A Good SPITFIRE Documentary

[RogMason]

Guys, if you haven't seen it before, this is an excellent, older documentary on the Spitfire but a very good one. 
At 27 min on the time line, there is a great 'sit in the cockpit' comparison conducted without bias, by Paul Day, between a Spitfire and an Me109. The 109 was captured in the desert after El Alamein.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfiGXKIOULM

[Frank v B]

Roger,

The final assembly of the 2 bladed prop onto the motor looks so weird.  The 5 blader on the Mark 9 looks more like the Spits we know.
The pilot comparing the limited space of the ME 109 to the luxury of the Spitfire is funny.

Thanks for posting.

Frank

[RogMason]

Anything other than a 3 blade prop or a 4 blade prop, looks odd to me Frank :-) 

That Pilot who did the Spitfire/Me 109 cockpit comparison - BBMF Sqdn Cmdr Paul Day, has a history with Sid Bregman's Spitfire MJ627 (9G-Q).   He did a wheels up landing at Coventry in 1998.  The gear wouldn't lower on approach. After several attempts to get it down, he did a wheels up landing.  He was careful to cut the magnetos and fuel cocks, just prior to touch down so that the prop was stationary, minimizing damage the Merlin crankshaft.
It transpired, a 6BA screw had come loose and an aluminium wiring block has slipped down the undercarriage lever, preventing it from getting fully 'home' in the 'down' position.

In 1998, MJ627 (9G-Q) was painted as (9G-P).  The owner at the time, Maurice Bayliss, re-marked the aircraft I.D. as 'P' in honor of his airline captain son named Peter, who had helped refurbish the aeroplane.  After it was sold to Richard Verral at Biggin Hill, it was repainted in Sid Bregman's, original squadron markings - 9G-Q RCAF 441 Squadron.

[RogMason]

1) Maurice Bayliss watches Sid get into MJ627 for the first time in 56 years.
2) Sid Bregman re-united with MJ627 in 2000
3) P/O Sidney Bregman and MJ627 (9G-Q) RCAF 441 Sqdn - 1944

[RogMason]

Apologies - Correction - From the photo of the wheels-up landing, it appears that the prop, while not being 'driven' by the engine, was still windmilling, as all 4 blades appear bent?  I do know however, there was minimal damage to the engine and Maurice Bayliss had it repaired and back in the air in pretty short order!

[GuyOReilly]

Love that documentary.
Thank you for sharing.