Spitfire ace dies aged 90

The Sun (UK) ^

[jakerobins]

Sounds like he had a long full life....RIP

[Abin Sur]

A LEGENDARY Spitfire pilot said to have had a fling with World War II pin-up Betty Grable

Oh, I say...well done, old man!

[clintonh8r]

In two weeks I’ll be watching Spitfires and Hurricanes playing over West Sussex. I will think about Wing Commander Freeborn....

[blackie]

Two weeks, eh. Wish I was there with you, mate!

[WKUHilltopper]

Another hero gone...RIP

[doyle]

A salute to Wing Commander John Connell Freeborn.

A Spitfire performed at the Atlantic City Air Show on August 25.

The appearance was awesome.

I think you could read 50 books about the aircraft and the men who flew it, but your education can’t be complete until you soak in that sight and sound. I hope we never forget those men and those planes and what they did.

[clintonh8r]

I attended an event in England a few years ago where there were no less than 12 Spitfires in the air together, along with Hurricanes, Mustangs and the only operational Lancaster heavy bomber. Needless to say, it was a breathtaking spectacle.

[Redbob]

Thank you for this most-interesting post.

And thank you, John Connell Freeborn; may you rest in well-deserved peace.

[jmaroneps37]

Rest in Peace sir, rest in peace you have earned it.

[Hunton Peck]

Huh. Wing Commander Freeborn’s Wikipedia entry says his first post in the US was in Alabama. My dad was a flight instructor at Gunter AB near Montgomery in late ‘41 and early ‘42. Maybe they met, or worked together. Dad never said anything about seeing Betty Grable there, however (though he did see Ingrid Bergman at Orly Airport in Paris after VE day—I’m pretty sure no affair ensued).

[doyle]

clintonh8r,

I would love to have seen the display you describe. What a great chance to time-warp!

I am adding such an experience to my ever-expanding “bucket list”.

Where is the mecca for flight demonstrations of WWII aircraft in the USA?

[Rinnwald]

Allen Appel paints Betty Grabel as a major slut in his Alex Balfour historical time travel novels. It seems to have been true. I never thought much of her legs either; too skinny.

[yarddog]

I thought I must be the only person in the world who didn’t think Betty Grable was all that pretty. Not ugly but nowhere near as attractive as many other girls including a few in my high school class.

[NonValueAdded]

Rest In Peace, Wing Commander John Connell Freeborn, Rest In Peace.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

     Aug 20, 1940 Sir Winston Churchill

[Homer_J_Simpson]

We are up to our eyebrows in the Battle of Britain over at WWII +70 Years.

The week including the end of August and the beginning of September 1940 was perhaps the most crucial of the whole thing. Come and check it out if you haven't already.

[DFG]

The annual EAA airshow in Oshkosh, WI is the ultimate US mecca for aviation enthusiasts.

http://airventure.org

[vetvetdoug]

I never thought much of her legs either; too skinny

Hockeypuck!If you'd been 22 years old at the time Betty was at the height of her popularity and those legs had been wrapped around you, you'd had a much different perspective.

[clintonh8r]

Well, the event I described was actually just a sideshow, if you will, to historic automobile races I go to every year at Goodwood, about two hours south of London. The WW 2 aircraft connection is that Goodwood was an RAF base during the war. The owner of the estate, Lord March, was a car enthusiast and after the war he made a race course out of the airfield's perimiter road, which is a little more than 2 miles around. Racing stopped there in 1966. Lord March's grandson has restored the facility to its 1966 configuration and once a year they have Goodwood Revival, a wonderful three day event of historic (up to 1966) automobile racing and aircraft displays. A couple of years ago I was able to hitch a ride in a 1930s DeHavilland airliner...one pilot and about six passengers!

We'll be leaving for this year's event in about 10 days. They are planning a fly-by of a Vickers Vulcan, the only one still flying. I'm getting excited already!

[blackie]

The link doesn’t work.