Technology issues kept me busy during the weekend, see more about it at the bottom of this post. In a meantime, there are two new videos for today.

• A Truly Emotional Start-up is a video clip from the film "Perfect Lady", which covers full restoration story of ML407, a two-seater Sptifire TR MK. IX also known as the Grace Spitfire.
   
• The World's Worst Special Effects Movie? falls definitely into amateur category, but all the Airfix dogfighting in the backyard made me feel like I was back in the 1960s. Check it yourself.
   

Inspired by the forthcoming demise of FTP Blogger, one of key components in this site's inner workings, I have already started looking for alternatives. An obvious candidate for replacing Blogger is Wordpress, another well-known blog tool and publishing platform. I have set up a test installation at one of my other sites to evaluate it. If you care to take a look you will be able to see how much progress I've done so far. Also, rather than boring everyone here with further technical talk, I'm blogging my progress there. A short summary so far is that Wordpress looks promising, and, more importantly, easy enough.

Labels: modelling, site updates, warbirds, webmaster

You may recall my previous report from attempts to migrate my editorial toolkit to Windows 7 on my new notebook. As of today, I feel that I have prevailed, but it's not an unqualified victory. Here's a short summary.

I like Windows 7 because it is noticeably faster than the old XP, at least when it comes to startup and shutdown. If your computer is a laptop and you keep starting, closing and restarting it frequently during the day, the difference is very noticeable. Windows 7 won't keep you waiting with a hourglass cursor on startup, which XP used to do, and going into or out of hibernation takes only a few seconds.

The new visual ("Aero") interface is nice, with some real improvements such as file and folder handling in the Windows Explorer, and dozens of other gimmicks which are of no consequence to the user.

On a down side, I heartily dislike Windows 7 for its compatibility problems. Frankly, I have never previously had a Windows upgrade which had caused the old programs to behave erratically to the same degree as this version. FrontPage 2003, my mobile broadband modem, Blogger editor (all right, this turned out to be IE8 issue). Microsoft must have anticipated this because they included a wealth of "compatibility modes" in the operating system that were supposed to fix these problems. But the hard fact is that they don't, at least not where it matters.

So today I'm in the process of replacing Front Page 2003 with other software. I'm extensively testing its newer replacements from Microsoft, Expression Web and Sharepoint Designer. Both look and feel just like FrontPage did, but are annoyingly buggy, remarkably each in their own way despite the fact that their editors look almost identical. The layout templates for this site, which make excessive use of FP "include page" components, are only partially supported; I can see that the need to convert to another style of templates is lurking around the corner.

Oh, and my broadband modem is being recognized in only one of five USB ports of my computer. But yes, I can add new articles without any dramatic conversions to the site itself.

Or so I thought. Yesterday I received an email from Blogger, entitled "Important: Changes to Blogger FTP Service".

"You are receiving this e-mail because one or more of your blogs at Blogger.com are set up to publish via FTP. We recently announced a planned shut-down of FTP support. (...) For that reason, we are announcing today that we will no longer support FTP publishing in Blogger after March 26, 2010. We realize that this will not necessarily be welcome news for some users, and we are committed to making the transition as seamless as possible..."

I have been using Blogger as publishing tool since the start of this site. With all its simplicity, Blogger really brought blogging into the mainstream and I was generally very pleased with it. While I agree with the fact that I'm among only about 0.5% of publishers that are using Blogger to push static HTML files to their own sites via FTP, I think I'm not alone in thinking that it has been one of Blogger's killer features. In fact, it was one of the main reasons for me to choose it in the first place.

I opted to use FTP publishing for two main reasons:

1. Having full control over layout and presentation of pages (no "Blogger bar", risk for unwanted ads etc.)
   
2. To ensure that my published pages and images are hosted at my site, so that I can be sure to retain them for many years - especially if something happened to Blogger in the future, or I choose myself to leave it.

These principles are as valid now as they were then. Without FTP support, my blog pages and images will be confined to Blogger's own hosting. While this has some advantages (simplicity), I'm seriously concerned about my valuable content being spread across many hosts, out of my control. And while the text contants of a blog is rather portable and therefore easy to move around, the embedded images are not. I have been on the web for thirteen years and outlived other services before, so I know what I'm talking about.

It would seem that I have something to keep me busy for the next two months - figuring out a new solution to keep this site going. And growing.

Labels: webmaster

January brought much interesting email, and some of the letters are well worth sharing. Joop Thuring from the Netherlands sent us this wonderful story, which comes with a request for further information.

"The article, The Kenya Presentation Spitfires, triggered to me a latent point of attention with a low priority.

In the mid-sixties of the last century I started my professional career in Northern Nigeria.

Actually it was an alternative for National Service and with the blessings from the Dutch Ministery of Defence.

My experiences as a child during the war on the Continent kept me well-balanced during the Biafra war episode which started soon after our arrival but that's another story.

I had been posted in the town of Maiduguri, the Provincial Capital of the Bornu Province. The British Colonial Government had been far-sighted in West Africa and had left intact the existing "Native Authorities" after their arrival which kept the country, composed of many rival tribes, steady during the process of pacification. Subsequently progress went on well, up to and beyond Independency, untill the night when the military forces took over abruptly.

I do remember that I was invited once to visit the "palace" - largely made of mud - of the Head of the Native Authority which was an Emir but in view of tribal history and customs was called "Shehu". He was then 50 years on seat.

We, mostly ex-pats, had been gathered in a room in semi-darkness and waiting for the Shehu to see us and accept our sincere congratulations including a "couple of laffia's".

On the wall I discovered a black-and-white picture, neatly framed and not yet attacked by white ants, disclosing an early Spitfire, certainly not a Mk IX, with a description on the nacelle in white paint. I can't remember whether "BORNU" or "MAIDUGURI" had been an indication of the origin of the sponsor.

I have to confess that at such an ocassion your outfit doesn't include a camera, alas.

Can any of the readers confirm my observation or is able to disclose service details from this Spitfire or any other Spitfire donated from West Africa and Nigeria in particular.

Regards, Joop Thuring"

Another reaction came from Hank Adlam, the author of On and off the Flight Deck: Reflections of a Naval Fighter Pilot in World War II, a book which we reviewed in December.

"Dear Editor,

This is from Hank Adlam. I have only just been shown a copy of your sensitive review of my book "On and Off the Flight Deck."

I am grateful, not only for a kind review, but for your grasping the essential point of my book that the great majority of us, so called fighter pilots,  were just ordinary blokes thrust by war into a very dangerous world.

Indeed, I originally entitled the book "Ordinary Naval Airman,"but the publishers wisely, I think now, made me change the title. But they tried in their publicity to portray me as a dashing sort of Errol Flynn character, and I would have none of it.

Incidentally, you should know (and you probably do) that fighter pilots dreaded ground straffing more than any other form of combat. This was true of those in WW1 as well as WW2. In the Pacific, our twice daily ground attacks on the Japanese-held airfields of the Sakashima Islands were horrific in casualty numbers and utterly dreaded. The Japs were waiting with guns pointing in our only direction of attack with fingers on triggers ... just waiting for us. 

Air combat with bombers etc was a piece of cake comparatively !

Also, as you would read from my first book, I hated the Seafire (Spitfire). Useless thing on a Carrier and killed so many young pilots. Useless thing except when flown from an airfield, then lovely just to fly. I cherish a deep loathing for the thing!

Never mind, all over now.

Hank

PS. My sequel auto-biography, "Life is a Yo-Yo," has just been launched by Arrowsmith Publishers. There is some aviation in it but not a lot. It reflects life in the thirties and the difficult post-war fifties. People say it is a damn good read."

Labels: history, reviews, webmaster

Without further delay, here's the first update of the month.

• The armament of the Spitfire has been covered in the Variants & Technology section before, but it just so happened that we have received one more article expanding on this subject. Read Cannon or Machine Gun? - The Second World War Aircraft Gun Controversy by By Anthony G. Williams.
   
• The Video Section features a new video clip released by Airfix, showing a dogfight between their two new kits announced for 2010: Spitfire Mk. I and Bf 109E.
   
• Today we have also a new item presented in Product News & Reviews:  British Built Aircraft, a series of books by Ron Smith.

Labels: history, modelling, reviews, site updates

Here comes the review of January press.

• Fears about the future of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight started earlier this month, after Daily Mail's speculatory claim that the forthcoming £6 billion defence budget cuts could result in grounding the historic flight, or force it to rely on commercial sponsorship. BBMF's annual funding is in the region of £3 million.
  
  Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243309/Defence-cuts-ground-Battle-Britain-flight.html
  [Daily Mail]
  
  The BBMF's initial reaction to the article published at their own site did little to settle the matter, and consequently, it kept causing considerable unrest at the various Internet forums, considering the fact that 2010 marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. These even resulted in a petition to the Prime Minister (http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/BBMFCuts/).
  
  Fortunately, the MoD has now moved to end the speculation, confirming that there is no plan to cut any funding from the BBMF.
  http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4854585.Battle_of_Britain_Memorial_Flight_will_not_be_axed/
  [Bournemouth Echo]
   
• Duxford makes preparation to mark Battle of Britain's 70th anniversary. It may be expected to be an exceptional airshow season.
  http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=479956
  [Cambridge News]
   
• Red Arrows may always be expected to raise to the challenge; as part of their display routine for the Anniversary, they devised a move in the shape of either the Spitfire or Hurricane.
  http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Red-Arrows-new-formation-tribute-Battle-Britain/article-1761366-detail/article.html
  [This is Lincolnshire]
   
• Ron Smyth, aged 85, who is the oldest living Battle of Britain pilot, spoke recently about his memories to Shropshire Star.
  http://www.shropshirestar.com/2010/01/21/battle-of-britain-pilot-recalls-war/
  [Shropshire Star]
   
• Was your grandma a Spitfire pilot? Maidenhead Museum launches search for the veterans of Air Transport Auxiliary.
  http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/war+%2526+conflict/world+war+two/art75295
  [culture24]
   
• George Cowling, RAF meteorologist who became the first television weatherman and one of the most familiar faces on black-an-white BBC TV, passed away in December
  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/6896284/George-Cowling.html
  [Telegraph]
   
• Another sad farewell to Wing Commander Jack Rose, RAF pilot in the Battle of Britain and the veteran of British Expeditionary Force in France.
  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/6539181/Wing-Commander-Jack-Rose.html
  [Telegraph]
   

Labels: history

Tonight I present another one of these articles which started out as a photo, then became photo with a caption, then got expanded to a short writeup with two photos. Then the writeup prompted some reference checks. IN the process, other findings were made which were worth adding to the text... and so the story went on until, after a few days, the initial picture became a fully-fledged feature.

• My new article in Variants & Technology is entitled Sorting Out the "E" - American Armament for the Spitfire Mk. IX/XVI. It elaborates on the use of Browning heavy machine gun as armament for the Spitfire, and the confusing designation mess that followed. By Martin Waligorski.
  
  
• New in the Scale Modelling section is a new 1/32 model from Finnish modeller Yrjo Knuuttila, who presents his PCM Spitfire Mk. IXC.

Labels: history, modelling, site updates

Tonight's update includes three new items:

• A new addition in History Articles is devoted to Kenya Presentation Spitfires. The story of African Spitfire Funds and the donated aircraft is described by Kevin Patience.
  
  
• A new image has been added in Historic Photographs section. This item has been kindly donated by No. 602 Squadron Museum and documents that unit's Spitfires at the annual camp at Woodvale, 1946.
  
  
• In Video Section, Kent modeller Mark Lane presents his Parkzone Spitfire.
  

Labels: history, modelling, videos

I'm reporting again, looking at this site from behind the glassy surface of Windows 7 on my new notebook.

Despite all the favourable opinions about Micorsoft's newest operating system being a stable improvement over Windows XP (I choose not to mention Vista), the upgrade was easy enough - but regrettably only at first glance. Yes, all that fancy user interface stuff in version 7 looks and works nice. The disappointment came after a day or two when I noticed that some of my key applications carried over from my previous computer are no longer working as they should.

- FrontPage 2003, which I use for general website editing and maintenence, has serious compatibility problems when running in new Windows. These problems have been confirmed in other discussion groups and prove stubbornly impervious to Windows 7 "compatibility modes". Amazing for a product originating from but a previous version of Microsoft Office.

- Windows 7 refuses to recognize my 3G modem if plugged into one of the USB ports of the docking station (Lenovo X61). However, the same modem will work fine if plugged directly into the notebook.

- Internet Explorer 8 will not support cut & paste in Blogger posting interface, which it did satisfactorily in XP. Google Chrome still works, and it will not scramble page layouts in Blogger's administrative interface like IE8 appears to do.

I never before experienced any problem in upgrading from one version of Windows to another, but each of the current three issues qualifies as annoying and counterproductive. Especially the FrontPage which is Microsoft's own application and for which there appears to be no good workaround. And so it limits my ability to do editing work at the site. Today's new items have been completed through lot of technical experimenting and a dose of bad language... Enjoy while I keep installing and reinstalling things. I always have that XP installation disc somewhere atthe bottom of my drawer.

Oh, and by the way: this is my 300th post in this blog. I'll be celebrating when everything is working properly again.

• In Product News & Reviews, I present Flying Legends' massive 1/4 scale radio-controlled Spitfire kit.
  
  
• In Art & Memorabilia, a reader from Holland is asking for help in resolving a Propeller mystery
  
  
• There is also a photo of a Spitfire memorial installed in a local pub in Northolt, which brings memories of the Polish airmen who served with the RAF.

Labels: history, reviews, webmaster

I have started migrating my three-year old notebook to a new PC, at the same time upgrading everything from Windows XP to Windows 7. For my limited resources, it's a rather sizeable operation which may require a few more days to complete. Updates may be slow during the period; thank you for your patience.

Labels: webmaster

Part of my work on Spitfire history is roaming various archives for interesting primary source material. It is surprising to see that there's something interesting to be found on the Spitfire in almost any major international archive, be it the State Library of Victoria, Birmingham City Archive, or, as in the case of one of today's updates, the Royal Danish Library. In these days when increasingly more archive searches can be performed directly on the web, research is only becoming more fun!

• New pair of images have been added in Historic Photographs section. The first today is Skagen Ind, a Danish presentation Spitfire Mk. VB.
  
  
• "On a flat piece of ground..." is another new photo discovery from Australia, but one that brings more questions than answers. Experts on Spitfire operations on that continent are requested for more information.
  
  
• Polish contributor Radek Jurczyk makes his premiere apperance today in our Art & Memorabilia gallery. This one is entitled "Safe Return".

Labels: history, site updates

Tonight's updates include:

• Tonight I review a new decal sheet aiming at providing a rather unusual and colourful choice of markings for the superb Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire - Dutch Decal Junkers Ju-88A-4, Spitfire F.Mk.V/IX l'Armée de l'Air. This review can be found in Product News & Reviews.
  
  
• We also have a few additions in our gallery of Historic Photographs. The first photo originates from RAF 50th Anniversary celebrations, 1968. Have fun guessing all the aircraft put on display at that time!
  
  
• The second item for today is entitled A flock of seagulls - a beautifully atmospheric photo of a Spitfire Mk. Vb of No. 317 Squadron.
  
  
• Captured and recaptured uis the title of our last photo for today. It is the testimony of the fate of many Allied aircraft which force-landed on German-held territory.
  

Labels: history, reviews, site updates

Another small update for today, while I'm catching up with my email:

• Two new additions have been made in our Art & Memorabilia gallery. Vladimir Urbanek presents The Great Siblings, his newest work which in a playful and sympathetic way encompasses the Britishness of the Spitfire!
  
  
• Another brand-new piece for the new year comes from Herman Veltorp of the Netherlands. "Come and Get Me" - which makes you almost feel the strain of the maximum climb.
  

Labels: site updates

Without further delay, here's our first update for the New Year.

• Tonight I present a new Camouflage & Markings feature. Spitfire PR Mk. XIX - Cold War Warrior depicts some interesting post-war recconaissance Spitfires and their stories. Colour artwork for this article has been kindly provided by Hannants and originates from their recent Xtradecal sheet.
  
  
• We also have a new book review for today - Foreign Planes in the Service of the Luftwaffe by Jean-Louis Roba.

I have a great deal of email to catch up with, so that's all for now. Enjoy!

Labels: reference, reviews, site updates

...of quite different times over 60 years ago:

"During the war when food and luxuries were scarce, my mum wanted to give us a treat and bake us a Christmas cake. She had saved enough flour and sugar.

Eggs were not a problem because we had chickens, but she didn't have any dried fruit.

As luck would have it and by sheer coincidence when the midwife came to see my baby brother who had been born on the 13th December 1941, she brought some currants and raisins for us. This saved the day, and we had our cake. I can't remember what it was like, but I'm sure it tasted wonderful!"

Nancy Barnard
[WW2 People's War]

"My most vivid recollections are of the December 1940 Blitz over Manchester. I was 8 years old and looking forwards to Christmas. There had been many bombs exploding in our area in October 1940.

My parents John and Josephine Galway, decided to take my 76 year old Grandfather William Henry Corrigan and myself to stay with friends in Hayfield, Derbyshire. The friends, the Lavelle family, had a country cottage in Hayfield.

We left Stretford Rd, Old Trafford, in our little Morris 8 car. It was early evening just before Christmas 1940 as we travelled towards Hayfield that moonlit night. We could hear the planes over head. We had no luggage with us. We went as we were. On Christmas Eve my parents’ friends said my parents should go home and bring their Christmas presents and our little dog and spend Christmas with them. Grandfather and I waited for them to return.

When they did come back to Hayfield they had very sad news. My Grandfather’s house and our house which was next door had been hit by a land mine and there was just a big hole. The army were digging for us; they did not think there would be much hope of us all coming out alive. Our dog was killed, we had no furniture, no Christmas presents, no change of clothes, but we were all together and alive. My Grandfather never recovered from the shock, he caught pneumonia and died a month later. We went to live in Little Hayfield in a cottage until 1943 when we returned to Manchester."

Irene Barlow
[WW2 People's War]

"In September 1944 our WAAF unit was sent to Normandy. We were there about ten days and then flew (about five at a time) in an Anson of 85 Group Communication Flight from Carpiquet (an airstrip close by) to Ghent in Belgium.

Our first Christmas in Belgium was bitterly cold and we had very little heating. Frost formed on our hair as we marched to the office in the morning. Some WAAF went to bed wearing their seaboot stockings! We had a dance in the local casino to thank the people of Ghent for their hospitality and also a Christmas party for the children when we distributed clothes which had been sent over from the U.K. for them.

Our Christmas lunch was very good, one of the best I have ever enjoyed, even though everything came out of a tin."

Helena Noifeld
[WW2 People's War]

"I was three and a half years old when the war finished. I remember the Christmas after the war, my father - a staff sergeant and training officer - invited seven German prisoners to our home for Christmas dinner.

They all arrived in their uniforms and only one of them spoke English. I remember him trying to shoo me off to bed at 7pm, just like any other ordinary man. They were just the same as us really. I think after all those years of fighting my father felt sorry for them.

I was only three and a half but I remember it vividly. It shows it must have had quite an impact on me."

Dereck Lester
[WW2 People's War]

WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

Labels: history

Here's the update for today.

• A new addition in History Articles is entitled "I Used to Sit in a Tree and Pretend I was a Pilot". Steve McGregor tells the story of W/Cdr Don Andrews, one of the Australian Spitfire pilots serving in the UK.
  
  
• In Product News & Reviews, Magnus Fridsell brings us a book review of On and off the Flight Deck: Reflections of a Naval Fighter Pilot in World War II, personal memoir of Henry 'Hank' Adlam.

Work and family commitments tend to pile up this time of the year, so this is probably our final update before Christmas. I take this opportunity and wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[Card by waldopepper, via Flickr]

Labels: history, reviews, site updates