Guns, guns, guns...Spit vs 'Buchon' 109 in HD

[rhinochopig]

I hadn't seen this before so apologies if a repost. Some people have a great day job.

Don't forget to click on 720p at the bottom right of the vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiAIyX0l42M&NR=...

[Simpo Two]

Looks like Jerry got away.

Mind you as even display pilots fly into the ground with no distractions, it makes you wonder how many flew into the ground in the heat of battle.

[Hooli]

Is that a double bubble Spit? I only knew about the Grace one in the UK.

[Simpo Two]

Hooli said:

Is that a double bubble Spit? I only knew about the Grace one in the UK.

Yep, there are a few - mostly Mk IXs converted post-war for the Irish AF I think.

[Eric Mc]

Simpo Two said:

Hooli said:

Is that a double bubble Spit? I only knew about the Grace one in the UK.

Yep, there are a few - mostly Mk IXs converted post-war for the Irish AF I think.

Yes - the RAF never flew two seat Spits. Apart from a one off two seat MkVIII, all the others were converted from MkIXs. The main customers were Belgium, Ireland and Holland.

It's the Irish Air CORPS, by the way.

[Simpo Two]

Indeed, I did think that 'Irish Air Force' sounded like the start of a joke...

[Eric Mc]

Now now.

The Air Corps are a subsidiary of the Irish Army - just like the British Army Air Coprps is of the British Army.

Their motto is "Small but Fierce".

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

Their motto is "Small but Fierce".

Has it ever been tested?




Mind you Paddy Finucane was Irish, albeit with the RAF (and RAAF): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Finucane Unlucky ending.

[rhinochopig]

Eric Mc said:

Now now.

The Air Corps are a subsidiary of the Irish Army - just like the British Army Air Coprps is of the British Army.

Their motto is "Small but Fierce".

Doesn't that describe a fair chunk of the Irish population after a skin-full of the black stuff? Or "small but fighty"

[mybrainhurts]

Eric Mc said:

Simpo Two said:

Hooli said:

Is that a double bubble Spit? I only knew about the Grace one in the UK.

Yep, there are a few - mostly Mk IXs converted post-war for the Irish AF I think.

Yes - the RAF never flew two seat Spits. Apart from a one off two seat MkVIII, all the others were converted from MkIXs. The main customers were Belgium, Ireland and Holland.

It's the Irish Air CORPS, by the way.

O'Leary squeezing another passenger in, eh...?

[Eric Mc]

Simpo Two said:

Eric Mc said:

Their motto is "Small but Fierce".

Has it ever been tested?




Mind you Paddy Finucane was Irish, albeit with the RAF (and RAAF): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Finucane Unlucky ending.

Has it ever been tested - not really. It did a bit of intercepting of transgressions of neutral air space in WW2 but they never fired their guns in anger, as far as I know (during WW2 they had a small number of Gladiator and Hurricane fighters).

Finucane was one of my heroes and he met a rather sad end. His brother also joined the RAF and is still alive, as far as I know. Ironically, his dad had fought for the IRA in the War of Independence in 1919-21. He had no objections to both his sons joining the RAF.

If you look carefully at RFC, RAF and RN records, you will find a fairly large number of Irish participants. I've just finished reading the wartime memoirs of Irish fighter pilot, Tim Vigors. Tim flew Spitfires during the battle of Britain and went on to fight the Japanese flying Brewster Buffalos in Burma - in which he was badly injured.

After the war, he went on to be one of Ireland's most successful race horse trainers.

[Waynester]

I remember going to an air show in '90 I think, 'Fighter Meet - North Weald'

I was transfixed watching numerous Spits & Bouchon/109's tail chase...

Incredible to watch, but easy to remember the reality of what I was
watching.. It wasn't so long that this was life & death, not a show!


To quote:

"the essential arithmetic is that our young men will have to shoot down their young men at the rate of four to
one, if we're to keep pace at all"

Sobering.

[munroman]

As an aside for Eric, my Irish ex was always amused by the weather forecaster describing the weather as 'fierce mild'....!