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Lone Spitfire signals start of celebrations
Montrose Review ^ | 13 May 2015

Posted on 05/15/2015 7:01:34 PM PDT by 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.

(Excerpt) Read more at montrosereview.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: pipesanddrums; scotland
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A Salute last week to our WWII Heroes on the 70th Anniversary of VE Day.
1 posted on 05/15/2015 7:01:34 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa
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To: sionnsar; LibreOuMort; golux; marsh2; Sparky1776; brushcop; DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis; ...


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!"

2 posted on 05/15/2015 7:02:18 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa (HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in Battle!)
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To: ConorMacNessa; blueyon; KitJ; T Minus Four; xzins; CMS; The Sailor; ab01; txradioguy; Jet Jaguar; ..

Ping.


3 posted on 05/15/2015 7:02:53 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
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To: ConorMacNessa

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


4 posted on 05/15/2015 7:05:58 PM PDT by AbnSarge
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To: Jet Jaguar

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.


5 posted on 05/15/2015 7:14:14 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (madmax)
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To: ConorMacNessa

6 posted on 05/15/2015 7:16:40 PM PDT by outofsalt ( If history teaches us anything it's that history rarely teaches us anything.)
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To: outofsalt

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


7 posted on 05/15/2015 7:21:38 PM PDT by Sirius Lee (All that is required for evil to advance is for government to do "something")
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To: AbnSarge
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."

8 posted on 05/15/2015 7:24:09 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa (HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in Battle!)
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To: ConorMacNessa

BEST HEADLINE FOR ANY EVENT EVER.


9 posted on 05/15/2015 7:41:40 PM PDT by golux
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To: outofsalt
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.
10 posted on 05/15/2015 8:12:12 PM PDT by jmacusa (`)
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To: Sirius Lee
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)

11 posted on 05/15/2015 8:35:37 PM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
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To: jmacusa

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


12 posted on 05/15/2015 8:48:35 PM PDT by oldplayer
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To: ConorMacNessa
Winnie said it best: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
13 posted on 05/16/2015 4:14:35 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (I love it when we're Cruz'in together)
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To: oldplayer

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


14 posted on 05/16/2015 1:24:15 PM PDT by the scotsman
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To: jmacusa

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.


15 posted on 05/16/2015 1:25:09 PM PDT by the scotsman
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To: oldplayer

The Merlin was a fantastic engine though.


16 posted on 05/16/2015 1:38:18 PM PDT by the scotsman
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To: the scotsman
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.
17 posted on 05/16/2015 1:46:47 PM PDT by jmacusa (`)
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To: oldplayer

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


18 posted on 05/16/2015 1:48:03 PM PDT by jmacusa (`)
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To: the scotsman

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


19 posted on 05/16/2015 6:26:47 PM PDT by oldplayer
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To: jmacusa

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.


20 posted on 05/16/2015 8:33:22 PM PDT by Crapgame (What should be taught in our schools? American Exceptionalism, not cultural Marxism...)
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