No. 1 Squadron and the Spitfire Legacy 1940 to 1954 Written by Buskruit (Willie) Burger Introduction – East Africa A LEGACY is a gift, left or handed down by a predecessor, to those who appreciate it and what it stood for. It serves as a reminder of deeds and hardships endured by those who first …
The First World War ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. In the desolation of Flanders Fields, where much of the fighting had taken place, the only thing that still grew by the end of the war was poppies. In 1919, King George V of England inaugurated …
The graceful and majestic yet potent Supermarine Spitfire, designed by Reginald J. Mitchell, first flew on March 5th, 1936 and become operational in August 1938. Nineteen different Marks and 52 variations of Spitfire’s were produced between 1936 and 1948, totalling 22,759 (of which 2,408 were Seafires). The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX, otherwise known as type …
Article by Phil Scallan. The Spitfire Mk XVI and why was SAAF 5518/TE213, an MK IX HFIX, often mistaken for one? The late production MK IX Spitfires are externally very similar to the MK XVI Spitfire. Still, those late production MK IX’s fitted with the Merlin266 built by the US Packard Motor Company were designated …
Article written by Keith Pratt outlining the reason for his interest in the Spitfire. My grandfather was a WW1 war hero (twice decorated). He died in 1937 before WWII whilst injecting himself with “Opium”, his long term treatment for pain relief due to mustard gas poisoning. This left Grannie seven children and when I add …
The SAAF, the Museum and our Heritage. Swartkop in the late 1940s: Spitfires and Harvards in the foreground, with Dakotas and then Venturas behind them. Note how bare the landscape was. Heritage is a word which has many strings to its bow. Its meanings include birthright, inheritance, patrimony, bequest & estate, endowment, objectives & qualities, …
Swartkop Airshow, 15 April 2000, aviation fans abound and two Supermarine Spitfires are going through their paces in line astern formation.
Scattering ashes from a Supermarine Spitfire – A fitting tribute By Maj James Feuilherade In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return’ Genesis 3:19 This is a story, of one of …
Scattering ashes from a Supermarine Spitfire – A fitting tribute Read More »
what’s it like to fly the Spitfire MkIX? By Maj James Feuilherade Here are my thoughts on flying the Spitfire MkIX of the South African Air Force Museum historic flight when posted to the SAAF Museum in 1999. The South African Air Force Museum’s example was a Spitfire Mk IX LF or otherwise called the …
Proposed Colour Schemes for S/N 5518 Article by Willie (Buskruit) Burger – Velddrif, 1st June 2016 A fascinating look at the history of Spitfire 5518 through the years. Spitfire TE 213 came off the Castle Bromwich production line in May 1945; at the very end of the Second World War. It was placed in storage …
