Jessie The Jeep

The whole flying display lasted about half an hour and had to be the highlight of the day. Towards the back end of the afternoon, vehicles began to leave, 'though some of the long distance travellers had already gone. We packed up at 4pm and were on the road North not long after 5pm. We got home at 23:15 and had the jeep, trailer and camping gear away by 00:15. It was a tiring weekend, but a unique experience, and one that I wouldn't have missed for anything. I took some video across the three days too, but need to edit it all together yet. Steve

Almost done!!!

I couldn't check out my pictures properly until I got them home and on to the laptop, but was pleased with the results. The sun was in a good place for photography too.

And now for the P-51's

Little more needs to be said, just enjoy the flying pics.....

'Sally B' still carries the 91st Bomb Group markings it wore in the 1989 'Memphis Belle' film, though it had its chin turret refitted after the filming and as a result is not authentic. 'Janie' has the black and yellow checks of the 353rd Fighter Group based as Raydon, while 'BB Doll' has the black and white checks of the 78th Fighter Group from Duxford.

Not long after 2pm, people started making there way to the edge of the crops for the best view of the flying display, expected to start around 2:15. It wasn't long before we heard the rumble of four Wright Cyclones and two RR/Packard Merlins as B-17G 'Sally B' and P-51's 'Janie' and 'Big Beautiful Doll' flew over in formation.

Eventually everyone got parked up and were able to take their first look around the museum and at the other vehicles.

At around 11:40, the convoy began slowly making it's way to the museum. It was a slow business taking me about 1 hour from the start of movement to getting parked at the museum. Parking that many vehicles at the museum, with public around naturally had to be done slowly and carefully.

As military vehicles assembled near to the dispersals, the public carpark was rapidly expanding, forcing the MV's to bunch up to make more room. Now I know Jack had been drinking till 3am, but it seems that when making his first trip out to the perimeter track, he forgot his truck! Looking across to the museum, it was getting very busy over there.

It was originally planned to have a short drive out on Sunday morning prior to entering the museum for the open day. As it worked out, this didn't happen, and after a briefing at around 10am, the plan was to assemble the vehicles at 11am on the perimeter track. They would then be ready to drive around the airfield to the museum complex for a static display throughout the day.

After leaving Hardwick, some of the vehicles left the convoy to return to Parham rather than continue to Metfield. That was a shame as they missed one of the best sights of the day travelling down the zig-zig roads formed by using the lines of the runways and perimeter tracks. As far as you could see, there were lines of vehicles travelling left to right and right to left, gradually heading to the far side of the airfield, and this was probably the one time where everyone could see the whole convoy at once. Once more a wreath was laid at the airfield memorial, this time the 491st Bomb Group. The convoy returned back to Parham after Metfield, though some vehicles went off in search of fuel ( Jack please note - FUEL ), or food. Later in the evening, the '40's dance was held at a nearby village, but I didn't take any pics at the dance. Later still, a bunch of drunken HMVF'ers did their best to keep the camp awake until 3am. That happy band of drunks are better left unidentified! That was day 2!!! Sunday should be coming later today. Steve

I didn't know that Maurice was going to fly the P-51, and with sore feet, had wandered back to the Jeep for a sit down by the time the aircraft was wheeled out. It did however put me in the right place to get a cracking picture of the take off which probably wasn't possible from where everyone else was standing. As the take off began and the power was applied, air was being pulled through the prop disc very quickly while the aircraft wasn't moving very fast. The propeller sucked the moisture out of the air creating spiral vortices from the blade tips, which I caught on camera. By the time the aircraft past the hangar and the on looking crowd, its forward speed had stopped this condensing of the moisture. It also possibly gave me more of a top view of the aircraft as it made its low pass prior to landing. This was the third time I'd seen 'Janie' fly in just a few days as I'd seen the P-51 at Bungay the previous Sunday and also flying over Parham.

The stop also allowed us to have a close look around Maurice Hammonds P-51 Mustang and other aircraft. The instrument shot is of the Boeing/Stearman PT-17 Kaydet basic trainer. 'Fools Rush In' is the artwork on the North American T-6 Texan, an advanced trainer. Next is a shot along the wing of 'Janie' Maurice's 353rd Fighter Group P-51D, and last is the port gun bay.

Once more the rain came down as we trundled on down the narrow lanes towards Hardwick. When we arrived, there was a barbeque already well under way, and serving food at a rate we had only dreamed of a few hours earlier at Horham. As we neared the hangar, an old brick barrack hut stood alone in the field. Parking space was almost non-existant so all the vehicles remained on the road through the complex, which also wound its way past the memorial to the 93rd Bomb Group who were based there.

Here are just four of the heavier vehicles on their way past heading West down the perimeter track. Despite the age of the concrete, it is still in very good condition. Many of the roads around the base are still there, but most are hidden under years of dead leaves, moss etc.

It took a little while to get everyone back to their vehicles and before everyone left, departure order was changed. The vehicles were arranged in size/weight order?? halftracks, GMC's, Dodges etc ending with Jeeps. This also took some time to move the vehicles to the correct position. As the convoy pulled away, Lynne and I waited, videoing and photographing the vehicles. The vehicles were initially bunched up along approximately 1/2 mile of perimeter. As they pulled away, the video started rolling and lasted about 5 minutes until the last Jeep rolled by and we jumped on the end of the convoy.

Not long after arriving, two strange animals bounced past, and I'm yet to find out what they were, but they stood about two feet tall ( see attached pic ). The view from the top of the tower shows some of the vehicles parked on the secondary runway. The visit also gave everyone to have a drink and a bite to eat ( again, after all, it had been several hours since those at the front of the last food que were served! ). Still, everyone had a good wander around the various buildings and displays. Time at the museum was cut shorter than planned in order to be at Hardwick.

With the convoy well behind time, we pulled away from Horham hoping to catch up a little. Our next destination was Station 139, Thorpe Abbotts, home of the 100th Bomb Group. Thorpe Abbotts has one of the oldest Tower museums, started in 1977. Adjacent to the Tower is the 351st Squadron perimeter track, of which about 2/3 is still there. This and a small remaining stretch of the secondary runway was our parking area. Some of the first vehicles there however were parked in and around the museum itself.

This first stop was planned for a 'breakfast' stop. 'Break' yes, 'Fast' certainly not! The food van that was laid on certainly wasn't the fastest service on the planet, with the owners incapable of cooking more than one order at a time. To be honest, the van didn't have 'Fast' Food written on the side, so we can't do them for the trade descriptions act, but it did taste good after the wait! Some left the que to look around the museum until it was shorter, but unfortunately, it took around 2 hours for everyone to be fed.

The first airfield on day two was Horham, home to the 95th Bomb Group. Two long rows of vehicles parked in a field nearby with a short walk down to the museum. The old base hospital has been converted into a museum showing life at the base. The various rooms within the complex led themselves to a multitude of different displays with some layed out as they would have been and others having displays of art, artifacts and models showing the 95th BG.

Only 8th Air Force air and ground crews would have been up earlier than the Bolero crews on Saturday morning. Briefing was at around 06:45 with the vehicles forming up on the Peri-track at 07:00. With more vehicles for day two, it took around 30 minutes to assemble all the participants. The two convoys of the previous day were abandoned in favour of one, with the vehicles in no particular order. The first pics show everyone lining up and beginning to head off.

The last couple of pictures show the group of vehicles parked around the museum buildings. Richard Taylor, the farmer who is responsible for leading a group who restored the tower is also an MV collector, and he would be joining us the following day with his GMC Bolster Truck. After leaving Debach, the convoy returned back to Parham for a much needed rest, some food, and I dare say, one or two had a drink or two! It was at this point after 1/3 of the event was over that 'Mr Pink' turned up!! ;-) Steve

We continued our crawling twisting way along 'B' roads, watched by people from the many villages we passed through. On hearing the first dozen vehicles pass their door, they still had time to come out and watch another mile of green traffic go by! Getting close to the 493rd BG Museum at Debach, the lead half of the convoy put their collective feet down and left the rear half behind. I was at the lead of the second section, with a huge yellow crane that pushed its way in behind me, doing about 25mph. I held back as I knew the way to Debach, and I knew the Jimmy's etc had no chance of overtaking the crane. So I plodded along in front and the rest followed! The main part of the convoy turned in to the airfield a different way, but I took the second section in through the normal Industrial Estate entrance, with both sections arriving at the Control Tower from different directions, with the mornings School kids waving us in.

Several motorcycles were used to control the convoy and other traffic, and without them, it would have been very difficult to stay together as there were still normal car users who insisted on pushing in to the convoy to save themselves time. They then discovered we were plodding along at 10 to 15 mph on occasions, and with one to two miles of green vehicles ahead of them, passing wasn't going to be an easy or quick way ahead!! Once again while in the wood, the sky opened up again dumping another ocean onto the convoy.