Posted on 09/05/2010 9:14:41 AM PDT by jakerobins
A LEGENDARY Spitfire pilot said to have had a fling with World War II pin-up Betty Grable has died aged 90.
Fling ... Betty Wing Commander John Connell Freeborn is believed to have flown more hours fighting the Germans than any other pilot during the Battle of Britain.
He was so famous he was sent to the US to train fighter pilots in 1941 - where he met the film star
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
Not that this is in that league, but my reward for cleaning the rain gutters this morning was to see a B-25 fly over as I worked on the roof. I heard the sound and looked up because it was louder and deeper than the usual prop plane flying from our local field. I knew the B-25 was a twin engine plane, but I didn't realize the engines were that big. The reason I know it was a 25 and not a 24 is because I saw the promo for the Watsonville Fly-in.
Thank you.
I know what my family went through, both sides, I was curious as to how Americans saw it.
Thank you for sharing this information with me...
Nice treat on Labor Day, Homer. The 24 does look like a four engine version of the 25 doesn’t in it. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some of these old birds flying. When I was younger I worked at a local airport and the Confederate Air Force staged their planes at our airport for the flyovers they had planned for an air show. Quite the treat.
RIP Commander Freeborn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNB8VbFmlOY
I believe this clip was from the 1969 film “The Battle of Britain”.
Very nice. Thanks for that post.
Godspeed Commander Freeborn.
Talley Ho Wing Commander John Connell Freeborn.
Very moving....thank you.
My wife is an Anglophile as her grandmother was born in Great Britain and she helped raise my wife.
If you get a chance, go visit Duxford in the UK. They have frequent flights by restored Spitfire. I got see to see one take off...
It looks like it...a good movie.
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