Coastal Command, chaps?

ndicki

ndicki

Charter Member 2016
At first glance, this humble Battle may not look very exciting - until you realise that it belongs to No.98 Sqn Coastal Command, based on Iceland in mid-late 1940. This particular aircraft is L5343, which crash-landed near its base in Kaldadarnes on 13th September 1940, and was abandoned after being stripped of its armament and so on. It stayed there until 1972, when a team from the RAF Museum salvaged it and took it home for restoration.

During restoration, the squadron code VO and the individual letter S were applied, although photographs taken at the time of the crash show clearly that no codes or individual letter were carried.
 
Great Addition to Coastal Command

I hope beau has seen this. It sure would look good in a Coastal Command Mission.

:guinness::guinness:
 
Interesting. With an operational range of 1,000+ miles, I had wondered whether the Fairey Battle might have found a useful role in maritime patrol. It seems like they often ended up with the odds and sods.
 
Is this by any chance the one that was covered in an issue of FlyPast some months ago? Not many original parts left in that restoration.
 
Could be worse mate. In '39-'40, CC were so short of aircraft they used Tiger Moths in 'Scarecrow' patrols carrying flares to force U-boats to dive as they tried to get out of the Channel!!!

This is really interesting. I've only heard the use of Battles by CC in off-hand references. Looks like I'm going to have to hit the books! Nice one Nigel!
 
BeauBrummie said:
Could be worse mate. In '39-'40, CC were so short of aircraft they used Tiger Moths in 'Scarecrow' patrols carrying flares to force U-boats to dive as they tried to get out of the Channel!!!

This is really interesting. I've only heard the use of Battles by CC in off-hand references. Looks like I'm going to have to hit the books! Nice one Nigel!
Click to expand...

My only regret here is that they were taken out of service before the introduction of the Temperate Sea Scheme in August (or so) 1941. It would have been more fun to paint one in Slate Grey/Dark Sea Grey!
 
Were there ever any coastal command battles painted with the white and green/gray pattern? I couldn't find any examples online, but I was just curious.
 
No. They were taken out of service before that pattern was introduced. I'd have to get off my chair to give you the dates, and it's been a long day, but... no. Which is a shame, because it'd be fun, and look a bit like the Fulmar. Corrado did one of those - it's in MAW, IIRC.
 
Not really - the Fulmar was a fighter-bomber/multirole aircraft. The two look vaguely similar, but that's about all.
 
Bit more info - 98 Sqn served in Iceland with Battles from July 1940 until it was disbanded in July 1941. It then reformed in September 1942 on Mitchells.

As Coastal Command stopped using the Temperate Land Scheme on land-based monoplanes in August 1941 (and it took a while to filter through, of course) then the idea of a Temperate Sea Scheme Battle, nice as it may be, is unrealistic. Of course, if I get very bored, I may just knock one out. But as I've got a new Blenheim MkIV to play about with, and a week's holiday next week, I don't know how bored I'll get...
 
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