Spitfire!
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AR501 made her long awaited return to the airshow scene in the hands of Stu Goldspink at The Shuttleworth Collection May Evening airshow 2018. The aircraft is a geniune combat veteran and entered service with 310 (Czech) Squadron at Duxford in 1942.
For a Spitfire to get into the air takes a run of 30 seconds or so, and I try to capture and convey the excitement I experience from seeing that event (a plane taking to the air) in a single frame.
Henri Cartier-Bresson talked about the 'decisive moment' in terms of composition; "....but inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it. "
I'm not comparing my work with his, rather, drawing inspiration from his observations about the nature of photography.
This Spitfire is AR501, a Mk Vc owned by The Shuttleworth Collection, and seen here taking off from its Old Warden base.
This is Spitfire Mk IX MK912 that I was extremely lucky to catch taking off from Sywell Aerodrome.
Built in 1944, this is a genuine survivor of WW2, and took an active role in supporting the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944. Now painted in the markings of RAF No. 312 (Czech) Squadron, complete with the black and white identification stripes applied to all Allied aircraft just ahead of the D-Day invasion.
This is Stu Goldspink at the controls of Spitfire Mk IX, serial MH434.
The Mk IX Spitfire was rushed into production in 1942 when it became clear that the then current Spitfire Mk V was being outclassed in battle by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
The Spitfire Mk IX was essentially a Mk V fitted with the new, more powerful, Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 engine with its two-stage supercharger, which put it on a more equal footing with the Fw 190. Spitfire test pilot Jeffrey Quill described the Mk IX's performance as a 'quantum leap' over the Mk V.
Based at Duxford, but seen here at nearby Old Warden on a rainy August day. ('Nearby' - about 40 minutes by road, but only 5 - 10 minutes by Spitfire!)
At my photo workshop last September I got to sit in the Spitfire cockpit - however we were not allowed to take anything into the cockpit in case something was dropped and got stuck in any awkward places of which there were many .
On my photo workshop last week back at Shuttleworth again , the Spitfire was in the same hangar that our low light task was in . We were allowed in amongst the planes but to take full care not to damage anything and the same rules applied about dropping anything in the cockpit , although this time we could lean over and grab a shot this time -- thank goodness for swivel screens !!
Another great photo workshop by Darren Harbar !!
A picture can hardly convey the NOISE and excitement of a dozen Spitfires taking to the air one after the other! This full-frame, uncropped image is of a 1945, RR Griffon 65 engined Mk XVIII which could hit 425mph.
Today marks 80 years since the first historic flight of this iconic plane around Southampton Water. The sound is no longer the same but the shape is certainly recognisable to most people. There should be at least one flight today around the original route to mark the occasion but the weather won't be good so they did this extra flight yesterday under blue skies just in case. I took this from the Itchen Bridge but the plane was still too high for my lens, just wanted to mark the occasion.
116 in 2016 # 12 Spinning
As we're waiting in for the plumber and as it's two years since my "Fly with a Spitfire" day I thought I'd post another one of the images from that day. Seeing as the images were taken through the windows of the light aircraft we were in I'm very pleased with the quality. I'd like this to be a tribute to the brave men on all sides who gave their lives. This image will enlarge slightly for more detail if you're interested,.
This Spitfire is a Mk IXc, serial MK912, an 80-year-old survivor from WW2. It carries the black & white D-Day Invasion stripes applied to all Allied aircraft just ahead of 6th June 1944 in order to aid visual 'friend or foe' identification. The greatest threat to the planes came not from the Luftwaffe, which had been greatly diminished in capability by then, but from 'Friendly' ground and air forces. The stripes are beautifully straight-edged on this Spitfire, but in the rush of war, they were frequently applied with a standard RAF broom and could be quite rough.
Seen here displaying at Old Warden in England.
This is a Mk Vc machine dating from 1942.
The pilot is clearly visible through the windscreen.
If you look very carefully indeed, you can just make out two wires, running between the tips of each tail wing to the body of the aircraft. These were used to transmit a radio signal that made friendly aircraft appear larger on the very early radar screens then in use to detect enemy aircraft.
The yellow stripes on the wing leading edges were added to help differentiate friend from foe when the aircraft was seen from head on, as here.
This Spitfire Mk Vc, AR501, is owned and operated by The Shuttleworrth Collection and based at Old Warden aerodrome.
You get a real sense of speed from this Spitfire FR Mk XIV as it leaves the ground. The undercarriage is in the process of retracting - we can see the left main wheel folding up into the wing, and the small tail wheel at the rear is almost inside.
The round window on the side is a camera port for taking air to ground photos - this model of Spitfire could be used as both a Fighter and Reconnaissance aircraft, hence the FR designation in the name.
Powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, this type could achieve more than 440mph in level flight. Photographed at Duxford in Oct 2024.
Pilot Gabriel Barton at the controls of this Spitfire Mk Vc, serial EE602. The metallic, circular fuel filling point is clearly visible on top of the cowling.
A reasonably well resolved image - the stencilled 'Walkway' wording is clearly legible.
The six exhausts on each side of the engine are paired into three 'fish tails' - these both suppressed any flames emanating from the exhausts (which could be seen from a great distance in low light) and also created a tiny bit of extra thrust.
Based at Duxford, this Spitfire was photographed at Old Warden in August of 2024.
This Spitfire is a reconnaissance PR Mk.XI, an unarmed version with extra fuel tanks instead of guns. A camera port is visible behind the pilot.
The black and white stripes were applied to all Allied aircraft just before the D-Day landings of 6th June 1944 in an attempt to minimise ‘friendly fire’ incidents.
Pictured here, pilot John Romain makes a high speed pass, captured at a slow shutter-speed to show a full prop circle.
RAF Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX TD314 displays above Headcorn Aerodrome during the 2020 Battle of Britain Air Show.
Cliff Spink leads a formation of 9 Spitfires the Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show 2019. In total 15 Spitfires took part in the balbo.
Spitfire Mk Vc AR501 owned and operated by The Shuttleworth Collection from their base at Old Warden. This aircraft was built in 1942 and issued to No 310 (Czech) Squadron and based at nearby Duxford.
In the picture, we can clearly see pilot Paul Stone, who gave us a stunning display of the aerobatic agility of this famous aircraft; I think he had more fun than we did!
IMG_9679 f
The poem, High Flight, has over the years become a mantra to pilots.
It is reproduced here as a tribute to, and in memory of pilots of all generations.
________________________________________
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941
Written by John Gillespie Magee when he was 19 year old fighter pilot during WW11 - as he soared into the atmosphere during a high altitude test flight of a Spitfire V.
Magee died three month later in a mid-air collision.