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AMONG CARTHORSES
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BIRTH PANGS
FOLDING MK.III
July
1945, the Seafire III
was the most produced variant,
with 1,220 built out of a total
production of 2,334. Identical to
the F.III with the exception of a
Merlin 55M optimised for low
altitudes, the LF.III was the fastest
of all Merlin-engined Seafires,
capable of 358mph at 6,000ft.
Indeed, it was still the fastest and
quickest climbing Allied carrier
fighter in 1945.
PURE EXHILARATION
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After a thorough
restoration, the Seafire
III has been returned to
the colours it wore with
809 Squadron in 1945.
improvements
to the airframe and
better
pilot
training
were introduced,
more Seafires were lost in
landing accidents than in combat
throughout the war.
In the Pacific theatre, Seafires of
887 and 894 Squadrons aboard
HMS Indefatigable supported the
landings at Rangoon, Okinawa and
beyond. The types zenith came on
August 15, 1945, shooting down
eight enemy aircraft for the loss of
one Seafire.
In all, Seafire pilots claimed a
total of 39 kills. Top scorer was
Sub Lt R. H. Reynolds DSC of
894 Squadron with 4 victories.
Another successful pilot, Lt Gerry
Murphy of 887 Squadron, claimed a
pair of kills in the types final combat
of World War Two. He wrote:
When I first flew the Seafire it was
pure exhilaration It was extremely
responsive. I also flew the Hellcat,
which was a very robust aircraft, but
it was like flying a steamroller
Compared to the Hellcat, the Seafire
was rather delicate It was the
difference between a racehorse and a
carthorse.
PP972
flew
air cover.
Throughout
this period, it
wore the codes
D-6M.
Returning to
the UK in September
aboard Stalker and arriving in the
Irish Sea on October 21, 1945,
PP972 flew from Nutts Corner,
Northern Ireland, until 809
Squadron disbanded in January
1946. Following a brief period in
storage, it went to 767 Squadron
as part of 1 Operational Flying
School in May, initially based at
East Haven and then Lossiemouth,
both in Scotland. Eventually PP972
was based at Lossiemouths satellite
airfield of Milltown, where it wore
the code 120.
FRENCH ACCENT
due
to be
scrapped, it
was saved by a local
enthusiast named Jean Frlaut
who, over a few years, carried out
a static restoration and displayed it
in a variety of colour schemes.
The aircraft was purchased by
its current owners in 1984 and a
restoration commenced soon after.
Restoration was attempted by a
few organisations over a number of
years with utmost attention being
paid to utilising original structure.
Unfortunately, during one of these
attempts, the twist that the fuselage
would have got from extensive carrier
operations was duplicated rather
than rectified. This twist necessitated
complete restoration of the fuselage
structure which was carried out in the
early 2000s.
Stored for a number of years,
PP972 was eventually shipped to
Air Leasing at Bentwaters in Suffolk
in 2013. Restoration work started
immediately and after a few years
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DELIGHT TO FLY
to
the
other
carrierborne types.
Ive not been lucky enough to
have met any wartime Seafire pilots,
but would very much like to just to
talk to them about getting on and off
the carrier would be fascinating.
I love flying the Seafire,
predominantly because Im so proud
of myself and our team for actually
getting it in the air. I really dont
think theres anything more satisfying
than flying something that you made
work.
DOUBLY RARE
The
Seafire is a unique example of an
aircraft originally developed solely
for land-based operations that was
also successful when launched from
carriers. Despite its shortcomings,
it provided a much needed fighter
for the Royal Navy. Very few
aircraft can claim that kind of
crossover success.
The author thanks Richard Grace
for taking time to share the thrill
of flying the Seafire. Also, thanks to
the owner for restoring this seaborne
Spitfire to the air, where she belongs!
And special thanks to Darren
Pitcher for the detailed, unique
history of PP972.