Lone Spitfire signals start of celebrations

Montrose Review ^ | 13 May 2015

[ConorMacNessa]

Eyes were lifted skywards on Saturday afternoon as the evocative sight of a lone Spitfire over Forfar signalled the official start of local VE Day celebrations.

The fly-past by the replica fighter aircraft began a day-long commemoration organised by Legion Scotland marking 70 years since the end of the War in Europe.



Beginning with an afternoon of entertainment at the Market Muir, the day featured military bands, vehicle displays and a special performance by 1940s dance troupe, The Kennedy Cupcakes,

It also included an impressive Beating Retreat ceremony at Station Park in the evening which was attended by a number of invited guests including Keith Brown, veterans secretary and cabinet secretary for infrastructure, investment and cities; Pierre-Alain Coffinier, the French Consul General; Angus Provost Helen Oswald and Georgiana Osborne, Lord Lieutenant of Angus.

The guests of honour, however, were the Second World War veterans present, who were applauded by the audience packed into the Station Park stand.

Led by the massed pipes and drums of Legion Scotland, the ceremony also included the Military Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

[ConorMacNessa]

A Salute last week to our WWII Heroes on the 70th Anniversary of VE Day.

[ConorMacNessa]

Pipes and Drums of Scotland Ping!

"Scotland The Brave"
Black Watch Pipes And Drums
(Click)



The Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiments of Scotland and The Band of the Scots Guards

Please FReepmail me if you would like to be admitted to
or released from the Pipes and Drums of Scotland Ping List.

"Nemo me impune lacessit!"

[Jet Jaguar]

Ping.

[AbnSarge]

You DO throw the best graphics up on the site, Brother

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

My later father, a retired US Lt. Col. once had a Englishman/wife neighbor who moved away for a while. When they came back to visit, I asked Col. English (his real name, and a WW2 RAF flight instructor), one question: “Spitfires or Hurricanes”.

To which he answered in typical staid British character, “BOTH”.

Well said!

Actor Christopher Lee (Dracula, Star Wars, etc), was not only in the British SAS in WW2, but also was a combat flier. He flew the Spitfire or Hurricane in No. Africa but then preferred the superior P-51 Mustang with its advanced Merlin/Rolls Royce Engine.

How a guy about 6’8” ever got into the cockpit is beyond me, but I did see a photo of Gen. Chappie James (USAF, Vietnam) getting into a F-4 Phantom and he was not only as tall as Lee, but much wider. A real nice person with a good sense of humor.

[outofsalt]

[Sirius Lee]

Ah! The Brewster Buffalo flying past the white granite cliffs of SoCa. Classic! My dad flew a jet one in Korea.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Brother, and thank you for the kind words. The pipes I heard last Saturday night brought me close to tears. My mind is full of the old tunes, from the homes of my fathers: the glens of Scotland and the wild places of Ireland.

I listen with great pleasure, great respect, and boundless love for the brave men and women who endured so much for so many centuries to keep close our Celtic heritage.

I raise my glass to all of them, and to you, Brother!

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[golux]

BEST HEADLINE FOR ANY EVENT EVER.

[jmacusa]

The “Spit’’ is a good plane. Very good. The Mustang was better.(hat tip the the Rolls Royce Merlin engine.) Spitfires didn't do anywhere near the flying and escorting of bombers compared to the 8th. Air Force. Americans pilots accounted for far more kills when it came to the ME 109s and FW 190s than the RAF ever did.

[LonePalm]

Ah, that is a Supermarine Spitfire like this one.

This is a Brewster Buffalo.

"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[oldplayer]

jamacusa, jetjaguar,

I am sure you both know that it was a PACKARD/Merlin for the P-51. My English friends always point that out. They claim the Rolls was better and smoother.

I just let them talk on.

Oldplayer

[NonValueAdded]

Winnie said it best: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

[the scotsman]

I also let my US friends talk on when they state the Mustang was an American plane.

[the scotsman]

There was a vg doc in the UK which argued the Mosquito was the best UK plane of WW2, as its design was so simple but brilliant, and it was incredibly multipurpose.

[the scotsman]

The Merlin was a fantastic engine though.

[jmacusa]

I'd have to say I agree to a point. The Mosquito, aka “The Wooden Wonder’’ was a damn fine aircraft. Scared the pants off old Hermann Goering. Other than it's engines and a few other parts the Mosquito was made entirely of wood. It was the forerunner of stealth because it could fly about fifty feet off the ground and it's wooden construction was invisible to radar.In a dive it could reach speeds of over 400 mph. Pound for pound though the P-51 Mustang was the tops.

[jmacusa]

It was the Rolls Royce Merlin. Packard was an American engine.

[oldplayer]

the scotsman; jmacusa,

The Packard went into the P-51’s. The Rolls in the British planes.

Although the Mustang was designed for the Brits, it was thoroughly a USA design, with North American Aviation including a lot of cutting edge innovation. This is especially true regarding range and firepower, as well as ease of manufacture. Unfortunately, the P-51A’s all came with the Allison. It was not until the Brits jerry-rigged a Mustang with a Rolls Merlin, did the Mustang show what it could do. The Packard auto factory took the Rolls license and plans, made a few little changes for their manufacturing requirements, and ta-da, a legend was born.

Having talked to a number of WWII pilots who flew both fighters during the war and immediately thereafter, they were closely matched. Funny enough, there is a significant variation between airplanes of the exact specifications and model designations. In the end, it pretty much was a wash with personal preference being the biggest factor.

Oldplayer

[Crapgame]

Pound for pound the best fighter of the war was the P47 Thunderbolt. There was no task it didn’t excel at. The Mustang gets the glory but it was the Jug that brought the Luftwaffe to its’ knees in the West.