Guy Martin's Spitfire : Channel 4 Documentary
 

Just a heads up for those that might be interested and/or based overseas :ok:

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/rafcms/me...F5A78A9D38.jpg

Channel 4 : 7.30pm Sun 12 Oct.

Channel 4 : Guy Martin's Spitfire

RAF BBMF Press Release : Channel 4 Documentary

Danny42C ... a "must see" for you perhaps :)

Coff.

The Devil (as always) is in the Detail.
 

Thanks for that post Coff. I'll be recording that. Having looked at both your links I'm a bit sad to see that they couldn't find the right prop, or exhausts to put on a Mk 1 Spitfire - but then I know nothing of the difficulties of obtaining or making such things these days.

Ian BB

I understand that Rolls Royce's own Mk 14 Spitfire suffered a landing accident not long ago and the only company who could supply a new one was in Germany!

Errr, the Rolls Spitfire that had the incident recently was the MK 19 and I think they put the spare prop on it, but yes the blades are I believe made by Hoffman in Germany.
The MK 14 rebuild was suspended and put into storage when the MK 19 needed it's rebuild a couple of years back. That's was not related to the incident it had.

I think you will find the Mk 1's are accurate, yes there were no original airworthy props available, so several props were manufactured to the original drawings, a major undertaking and not cheap. They now have 4 mk 1's flying in the UK and 2 for sale if you are feeling flush.

http://www.markonepartners.co.uk/spitfire-i

Ian BB if you look at the cockpit position, that is the two seater T9 at Duxford, not a mk1

See


http://duxfordfotogallery.co.uk/spitfire-t9/4549225053

..

False Images
 

Nutloose

Thanks for putting me right on that - it didn't occur to me that they would use a picture of another type of Spit. in their promotional material, I'm so naive at times - I just knew that a Mk 1 would not have had 4 blades upfront and 6 'auspuffs' per side!

Ian BB

The guy owns a fully working Rolls Royce Merlin, for no other reason than he wanted one! A modern day Fred Dibnah, and a nice bloke to boot it seems. I really enjoyed his show on refurbing steam trains, was fascinating.

Read Guy Martins Auto Biography recently and first time I saw him was in a IOM TT documovie where felt he was a bit of a prat, seeing him in the Docus since I figure I called it wrong as he comes across as a larger that life character.

Chatting to an Irish guy recently who big into Motorbike Road Racing who said Guy probably one of the nicest most genuine guys he has ever come across in 35 plus years of being involved in the sport................daft as a brush but someone who fans love because he gives his all.
Told a story of in Ireland when he goes to one road race and visits some friends that the wife of the friend just says that teabags in the house will just get all used up such is his tea drinking skills.

Guy was named after a certain Guy Gibson of which he claims to be very proud of giving said Gibsons exploits.

He is definitely entertainment and a genuine nice guy so please do a reminder on the day.

Thanks for the correction over the mark of the Spitfire, but the point of my post was to highlight the irony of it having to be repaired by the adversary it was designed to defeat.

Heads Up !
 

Coffman Starter,

Ta ! (Roger Wilco), Danny.

Who is Roger Wilco? I don't believe I've met him. I know Rog and good old Wilkers, of course...

Just a point! The BBMF in their article state that there was 8 seconds of firing time on Spitfire they were talking about. I knew it to be 14 seconds, as written in G. Wellum's book and Bader mentioned if often enough. Could it be the Mk 1's guns only 'allowed' for 8 secs.

Of course he is a genuine guy, he's a straight talking Yellow Belly!!

PPRuNe Pop,

Don't think so (but can't be positive). The British .303 Browning used in WW2 for our fixed wing, turret and free mountings was a derivative of the US .300 AN/M2. It had a rate of fire of 1150 rounds/min (Wiki). IIRC, the Spit loaded 400 rounds per gun (Wiki says 350 for a Vb), so (theoretically) 20.8 seconds (18.3 for a Vb) firepower max (as all guns fired simultaneously; there was no provision to select only one or more at a time (as you could do with bombs, say).

But when you had a set of 2 cannon and 4 Brownings, the firing button on your spade-grip was a sort of long "see-saw" button: top was "cannon", bottom was "guns" (or was it the other way round ?) and the middle was "both".

I am no authority, as at OTU (mostly Mk.1s) we only fired a few cannon rounds (on a Mk.II) just to see what it felt like (scary), but no air/air or air/ground gunnery practice. On 20 Sqdn. the guns had been taken out of the XVIs, but I had a fortnight's Gunnery School on Griffon Spits, firing only .303s at flag targets to little effect.

Of course, you would never fire all your 20 (18) seconds in a single burst (and if you did, the barrels would be red hot). All the wartime fighter pilots write about 2-3 second bursts, which I suppose was the maximum you could hold your sights on an enemy who is not going to sit quietly while this is going on (or indeed has seen you coming).

Danny.

Danny

Off topic post which Pop may indulge me but did you ever write a book of your exploits and memories.

Not seeking your identity as that would really bring down the Wrath of Mod. :E

racedo,

No book (no money in it, market awash with war memoirs). But I Post on "Gaining a RAF Pilots' Brevet in WWII" from time to time (IIRC start around page 114).

Mine, too !

Thanks will have a read of that when I got a year.

I do hope you have sat in front of a camera and told how it was.
This to preserve a piece of living history.

Bit like the boiler for a replica steam locomotive built recently in the UK.

I saw a trailer for the programme tonight and saw a clip of Geofferey Wellum talking, so that will be worth seeing.

A great chap, he lives near here - must be 92 -93 now. One of the last of The Few! (along with Danny of course!)

Racedo, you seriously want to take time out and read the thread Danny is referring to, it is superlative

Danny42C, a pleasure to converse with you here, and fascinating insight you give. Many thanks.

Is it true that a few rounds were fired to test the guns each time the fighters flew off, somewhere over the cliffs?