At Clacton On Sea Essex Air show event on a much nicer day 2 Part 5 August 23 The End

David Fortune Clacton

At Clacton On Sea Essex Air show event on a much nicer day 2 Part 5 August 23 The End  At Clacton on Sea Essex Air show display Event BBC Radio Essex commentary day 2 August 23 2024 part 1  https://old.bitchute.com/video/vLsAel6900uX/  At Clacton on Sea Essex Air show display Event BBC Radio Essex commentary day 2 August 23 2024 P2  https://old.bitchute.com/video/RWu590cX5p0w/  https://youtu.be/L9NruUA1Dqw

Transcript

00:00calling it a Blenheim aircraft a very very historic piece of aviation history here with

00:06a couple of Spitfires not one but two this is going to be rather special not least because

00:11this Spitfire 11 mark 11 or one of them known as L is a pretty unique but look at that

00:21listen to that those engines as the Blenheim and the two Spits just fly past us gracefully on the

00:30seafront we're going to be enjoying this display now for a good deal of time they're going to

00:37really make the most of being able to make it to Clapton they couldn't make it yesterday but

00:41they are delighted to be here today no more so than we are because this is going to be

00:48rather special we have the Lancaster don't forget at 20 25 past four as our finale today

00:55but let's savour the sounds just for a few more moments of this aircraft flying in formation

01:00coming round over the wind farm towards us here on the seafront now the Blenheim taking centre

01:06stage flanked by the two Spitfires ladies and gentlemen boys and girls what about this as a

01:12sight and a sound

01:26and a smell too of that aviation fuel oh beautiful Sam you are beaming from ear to ear

01:34at this point in fact she had to put down her donut just to pick up her microphone because

01:41I mean there's not much that gets her to put down a donut but a Blenheim and two Spitfires

01:45will won't they oh this is just phenomenal to see the Bristol Blenheim fly it's the world's

01:52only flying example of over 4,400 of the historic type that were built

01:58so

02:06flying towards the centre stage here the Bristol Blenheim and the two Spitfires we've got a mark

02:119 Spitfire and a mark 11 Spitfire wonderful clarity here with a nice blue sky to see the

02:20aircraft as they bank around

02:29the Bristol was actually in 1934 the owner of the Daily Mail challenged the British aircraft

02:35manufacturers to design and build a small high-speed aircraft that could accommodate

02:40two crew and six passengers with the hope of it becoming the world's fastest civilian aircraft

02:46doesn't look too small for me but this is what they ended up with the British

02:50airplane company responded to the challenge and they first flew

02:53the Blenheim the following year it quickly became clear

02:59an eight-seat twin-engined airplane was faster than any other fighter in the Royal Air Force

03:04inventory at the time and it unsurprisingly caught the attention of the Air Ministry

03:09they quickly ordered an initial batch of 150 Blenheims and then modified it to meet light

03:16bomber specification the first example of it was made of the flight was from Bristol's

03:20Fulton Works in June 1936

03:39so

03:56the Blenheim became the mainstay of the RAF's bomber force in the early days of World War II

04:02with Winston Churchill comparing their crews to the charge of the light brigade

04:07the types unique to the RAF history having served in every theater of World War II performing a wide

04:13variety of roles most of the airframe of this particular aircraft registration gold bravo

04:21papa India under license in Canada and she entered the Royal Canadian Air Forces in service

04:27in 1943 where it was known as the Bolingbroke and saw three years service

04:33before being struck off and stored on a farm for many years

05:03our thanks to the aircraft restoration company Arco for providing this flight today a family

05:10owned and run engineering operation specializing in the restoration maintenance and operation of

05:15vintage aircraft they have purpose-built hangars at Duxford airfield in Cambridge in fact I

05:21saw their hangars I drove on the M11 just at the weekend coming down back into Essex

05:28they provide an extensive range of aviation services

05:31to like-minded collectors as well as to the Royal Air Force's Battle of Britain memorial flight

05:40the company which evolved to become Arco as we know it today was founded in 1989 upon the

05:45aspirations of John Romain MBE who remains managing director the former Hawker Siddeley

05:52Apprentice and BAE Aero Engineer John's become a highly experienced pilot over the years with

05:58dozens of interesting aircraft types in his logbook including over five oh sorry 1000 hours

06:05in various mark of Spitfire alone so a very specialist company doing a wonderful job

06:13keeping some of these aircraft in the skies

06:18so

06:41and as the Blenheim banks high now into the sky leaving the two Spitfires to carry on up

06:46towards the Holland Haven end of the seafront it it staggers me to think we're looking at an

06:52aircraft which is the only one flying in the world right now it really is such a treat to have the

07:01Blenheim with us in Clapton today as she flies almost it looks like she's coming directly for

07:07us Sam on the seafront banking her wings out towards the wind farm

07:13just such a distinctive aircraft a mighty aircraft and so capable

07:24she entered the RAF service on the 2nd of September 1939 the day after World War II began

07:32and saw service as a night fighter initially with number 23 squadron with the RAF

07:37and then throughout the Battle of Britain before she was returned to the Bristol

07:41Airplane Company at the end of 1940. The nose of the aircraft was spared being scrapped and once

07:48the war had ended an innovative employee of Bristol's Ralph Nelson was allowed to purchase

07:53the nose which he then converted into an electric car and drove. Ralph had many of the original

07:59components not required for use for his car which became a viable candidate to get the

08:04candidate to get the Blenheim back in the air and was refitted in due course. After an 11-year

08:11restoration and some 25,000 voluntary man hours the Bristol Blenheim flew again in November 2014.

08:20The aircraft was in demand the following season for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

08:26I absolutely love the concept that a converted car helped to save this

08:37or a piece of this aircraft the nose of the aircraft. I'm told the original tax

08:43disc can still be seen fitted in the cockpit as a small nod to its history quite remarkable.

08:51Look at the sun now glinting on top of the Blenheim. We're going to get a good view now as

08:58she's coming down a little lower this time for a pass from left to right. Great opportunity for your

09:05photos and right on cue the left wing dips down to the sea showcasing the underbelly

09:14as she banks round out towards the wind farms and beyond.

09:25And this Blenheim as well is another movie star she starred in Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk

09:31representing all the light bombers that were in service during World War II.

09:45Flying the Blenheim this afternoon is John Gowdy yesterday was due to fly in the Spitfire Forest

10:01but today in the Blenheim he learnt to fly just at 14 years old at a local gliding club

10:08and then later joined Air Atlantique in age just 19. Working his way up through the years to

10:15deputy chief pilot he flew various classic aircraft including the DC-3 the repeat twin

10:21pioneer the dove and the vampire to list some of the few impressive aircraft he's flown.

10:27He's an airline captain as well flying people on their holidays but he's also flown in the past

10:34the twin otters with the British Antarctic Survey.

10:53John also flies Spitfires and is a great friend of Richard Grace he's flown the

10:57Grace Spitfire and many other marks of Spitfires as well as the Hurricane the Bouchon 51 P-51

11:03Mustang Yak-3 Thunderbolt so the Blenheim and in 2001 he took over from John Romain as the chief

11:11pilot for the aircraft restoration company and he enjoys flying Spitfires as well as the Westland

11:18Lysander.

11:24So

11:39as we say goodbye to the Blenheim as she banks round now over

11:46Jaywick and towards St Ozith what a wonderful sight and we've still got the two Spitfires to

11:52see coming in from the left but I know the Lancaster will be in a lot of people's minds

11:57coming up in 10 minutes we're loving the show very excited for the Lancaster we're here on

12:02our holiday it says Richard, Trudy, Lily and Daisy. Now one of these Spitfires will appear

12:14in your program one won't it's an addition replacing the Mustang that was going to come

12:20from Duxford but sadly went to un-airworthy before the display so two Spitfires

12:29which is a stroke of luck hey to get two Spitfires together

12:35the one that in your program you'll see is the Spitfire 11 nicknamed L short for 11

12:42a very very rare survivor of this mark of Spitfire with just

12:46two mark 11s remaining in an airworthy condition it was a variant specifically designed to perform

12:53high altitude long distance photographic operations indeed one of the type's most

12:59famous exploits was taking the initial images following the dam busters raid to prove to what

13:04extent the dams had been breached armament was removed in place of extra fuel tanks to allow

13:12for a significantly increased range as such the only defenses the 11 had to hand were height

13:19and speed whilst the PR11 Spitfire could avoid most enemy fire at operating height it was by

13:27no means an easy job for the pilots who suffered from the extreme conditions in unpressurized cockpits

13:42so

13:51so

14:10also flying we have a mark 9 Spitfire the Supermarine Spitfire PV202 registration Golf

14:17Charlie Charlie Charlie Alpha she was originally a single seat aircraft built in Castle Bromwich

14:23and entered RAF service in September 1944 she flew in Merville in northern France with 33 squadron

14:33135 wing of the 2nd Tactical Air Force I was lucky enough to go to an air show my first ever air show

14:40with the display team I first commentated for was actually in Merville a good few years ago

14:47it was a very important airfield during northern France defense of World War II

14:55and this mark 9 Spitfire saw 20 operational sorties

14:58with air-to-ground flying targeting rail and road transport convoys

15:05before it's eventually the mark 9 was replaced in those missions by the Hawker Tempest

15:17so in early 1945 the mark 9 Spitfire joined the Royal Canadian Air Force flying

15:26in a victory formation drawing closer and closer to the end of the war

15:32she operated out of German captured airfields

15:36and was important aircraft in the ultimate victory of World War II

15:53back to the the mark 11 L that we are seeing in the skies as well first flying PL983 in October

16:011944 saw active service from 1945 onwards taking photographs across Europe as part of four

16:09squadron before transferring to two squadron in Germany following the end of hostilities

16:15the continued introduction of jet aircraft to the RAF saw units gradually replacing their Spitfires

16:21which became surplus to requirements were often scrapped however this one survived and was gifted

16:28to the American air attache at the time Livingston Satherwaite what a name for his use as his personal

16:37transport how lucky was that that this one survived it was returned to the Vickers Armstrong factory

16:43in late 1950 and then was donated to the Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden in Bedfordshire

16:49it was there for the next 25 years mainly on static display outside until it was moved to

16:55Duxford where a restoration began to flying condition again

17:25so mark 9 Spitfire flown for us this afternoon by Mike Collett who started his flying career in

17:41gliders before becoming chief flying instructor at Booker Gliding Club he then transitioned to

17:46noisier powered aerobatics winning lots of medals in his first year of competition before becoming

17:52national champ again 10 years ago in 2014 and being selected for the British aerobatic team

17:59he entered the world championships in South Africa also flies for a living as

18:03well as being an airplane instructor and he has more than 10,000 flying hours

18:22so

18:29what could be more wonderful than a sunny summer's afternoon than the sounds of the

18:33Spitfire displaying on a sunny seaside day

18:42so let's enjoy these Spitfires for a little longer the Lancaster is due with us in just over five

18:54minutes time at 25 past four and you'll be arriving from behind us catching up behind us

19:02heading out to sea so keep your eyes peeled in five minutes we will give you plenty of warning

19:09as we await for the finale to Clacton Airshow 2024

19:25you're listening to Radio Airshow from BBC Essex

19:29we're on 103.5 FM and BBC sounds along Clacton seafront and at the end of the pier it is good

19:36to be with you today thank you for sharing your afternoon with us if you're hoping to

19:44find Aquila Rodriguez she's on 95.3 FM and digital radio our other frequencies our regular afternoon

19:52show with Aquila who is just fab so give her a listen if not today maybe next week

20:22the Spitfire looping overhead Clacton beach against a wonderfully blue sunny sky this afternoon

20:35it's incredibly warm now

20:38we've got very blue skies some high cloud but no problem with that and

20:46the breeze the strong winds that we've had for the past couple of days have just melted away

20:51to nothing it really is much much calmer now and thank goodness that happened in time for us to be

20:58able to bring you these fabulous aircraft visibility has improved significantly I can see

21:03the second batch of the wind farms now that go right out past Gunfleet Sands still turning most

21:11of the turbines generating the power to provide radio air show perhaps

21:20on BBC Essex now the Spitfire having a whale of a time at the moment it must be such a joy to be

21:28able to work on these aircraft preserve these aircraft make them airworthy and then display

21:33them to thousands of people that must just be the most fabulous feeling and to see the amount of

21:40people here on Clacton seafront enjoying it very very special

21:48I still can hear them say

22:10the white cliffs of Dover

22:15tomorrow just you wait and see

22:23there'll be love and laughter and peace ever after

22:33tomorrow when the world is free

22:41so as the final Spitfire departs over the pier a thank you to the aircraft restoration company

22:51for displaying the Blenheim and the Spitfire pair what a wonderful sight that was

23:11BBC BBC Essex well we're getting an extra look at the Bronco as she's leaving Clacton

23:20Aero Club so the Clacton Aero Club saying goodbye to the finish it with this iconic aircraft

23:27it's something both poignant but also celebratory so I think it's been a fantastic day

23:40so

23:45part of the Battle of Britain memorial flight the Lancaster

23:51what a sight it is to see over Clacton once again

24:01so as the salute is taken to the Lancaster as she arrives

24:06we are so grateful to see this aircraft couldn't make it yesterday because of the strength of the

24:13winds but they've eased nicely for this member of the Battle of Britain memorial flight to

24:19join us the Avro Lancaster and we're going to be spending the next few minutes in her company

24:27and let's make the most of it because there are very few of these Lancasters airworthy now to fly

24:36we just have to keep everything crossed that the great engineers can keep her going for as

24:42long as possible Sam absolutely absolutely the Avro Lancaster is the most famous and successful

24:49RAF heavy bomber of World War II and it's a legend that lives on today and the contribution

24:55made by this aircraft and it's cruised to the freedom of our national will and hopefully never

25:00to be forgotten this Lancaster is the PA-474 she's one of only two flying Lancasters in the

25:10world the other Lancaster is in Canada she's still in airworthy condition amazing to think

25:18that there's only two still flying of the 7377 that were built she rolled off the production

25:26line at the Vickers Armstrong Broughton factory at Harward and Airfield in Chester in May 1945

25:34just after the war in Europe came to an end and she was prepared to use against the Japanese

25:39as part of the Tiger force however the war in the far east also ended before she was deployed

25:46and she didn't take part in those hostilities

25:49the average age of the seven-man crew on a Lancaster was just 22 years old

25:55so hard to imagine how they endured the danger and discomfort that really showed great courage

26:04and then continuing to fly knowing the odds of survival were so low

26:09Bomber command suffered the highest casualty rate of any branch of the British services in

26:14world war ii 21 missions before the aircraft and crew were lost

26:23whilst we watch the Lancaster let's say hi to Graham Drinkle who tells us about his dad

26:29squadron leader Bill Drinkle who was a member of the British Air Force

26:33to Graham Drinkle who tells us about his dad squadron leader Bill Drinkle who served with

26:4050 squadron during 1944 and 45 flying the Lancaster the former Colchester Royal grammar school pupil

26:47lived in Great Clapton just a short distance from our display site today we remember squadron leader

26:53Bill Drinkle

27:23so

27:40the performance of the Lancaster was simply outstanding it could carry a maximum bomb load

27:46of 22,000 pounds its maximum level speed with a full load at 15,000 feet was 275 miles per hour

27:56and she could cruise altitudes above 20,000 feet at an average speed of 200 miles an hour

28:07a special mention for the family of world war ii bomber command veteran Peter Potter

28:11who passed away back in 2019 aged 94 Peter was a tail gunner in 626 squadron

28:18and one of the lucky survivors tendering district council have named a road after Peter

28:24it's in Elmstead market where Peter and his wife Janet lived for many years in retirement

28:29you'll find an information panel opposite Peter Potter way which tells you about his remarkable

28:34story and there's a Lancaster way to nearby reflecting the type of aircraft Peter flew

28:42for most of his wartime operations

28:52the Lancaster's performance its ruggedness its reliability and to many its sheer charisma

29:00indeed it's all of those crews we were so proud to fly this famous thoroughbred

29:15let's also remember the RAF Lancaster crew

29:18who crashed and died near Ipswich road in Colchester in April 1944

29:23Peter Potter who we just mentioned regularly attended the commemoration services for the

29:29seven airmen and was at the unveiling of their memorial back in 2013 brings it very close to

29:35home doesn't it when you realize what those who flew these aircraft went through so earlier we

29:44saw the Sally B which was obviously an American US Air Force aircraft that was involved in the

29:49daylight bombing missions the heavy bombers the British bombers such as the Lancaster

29:54were involved in night bombing offensives against Nazi Germany but not just on her own

30:00she was supported by other twin engine bombers such as the Wellington

30:05the Stirling and the Halifax

30:18so

30:28so

30:44hello

30:50in total some 125 000 aircrew served in bomber command during world war ii

30:56and over 73 700 of them became casualties

31:01either killed wounded or shot down and made into prisoners of war

31:09the battle of britain memorial flight proudly flies with Lancaster for us today

31:14and it's become a national institution but the modern bbmf was created from

31:19humble beginnings as a mark of respect for all of those who served

31:23it's gone from being a loose collection of obsolete aircraft types tucked away in a corner

31:30of a hangar to a dedicated unit with his own headquarters entrusted with caring for priceless

31:36assets of british aviation heritage

31:54in the early days of the bbmf the flight differences per season continued right through

32:01to the mid-1960s and then in the early 1990s that trebled and demand for the participation

32:07in the battle of britain memorial flight continued to grow

32:12so

32:22when you go home tell them the right and say for your tomorrow we gave ours today

32:35the dedication read by veteran John Dennett as we say goodbye to the Lancaster what a fantastic

32:44end to Clacton Airshow 2024 and whilst we're thank you thank you for that applause

32:54whilst we're poignantly remembering the Lancaster i'd like to mention squadron leader Mark Long

33:00who was sadly killed when the Spitfire he was flying crashed in a field in Lincolnshire

33:06with the battle of britain memorial flight earlier this year mark a name that we had seen before here

33:12at Clacton and as we see the battle of britain memorial flight our love and best wishes to them

33:18and all of Mark's family and colleagues what an incredible day we have had here day two

33:26of the Clacton Airshow

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