Battle of Britain weekend RAF Museum Hendon

[Eric Mc]

I'm going to this on Saturday. Admission is free.


http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whatson/event.c...

Anyone else thinking of going along?

[TEKNOPUG]

Eric Mc said:

I'm going to this on Saturday. Admission is free.


http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/whatson/event.c...

Anyone else thinking of going along?

Sounds good. Would like to go on Sunday for the fly-past. Need to sell it to SWMBO. Actually, fk it, I'm going and she can come if she wants

[Eric Mc]

The flypast is subject to weather constraints - so be aware it may not happen. I can't go Sunday as I'm otherwise engaged.

[TEKNOPUG]

Eric Mc said:

The flypast is subject to weather constraints - so be aware it may not happen. I can't go Sunday as I'm otherwise engaged.

What's the most likely cause of "weather constraints"? Metchecker showing 34% cloud, 0 rain and 10mph winds for 3-4pm Sunday.

[Eric Mc]

Low cloud, heavy rain or strong winds (or a combination of these)

A low cloudbase would be the most likely show stopper.

[aeropilot]

TEKNOPUG said:

Eric Mc said:

The flypast is subject to weather constraints - so be aware it may not happen. I can't go Sunday as I'm otherwise engaged.

What's the most likely cause of "weather constraints"? Metchecker showing 34% cloud, 0 rain and 10mph winds for 3-4pm Sunday.

Remember, it's also as much dependant on the weather where the a/c are operating from...

[TEKNOPUG]

aeropilot said:

TEKNOPUG said:

Eric Mc said:

The flypast is subject to weather constraints - so be aware it may not happen. I can't go Sunday as I'm otherwise engaged.

What's the most likely cause of "weather constraints"? Metchecker showing 34% cloud, 0 rain and 10mph winds for 3-4pm Sunday.

Remember, it's also as much dependant on the weather where the a/c are operating from...

True enough.

[Eric Mc]

Went along yesterday and had a very good time. I went to a few of the talks and latched onto a guided tour as well as chatting with all the re-enactors about their roles and equipment - and spent some dosh in nearby Hannants and the Museum Shop.

[TEKNOPUG]

I went yesterday afternoon. Sadly the Hurricane was cancelled but the Spit did 3 or 4 circuits and the noise was as evocative as ever.

First time I have been to Hendon and was very impressed with the sheer number and variety of aircraft there (I think the only one I was expecting/hoping to see that was missing was a P38) but also all the other aircraft associated displays such as refuelling and armament technologies. Everything was laid out very clearly and informatively described/explained.

My girlfriend thought that I was making a lot of it up, such as the wooden Mosquito, inflight jet-refuelling and the use of carrier-pigeons on bomber ops (the fact that pigeons will always manage to fly home seemed to be the biggest porky!). She was very impressed by the size of the Vulcan though and clearly identified the Lightening as the fastest plane there "it's basically an enormous engine with a guy sitting on top".....lol

Edited by TEKNOPUG on Monday 13th September 11:59

[Eric Mc]

Glad you enjoyed it. I loved chatting to the re-enactors and had lots of conversations with the general public about the different exhibits.

[TEKNOPUG]

Part of the BoB hangar was closed off. Looked like some kind of Stuka copy and a few other planes. Any idea what's there and why it was closed off?

[aeropilot]

TEKNOPUG said:

(I think the only one I was expecting/hoping to see that was missing was a P38)

A P-38 is down somewhat down on their list of 'wanted' exhibits as our proposed buy of the P-38 was rejected by the RAF as unsuitable, and so the RAF never flew them operationally.

[Eric Mc]

TEKNOPUG said:

Part of the BoB hangar was closed off. Looked like some kind of Stuka copy and a few other planes. Any idea what's there and why it was closed off?

It was fully open when I was there. They have an audio visual show they put on there every 30 minutes or so so they block off an area whilst that is running and then re-open it again for a further 30 minutes.

The Stuka is real, although it is a later model than the version in use in 1940.

[aeropilot]

TEKNOPUG said:

Part of the BoB hangar was closed off. Looked like some kind of Stuka copy and a few other planes. Any idea what's there and why it was closed off?

The Ju-87 Stuka in the BofB Hall is a real one one of only 2 fully intact survivors, the other one is on display in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

[TEKNOPUG]

aeropilot said:

TEKNOPUG said:

(I think the only one I was expecting/hoping to see that was missing was a P38)

A P-38 is down somewhat down on their list of 'wanted' exhibits as our proposed buy of the P-38 was rejected by the RAF as unsuitable, and so the RAF never flew them operationally.

Looking back that makes sense as although they had quite a few American planes (in livery) the RAF had flown all of them operationally (Mustang, Liberator, B17 etc). I was thinking about this today and was wondering why there were no American jets but of course, the RAF didn't fly any of them.

I wasn't aware that we flew P47's though? Were they flown in the Pacific theatre?

[Eric Mc]

TEKNOPUG said:

aeropilot said:

TEKNOPUG said:

(I think the only one I was expecting/hoping to see that was missing was a P38)

A P-38 is down somewhat down on their list of 'wanted' exhibits as our proposed buy of the P-38 was rejected by the RAF as unsuitable, and so the RAF never flew them operationally.

Looking back that makes sense as although they had quite a few American planes (in livery) the RAF had flown all of them operationally (Mustang, Liberator, B17 etc). I was thinking about this today and was wondering why there were no American jets but of course, the RAF didn't fly any of them.

I wasn't aware that we flew P47's though? Were they flown in the Pacific theatre?

P-47s were flown in the Far-East against Japan but not in the Pacific. Don't forget that the British/Aussies etc were fighting the Japs in Borneo, India, Burmah etc.
Some P-47s were operated in the European theatre too.
The P-47 in the museum is in Far Eastern theatre markings. You may have noticed the lack of any red in the RAF markings. Red was removed to avaoid confusion with the Rising Sun (Hinomaru)roundel used by the Japanese.

As for American jets, there were no American jets used operationally in WW2. The only US jets that flew before 1945 were the Bell P-59 Airacomet and the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. Neither were deployed outside the US and neither were used by front line squadrons. The P-80 (later the F-80) did see service in Korea.

[aeropilot]

TEKNOPUG said:

I was thinking about this today and was wondering why there were no American jets but of course, the RAF didn't fly any of them.

You obviously missed the RAF F-4 Phantom on display then

For a short time in the 50's the RAF also operated the F-86 Sabre, but these were Canadian built examples, but obviously still an American design. The RAFM have a ex-RAF Sabre in the collection, but it's at Cosford rather than Hendon.

TEKNOPUG said:

I wasn't aware that we flew P47's though? Were they flown in the Pacific theatre?

Yes, the RAF were a big user of the P-47 in the Pacific Theatre.

Edited by aeropilot on Monday 13th September 15:55

[TEKNOPUG]

Was there a Phantom? Must of missed that. We left the main hall half way round as the Spitfire fly-past was due, then came back via another entrance.

[Eric Mc]

Hard to miss. It's a big aeroplane.

It's in with the "modern" jets such as the Lightning, Hunter, Canberra etc.

[TEKNOPUG]

Eric Mc said:

Hard to miss. It's a big aeroplane.

It's in with the "modern" jets such as the Lightning, Hunter, Canberra etc.

Yep, saw all those, along with the Vampire, Vulcan, Buccaneer etc. Hmm...must have been distracted by something else. Probably the Tempest and Typhoon. They do have a very good collection of static displays!