seen cockpit images of two seaters with low backs that would not be fully visible from the angle that this photo was taken.
Doesn't explain where the main canopy is though. The forward fixed windscreen is just out of shot to the right.
Doesn't explain where the main canopy is though. The forward fixed windscreen is just out of shot to the right.
I found this report of 616 squadron.
They operated from Gilze-Rijen for a short time.
Two As (for Alec?) are being mentioned
Wing commander A. McDowall or F/O A. Stodhart.
Portret of McDowal at the end. Could be him?
Could be not!616 sq
They operated from Gilze-Rijen for a short time.
Two As (for Alec?) are being mentioned
Wing commander A. McDowall or F/O A. Stodhart.
Portret of McDowal at the end. Could be him?
Could be not!616 sq
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I found this report of 616 squadron.
They operated from Gilze-Rijen for a short time.
Two As (for Alec?) are being mentioned
Wing commander A. McDowall or F/O A. Stodhart.
Portret of McDowal at the end. Could be him?
Could be not!616 sq
They operated from Gilze-Rijen for a short time.
Two As (for Alec?) are being mentioned
Wing commander A. McDowall or F/O A. Stodhart.
Portret of McDowal at the end. Could be him?
Could be not!616 sq
still awaiting Aunties memory spooling up,.. certainly could be McDowal - Both faces have a distinctive conk anyway!
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slightly improved photo
Aunty L has sent a slightly improved pic of this photo. Investigation not assisted by me being at one end of UK and her being at tother.
some glazing is evident in this shot likewise the "elephants bollock" feature at lower left of shot... possibly the photo was not after all censored ?? profuse apologies for poor qual of initial photo.
Infuriatingly, there apparently *is* some pencil notes on the rear of the pic but they do not seem to bear any relation to the photo.
Obviously an 'ace' with the iron !!!,pleased I was correct about the strap ! Interesting about the small panel by his left shoulder. This is definitely a mirror of the other side 'step'. I wonder if was intended as an option.
PBJ, naaahhh,they just folded the plans wrong..
Remember,you always mount your `horse` from the left side.
PM for you.....
Remember,you always mount your `horse` from the left side.
PM for you.....
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Excuse the perhaps unnecesary extra pictorial details here, I did consider cropping but context is nice too. Aunty L has done some more digging and we've identified the chap with the Meteor as Alec Davies:
first a pic of G/f wedding, June 23rd 1945 in Letchworth:
And write-up of wedding:
Flew home from Germany - so it becomes more likely that the cobbled surface in the photo is indeed "Continental". Although if so, a casual snap taken on an active air base in war time seems quite unusual. especially as he seems to be holding a chart in plain view
And the sad loss of best man Alec in February 1950:
(although I had naturally assumed that his would have been one of the many accidents of testing new jet aircraft)
with this data I found the record of the accident on ASN:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/245684
it would be interesting to find out whether Alec Davies was in 248 sqdn with "Uncle Bob" earlier in the war, I understand that they (bridegroom, groom's brother Robert and Alec) were very close friends hence why he "stood-in" for Robert at the (delayed) wedding after it was discovered that Robert was likely K.I.A.
first a pic of G/f wedding, June 23rd 1945 in Letchworth:
And write-up of wedding:
Flew home from Germany - so it becomes more likely that the cobbled surface in the photo is indeed "Continental". Although if so, a casual snap taken on an active air base in war time seems quite unusual. especially as he seems to be holding a chart in plain view
And the sad loss of best man Alec in February 1950:
(although I had naturally assumed that his would have been one of the many accidents of testing new jet aircraft)
with this data I found the record of the accident on ASN:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/245684
it would be interesting to find out whether Alec Davies was in 248 sqdn with "Uncle Bob" earlier in the war, I understand that they (bridegroom, groom's brother Robert and Alec) were very close friends hence why he "stood-in" for Robert at the (delayed) wedding after it was discovered that Robert was likely K.I.A.
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Theirs was a somewhat interesting war story, the older Brother (my G/uncle) appears to have been the dashing pilot in "full public view". Wheras the younger brother (my G/father) was (we think) disallowed from joining RAF for active service alongside his Brother in view of his employment at British Tab who were then an effective front organisation for making the eqpt for BP decryption efforts. Family anecdotary history relates that the younger brother very much wanted to fly in the RAF but he was actually working at BP through the war, and that (true to form of Churchill's "Geese") he never mentioned a word of it through the remainder of his life. A sharp contrast of the public war and the secret war shown in 2 brothers.
