Spitfire Mk.IX - skoršia a neskoršia verzia - a čs. letci

[Michal Šourek]

Mohu též poprosit o fotky?

děkuji

MŠ

[Laco Nagy 'Bocán']

Po miernej "úprave" sem vykladám tie dve spomínané fotky.

Přílohy

[Michal Šourek]

Díky moc za fotky. Na oplátku poskytuji výňatek z mé korespondence s Edgarem Brooksem, velkým fandou a specialistou na britské typy, který už však není od loňska mezi námi. Čest jeho památce, už nezajde do archivu, aby poradil....

ad gyrokompas: The gyro gunsight arrived some time in early 1944; an April meeting
said that 100 Spitfire IXs and Seafire IIIs had been fitted with them, but
there's absolutely no way of knowing who got them, since it makes no mention
of any Squadrons. Since the sights were instrumental in having the E wing
fitted to the Spitfire, it's possible that they went to Squadrons who were
working on ground attack, but that's a complete guess on my part. All XVIs
had to have the E wing, and also the gyro sight (known as G.G.S. by
Supermarine,) so there's a strong possibility that they had priority;
although they didn't see service until 1945, they were being worked on
through 1944.

4-spoke kola: If your airframe has 4-spoke wheels, it should indicate that they're carrying bombs under the wings, since the stronger wheels were mandatory for that. Torque links are a massive bone of contention, and are causing all sorts of debates. According to the ledgers, wheel wells could be modified, to accept Castle Bromwich's link-fitted oleo legs, but it seems that it was left to individual Squadrons as to whether they did so. It was not until the war was over that the legs were made mandatory, probably for the same reason as the wholesale introduction of 4-spoke wheels, namely the hard runways in Europe; since 313 seem to have operated entirely from the U.K., their runways were likely to have been grass, so the "standard" legs should have remained in use. I always advise, with U.K.-based IXs, "If in doubt, leave them out," with regard to the links.

Michal