Aeroplane September 2017

AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com 23

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

• An amendment to the RAF Varsity unit table in
  the August Database: Stradishall was home to
  No 1 Air Navigation School before its transfer to
  No 6 FTS. It became a Training Command base
  on 1 December 1961, when No 1 ANS and its
  Varsities moved in. These continued to serve
  until the Dominie arrived from August 1965.


• The image on page 73 of the June issue
  captioned as showing fl ares being loaded onto a
  Valiant actually shows the manual winding of the
  refuelling hose onto the hose and drum unit
  fi tted to the tanker variant.
  
  
  • Further to the list of airworthy classic jets lost
    to the UK scene in recent years that was included
    in the July issue’s feature by Richard Paver,
    Hunter FGA9 XE601/G-ETPS and the other
    Hunters acquired by Apache Aviation in Dijon,
    France were seemingly shipped to Canada
    during 2016.
  
  
  • The photos in the June issue’s article on East
    German Stasi air operations that were credited
    to ‘via Volker Liebscher’ should have been given
    as coming from the BSTU, the
    Bundesbeauftragter für die Stasi Unterlagen.
  
  
  
  

THIS MONTH’S QUESTIONS

Bearcat power

Q

Christian Hardt would like to know if

pilots were able to use war emergency

power (WEP) in the early Grumman F8F-1

Bearcat fi tted with the Pratt & Whitney

R-2800-34W as well as on the later F8F-1B

model. While WEP is listed in the handbooks,

there is nothing on its usage, apart from the

‘On Entering Cockpit’ section which says,

‘WEP switch — OFF’. Under what

circumstances should the switch be ‘ON’ and

on what model?

Spearfi sh colours

Q

Rob Smith is building a model of the

Fairey Spearfi sh, but is unsure of the

colours carried by the fi ve aircraft built. Can

someone provide some guidance?

MAP test pilots

Q

In conducting research into wartime

American Lend-Lease, Doug Rough and

Derek Wands are trying to locate and consult

the logbooks of two Ministry of Aircraft

Production test pilots, Arthur R. C. ‘Dutch’

Holland and Anthony Phelps. ‘Dutch’ died in

1963 and Tony’s logbooks were auctioned off

in London to a private buyer on 22

September 2006. Can anyone help on the

current whereabouts of the logbooks?

sheer amount of infrastructure

required to transport and

guard aircraft so armed in

peacetime would have been

noticeable and they certainly

would not have been parked

anywhere adjacent to

commercial operations at the

airport.

Spitfi re fi n tips

Q

In the July issue, Ian

Statham queries the use

of different rudder shapes on

Spitfi re IXs and why they

changed.

A

Paul Hillier quotes from

the Morgan and

Shacklady magnum opus

Spitfi re – The History, which

says that from March 1942 into

1943 directional/lateral

stability issues were

experienced during testing on

the Griffon-powered MkXII,

resulting in a “violent swing to

port on take-off”. The pointed

fi n/rudder was fi tted to help

counteract the swing. It

appears that the overall area

was not increased from the

standard 13.75 square feet,

only the profi le being

changed. However, as the

engine power and overall

performance rose through

1945 and on to the fi nal

versions, the fi n/rudder area

increased to 16.73 square

feet, later designs having a

less pointed and more

rounded design.

Thanks also to Michael

Geldart who adds that the fi rst

MkIXs, converted MkVs with

Merlin 60s and four-blade

propellers, retained the ‘C’

wing (two 20mm cannon and

four 0.303in machine guns)

and the rounded fi n tip, while

John Usher confi rms the use

of the larger fi n/rudder on the

MkXII and larger still on the

MkXIV, culminating in further

increases on the Mk24, Seafi re

Mk47, Spiteful and Seafang.

The Orion’s ‘Dave’

Q

A photo of the German-

operated Nakajima E8N

‘Dave’ fl oatplane aboard the

cruiser Orion appeared in the

July issue.

A

On the question of

whether the E8N was the

only Japanese aircraft

operated by Germany,

Maximilian Meindl says that at

Ministry of Aircraft Production test pilots ‘Dutch’

Holland (wearing the tie) and Tony Phelps.

Medal winner at Fayid?

Q

Military Medal recipient Gwyn Morgan

of the 7th Rifl e Brigade paid a visit to an

RAF Republic Thunderbolt II-equipped unit in

Egypt, but where and when? From the serial

KJ348 and the large number 9 on the aircraft

on the left, we guess it could be No 73

Operational Training Unit at Fayid, but where

does the prominent ‘ace of spades’ badge fi t

in? Geoff Fuhrmann in Brisbane, Australia,

would like to know as Gwyn was his father-in-

law and received the MM from Gen

Montgomery in Egypt.

least one other example was

procured and supplied to the

auxiliary cruiser Stier by the

supply ship Tannenfels in

September 1942. It was to

replace the unsuitable Arado

Ar 231 (a type developed for

U-boats), but Stier’s captain

refused to take the Nakajima

on board as it lacked a

suitable radio. With Stier

attacked and sunk later that

month and Tannenfels

returning to Bordeaux, what

happened to the Nakajima?

German operations in the

Pacifi c included a U-boat base

at Panang, Malaya, established

in late 1943 and codenamed

Gruppe Monsun. Two Arado

Ar 196s with Japanese

markings were based there

and the U-boat commander in

that theatre, Fregattenkapitän

Wilhelm Dommes, apparently

exchanged a Focke-Achgelis

Fa 330 gyroglider for a

Japanese aircraft, but the type

is unknown. Can anybody

provide clarifi cation?

Can a reader assist in identifying the badge on

this RAF Thunderbolt and confi rm its location?

22-23_AM_Q&A_Sept17_cc C.indd 23 31/07/2017 10:46