M5Clive Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 About 18 months ago, we had a good thread on here about what clutter we keep in our sheds and as I was at the time (and currently still am) 'shed-less' - I posted a couple of pictures of my neighbours shed, not 1/2 a mile down the road revealing its rather unusual contents - see pictures below...... Well time quickly marched on to October/November last year when Maurice Hammond emptied his shed and transferred its contents to his airstrip at Hardwick in Norfolk, where I took the pictures below...... The official unveiling of the fuselage of P-51 D 'Marinell.' Suzanne looks into the engine bay. P-51 D 'Janie' looks down her nose at her new sister! Racing forward to July 26th this year, P-51 D 'Marinell' took to the skies again for the very first time since August 1944 with Maurice Hammond at the controls of his latest marvel of flight! Now fully certificated by the CAA, I was invited to Hardwick on Sunday to watch him fly the aircraft which has literally just a hand-full hours on the clock. It was indeed a sight to behold and made for some good photographs with my 300mm Nikkon lense. Kicking-up more dust that a Norfolk harvest! Lift-off 1944 style! Shame about the Ferguson in the field! 'Off we go into the wild blue yonder!' Ain't she pretty! MB provided by Kevin Pariette of Brantham, Essex. You didn't seriously expect me to miss the photo opportunity now did you? Enjoy and look-out for Marinell coming to an air-display near you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Cheers for the pics.Unbelievable!.Was it in flying condition before the restoration?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M5Clive Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 (edited) Most definitely not! The aircraft was destroyed on August 13th 1944 with 2nd Lt. Myer Winkleman at the controls over France. He was assigned to the 339th Fighter Group, 504th Fighter Squadron, Eighth Air Force, flying bomber escort and fighter duties out of Fowlmere airfield in Cambridgeshire. (This airfield is literally a couple of miles due West of Duxford airfield - which was then assigned to the USAAF Fighter Command's 78th Fighter Group.) Maurice purchased the wreckage over four years ago and set about restoring the aircraft to its former glory. That said, very very little of the aircraft is from that original airframe - probably less that 5%. He has however painted the aircraft to exactly represent the aircraft that Lt. Winkleman was flying that day - P-51 D Marinell. None the less, it looks just like is has rolled-off the Inglewood, California production line, been shipped to the UK and just been assigned its unit identities and paintwork! The link below takes you to a good video of the first flight on July 26th. Stick with it, because their is some good informative commentary towards the end. If nothing else, it will bring back good memories for those that attended Operation Bolero in 2006. (If you are quick, you can just see our Bolero Banner displayed in the hangar on the film) Edited September 24, 2008 by M5Clive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 For those that missed the original thread here it is... http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=3082 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Wow, he sure does not waste his time! Is this a two seater too? Will we see a formation flight of his P51s next Bolero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Burley Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Clive thanks once agin for the info.I will add double unbelievable to that.A real credit to all concerned.:thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Lift-off 1944 style! Shame about the Ferguson in the field! !!! What Ferguson !!!!!!:cool2: :cool2: Dave C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M5Clive Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Flipping Brilliant! You can see why they wont let photographs stand-up in court as evidence can't you! "No Constable, I certainly wasn't driving a tractor in Norfolk on Sunday afternoon when the aircraft took off!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Wow, he sure does not waste his time! Is this a two seater too? Will we see a formation flight of his P51s next Bolero? - bet he couldn't fix my GMC electrical problem though....:readpaper: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 - bet he couldn't fix my GMC electrical problem though....:readpaper: Be fair now young Jack - neither can you!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M5Clive Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 - bet he couldn't fix my GMC electrical problem though....:readpaper: Flipping Heck Jack, he's a whiz with the PC - Not a dabbler in Black Magic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWDTEXAS Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Here are some of them in our shedhttp://www.vintageaviation.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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