spitfire mk 1 pilots

Nick
I can't come up with any names either. What i did find said the serial was airbrushed out of pictures of DW O, so they are not sure about it. I did a search on google--Spitfire I serial number L1043.

The RAF didn't allocate ordinary squadron pilots their own aircraft and during the BoB pilots would simply grab the nearest. To find a name for your model you will have to get a list of pilots in that squadron on that day and then cross reference with air historical branch with their logbooks. Is their a relevant squadron association? Your local RAFA could probably tell you and that would probably be a good place to start, you may even find some old boy who flew it when he was young and dangerous!

This may or may not help, but...
For a fabulous read, which will also give you name's of early 92 sqn pilots, get down to WH Smith's or any decent UK bookshop & get 'First Light' by Geoffrey Wellum. It's an autobiography, published by Penguin. ISBN 0-141-00814-8. Price 7.99 or less.
There are some pic's but they're not too clear. I thought it one of the best read's of it's type. It also deals with flight's to Malta from the carriers.

albertsponson hi,
thanks for the pointer...i was thinking of getting that book in the summer by the way, but got sidetracked, as you do!
i was surprised i couldn't dig up the pilots of those 2 planes; think i'll have to mail tamiya themselves; anyone ever done this? does it worK?
regards, and ofcourse, happy new year!!

First of all, the serials were painted over on the Spits at that time, not airbrushed out by sensors. I have a nice photo of these a/c sitting on the ground at Hawkinge and you can plainly see where the serials have been painted out.
Secondly, Tamiya will not know anything about the pilots. They even screwed up the markings for DW-O.
DW-O has the fin flash reversed with the blue forward. Check the in flight photos. Tamiya missed this.
Tamiya also instructs you to use the smaller upper wing roundels on DW-O. The larger 56" roundels should be used. All the upper wing roundels are visible in the photo of them on the ground and they are all the larger size.
Bottom line......Don't ever rely on a kit manufacturer to get painting instructions or markings right, especially if it is a Spitfire kit. Do your own research or ask someone for help either here or on HyperScale or ARC. E-mail me direct if you want. I get an average of 10 to 15 queries on Spitfires per day so I might not get to you right away but I will sure try.
Cheers
Bob S.

Bob rocks by the way, he's helped me tons on my Spit!

Thanks Bob.

bob hi,
thanks very much for your response.
i did read something about the fin flash being reversed on one of the spits now i come to think about it.

i have no particular interest in these spits per se, it's just that i always like to know who flew what i'm making and where etc.
i did do a lot of looking on the web, but i guess i must have been searching in all the wrong places!!

my affection for the battle of britain lies in the fact that i grew up in kent, over which much of the battle was fought, so for me it's like building a bit of my heritage.
i suppose therefore, that i'd prefer to build a BoB spit that was kent based, but i'm not really sure of who was based where, hence i don't know which aftermarket decal set to go for...

alternatively, i met sgt bill skinner of 74 ("tiger", right bob?) sqn in summer '02 at biggin hill, along with a german he shot down, ulrich steinhilper of 3/jg52 (i have steinhilper's "spitfire on my tail" signed by both of them)...so maybe i could do his plane? once again tho, i need to be pointed towards the right decals...

finally, and sorry for going on a bit, another character whose plane i'd like to do would be bob doe, who captured my imagination in stephen bungay's book "the most dangerous enemy"...i know he flew spits out of middle wallop but that's about it i'm afraid.
any pointers you could offer me would be very much appreciated as i feel obligated to know a bit about my projects anyway, but especially when they concern the Battle of Britain.
kind regards,
nick

Hi Nick
The well published photos of 610 Sq. were taken in early July 1940, just prior to the Battle of Britain. They were stationed at that time at Hawkinge which is just west of Dover in Kent. To find out who actually flew a certain a/c you would need to get the squadron ORB and find the serial of the particular a/c and pin it to a pilot on a certain day as they were flown all different pilots in the squadron.
You may have better luck in getting in touch with the RAF historical branch.
Cheers
Bob S.

bob hi,
just a follow up question as i try put together my tamiya MkI spit...the instructions are somewhat vague as to what canopy and windscreen are to be used...
would you be able to tell me if the 'flat' as opposed to 'bubbletop' canopy is appropriate here, and should i go for the normal as opposed to armour plated windscreen???
would much appeciate your help bob!!
regards,
nick

Hi Nick
You need to use the windscreen with the external armour. The canopy will be the flat sided version with the blown (bulged) top. The earlier windscreen was unarmoured and the earlier canopy was not bulged at the top. Neither of these are included in the Tamiya kit. I suspect you are referring to the later Malcolm blown canopy and later internal armoured windscreen included in the kit. These are for use on later Mk V Spitfires in the Mk Vb kit.
BTW, Tamiya neglected to include the direct vision panel on the port side of the canopy. You will need to scribe it in yourself or better yet, get a Falcon vacu-formed replacement.
Cheers
Bob S.

thanks bob
very appreciative of your help!
regards,
nick

Hi Nick
Are you aware of the other little things to be done to the Tamiya Mk I Spitfire to make it accurate for a Battle of Britain time frame?
Cheers
Bob S.

errrrrrrr.....that'll be a no, bob!!
i'm still undecided about which plane i'm going to build, as i also have aftermarket decals for alan deere's plane "kiwi" KL o B...in my osprey book(spit aces MkI/II...) the colour plate shows blown canopy but no direct vision port; is this right? this will probably be the plane i end up doing now i come to think about it!
i'd be interested to know what i could do by the way, so any tips or pointers you might have would be most appreciated.
regards,
nick

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bob Swaddling DW-O has the fin flash reversed with the blue forward. Check the in flight photos. Tamiya missed this. Tamiya also instructs you to use the smaller upper wing roundels on DW-O. The larger 56" roundels should be used. All the upper wing roundels are visible in the photo of them on the ground and they are all the larger size. .

Thank you Bob! These are exactly the questions I was going to ask! Glad I saw this thread

Hi Nick
The canopy will have the direct vision panel if it has the blown top. The Tamiya Mk I kit also has the muzzlw flash eliminators protruding from the leading edges of the outer .303 m/g blast tubes. These need to be removed. The blast tubes were coverd with a dull red tape patch. Tamiya also neglects to give you the interior armour aft of the pilot. This is easily made with sheet styrene but should definitely be there for a BoB Spitfire. I also suggest getting an Ultracast propeller. None of the Tamiya Spitfire props are well researched. While ordering the prop I would also get a seat, a door and a set of exhaust stacks. You won't be sorry you spent the little bit extra.
Deere flew different Spits during the battle and they wore his "Kiwi" logo and were all KL-B. Don't put too much faith in colour profiles. Many of them are misleading. Osprey is no exception. Try to find a photo of the a/c that you are trying to depict.
Cheers
Bob S.

bob, hi again
thanks for the help...i have actually put the fuselage together bow, so i can't do anything about the seat, but i'll do my best to sort out the gun ports, pilots armour and falcon canopy...my scratch building techniques leave a lot to be desired, but i suppose i've got to start somewhere!!
thanks once again.
regards,
nick

Hi Nick
No problem. The main thing is to have fun.....................and to build more Spitfires.
Cheers
Bob S.