Cool pic on Google Earth

[DamienB]

Hawarden has/had quite a wide variety of ex-Soviet stuff:

http://derbosoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=furtherafield&action=display&thread=2013

[PR19_Kit]

But why were they there? No-one on that forum answers the crucial question!

[Martin H]

I recall something in Airforces monthly or Air Internationals many moons ago about a load of former Soviet hardware turning up at Liverpool docks, some sort of trader had got his hand on the stuff. I believe the two migs at Newark came from that delivery.

[philp]

Back to the Frankfurt photos.  Can't pinpoint it but is that a Berlin Airlift Memorial at the Southeast corner?  A C-47 and C-54.

[anthonyp]

Pretty neat stuff, Rat !

What's up with all the Globemasters and C-5s ?

Answering an ancient question...

When I flew into Frankfurt back in '93, there were C-130's, C-141's, and some C-5's there.  It's a major logistics base for what used to be USAFE.  It is the Rhein Main base, afterall.

[PR19_Kit]

Big bump, but it saves starting a new thread.

While chatting to a good friend in LA, who's a hard-over Spitfire nut, he reminded me of a week long trip of Spitfire related places I took him to in the UK some years ago. One of these was the site of the old Woolston Works of Supermarine in Southampton and the ramp down which they launched their flying boats and float planes is still there.



But what's that on the river bank just to the south of the bridge?



It's a Spitfire silhouette marked on the ground in front of a block of flats! When we visited the site you could see it from the bridge so we went down there for a look. Back then it was marked on the concrete in the middle of a large grass area but it looks like the grass has all gone now. Melo and I then measured out the span and length  and came to the conclusion it was a full size Mk 1 silhouette. The people in the flats must have thought we were nuts!

[Captain Canada]

Nice find ! You should have sprayed some roundels on it 

Back in Weavers original post, it looks like a third fitter over to the left in front of the hangar.

[Dizzyfugu]

I'd assume that a museum Spitfire has been standing there for some time - but it's odd to get that clear pircture from space...!

[PR19_Kit]

I'd assume that a museum Spitfire has been standing there for some time - but it's odd to get that clear pircture from space...!

It's actually 'drawn' with paler bricks set into the darker brick background. The roundels are done in the darker brick too, very clever and artistic. I have some pics of it that we took at the time but you don't get the right imnpression from gorund level at all, a satellite view is MUCH better. 

[rickshaw]

Is there a reason why it was done?  Is the area significant to the history of the Spitfire or vice versa?   

[PR19_Kit]

See the pre-amble to my first piccie.

That's the site of Supermarine's original Woolston Works, where the prototype Spitfire, K5054, and many production examples were built. And also the place where the S5s, S6s, and S6Bs were made too, thus the ramp down which they were launched into the River