Back In The Cockpit - With Robots, Czechs & Secret Codes

Well, hullo there!

Dear me, has it really been three months since my last post?  I suppose there's no getting away from the fact that I've had something of an impromptu blogging break, but here I am - like the proverbial bad penny - turning up again and I must say it's already beginning to feel like I've never been away.  Let's hope I can sustain that feeling, get back to a post every once in a while and not become stuck in another rut!



So, what has caught my vintage eye (I actually have two you know) in the last few weeks?  Read on to find out!

Secret German WW2 code machine found on eBay

In my local seaside town, no less, came the discovery at the end of May of a part of the hugely important and super-rare coding machine used by the Germans in the Second World War - the Lorenz encryptor, bigger and even more complex brother of the famous Enigma machines.  Discovered, in of all places, eBay!  Misidentified as a telegraph keyboard, and up for auction at a mere £9.50, it was only sheer luck that the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park came across it - sitting in the seller's garage under a pile of junk!  Surely this must rank as one of the ultimate eBay "finds"?!  Well done to those eagle-eyed museum chaps for spotting this important part of computing and Second World War history, even if it is incomplete.  Proof, if proof were needed, that there are still treasures to be found on that site - and on that note, while we're all searching around for that next bargain, keep an eye out for the Lorenz's motor, which is still yet to be found.

Secret WW2 wireless station in Norwich gets heritage protection

In related news a Second World War messaging post, one of 30 set up at the behest of Churchill in the face of the expected invasion of Britain in 1940, has been given listed status following its rediscovery in a disused Norfolk country house in 2012.  One of only twelve so far discovered, it was sadly damaged by fire in 2014 but with this latest news and the encouraging noises being made by Historic England (previously English Heritage) one hopes that it can be restored and opened to the public as a museum detailing that pivotal point in our nations history and the important part these "In Stations" and there civilian operators would have played had the worst happened.

Czech World War Two pilot flies Spitfire once again



One man doing his best among hundreds to ensure the worst did not happen was Czech fighter pilot Emil Bocek, who trained as a teenage ground mechanic in 1940 before going on to earn his wings and fly Spitfires in combat from 1944.  Later rising to the rank of General and now aged 93, he returned to Biggin Hill last month to fly a dual-control Spitfire over the skies of South London - the first time he's taken the controls of that wonderful aircraft in 70 years.  Dobré pro vás, General Bocek!

Work begins on Eric robot resurrection

Work continues apace on the reconstruction of Eric, the world's first functioning robot (as previously reported here).  It sounds as though both the Science Museum and the chap building the replica are unsure of just how things will turn out, so it sounds like the plans that have been found are either incomplete or not detailed enough.  Nevertheless I look forward to hearing of Eric's reawakening, in what will no doubt be the closest form to the original that the existing information will allow.

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War hero's plane to fly at RNAS Culdrose Air Day after being restored by his grandsons 

This last article is an absolute pip, just the kind of feel-good vintage news story I enjoy featuring on the blog.  In this four-year centenary of the First World War there have been - and no doubt will continue to be - many such stories of descendants of Great War combatants uncovering fascinating accounts or honouring their relatives in some way (and rightly so!).  This story of two brothers recreating the very aeroplane their grandfather flew in the Royal Naval Air Service during the Gallipoli campaign is a particularly stirring example and I'm delighted to see them make a success of it in time for a local air display.  A more perfect way of honouring their grandfather's memory and providing an important glimpse into his life and exploits in the RNAS I couldn't imagine.  Well done chaps!

That's me done for this post, then, but I sincerely hope and intend it not to be my last for another three months!  I'm looking forward immensely to getting back into this blogging racket and with stories like these to choose from I certainly shouldn't be short of inspiration.  Until next time folks, tinkerty-tonk!

First World War fighter plane restored at air museum

First World War fighter plane restored at air museum

Here now is one of the first of many posts that are destined to appear on this blog in the next 12-48 months as the commemorations for the centenary of the First World War start to get underway.  In this instance the story is of a long-forgotten World War One aircraft prototype and one museum's attempt to construct a working replica in time for this year's events.

The Eastchurch Kitten - or to give it its full designation, the Port Victoria P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten - was borne out of an Admiralty specification created in 1916 for a small, light single-seat fighter designed to fly at high altitude and intercept the Zeppelin airships that were then terrorising the south-east of England.  Two front-runners soon emerged from Royal Naval Air Service stations based in Kent.  One was the brainchild of designer W. H. Sayers, based at the Port Victoria Marine Experimental Aircraft Depot on the Isle of Grain.  The other was the Kitten, designed by the pen of G. H. Millar, located further along the north Kent coast at the RNAS Experimental Flight in Eastchurch. When the commanding officer of the Experimental Flight then took over at the Port Victoria station it was decided that the competing aeroplanes should both be further refined together at Port Victoria, therefore the Eastchurch design was called the P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten while the other was renamed the P.V.7 Grain Kitten.  Both were of a similar layout to meet the Admiralty requirement for a compact, lightweight interceptor that could be launched from the cramped confines of a Navy destroyer's fo'c'sle.

© IWM (Q 67564) 1917 Port Victoria P.V.8 Eastchurch Kitten

Volunteers restore 100-year-old First World War prototype fighter plane at Yorkshire Air Museum 

The P.V.7 was in fact the first to fly, on the 22nd June 1917, but it was found to be tough to handle and tail-heavy in flight.  The P.V.8 finally took to the air on the 7th September 1917 and although like the Grain Kitten it was hampered with the temperamental 35hp ABC Gnat engine it soon became apparent that - despite being larger and heavier than the P.V.7 - the Eastchurch machine was the more advanced. In the end, however, the Admiralty chose not to pursue the P.V.8 design.  By the time both aircraft were at the test-flight stage the sturdier and better-performing Sopwith Pup and Sopwith Camel had been adapted for higher-altitude work, aircraft carriers were developing apace and the threat of Zeppelin raids had receded.  Neither the P.V.7 or P.V.8 ever flew again; the original Eastchurch Kitten airframe was due to be sent to America for further evaluation but what became of it from that point remains a mystery.



‘Zeppelin zapper’ returns to life

Obviously some plans of the P.V.8's design survived, though, as an attempt to create a replica of the aircraft was made as far back as the 1980s.  Now thanks to the sterling efforts of the volunteers at the Yorkshire Air Museum a remarkably accurate copy of the Eastchurch Kitten is finally nearing completion, with appearances (albeit sadly static) scheduled at both the museum's own displays and also in Leeds town centre later this year.

I'm happy to see so much going on at the museum's preservation hangar and it's splendid to see a project such as this come to successful fruition, with volunteers and aviation design students keeping alive the skills needed to help ensure that an interesting part of First World War aviation history is not forgotten, hopefully inspiring and engaging all those who come to see it at York in the next four years and beyond.

My Great War reads for the 100th anniversary

When I wrote a couple of weeks ago about my latest book find just before Christmas, I mentioned that it was about something very pertinent to this year's centenary of the First World War (news and events relating to which have already begun to appear, so expect this blog to become heavy with them in the coming months!) - namely the collected early war letters of RNAS pilot Lieutenant Harold Rosher.  I added that it would become a welcome addition to my war library and stated my intention to read all the books in my collection that relate to World War One by the end of 2014.

Well, the other day, with the germ of an idea for a post in my mind, I got out all said books (including In The Royal Naval Air Service, 3rd row far right) and laid them out to take a picture of them for this blog.  I think I may have to revise my target!  The end of 2018 seems more realistic now I've reacquainted myself with the number books I have on the subject!

As you can see most of them focus on the aeronautical aspect of the Great War; no surprise really as that has always been my abiding area of interest.  In fact all but three are purely about aerial warfare.  True World War I Stories (2nd row from top, 3rd from left) is just that and was picked up from a library sale a few years ago for 50p.  Before Endeavours Fade by Rose E. B. Coombs (top, 3rd from left) was given to me by my stepfather several years back and is actually something of a guide book to the battlefields, detailing towns, landmarks and other locations that saw action as well as the innumerable memorials throughout Belgium and France.  Although now nearly 40 years old this book will doubtless be interesting and a still-useful guide if I should choose to visit the areas covered.

Once I realised just how many books I had, I got that nagging feeling that there were probably one or two more lying around somewhere that I'd forgotten about and such proved to be the case! 

Goodbye to All That is an autobiographical account of the the First World War (and the author's early pre-war life) by Robert Graves, the poet, scholar and author who served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and was good friends with Siegfried Sassoon.  I picked up this copy for a few pence in Homebase (yes, the DIY people - my local store has a small second-hand book concession by the tills!) a year or so ago and it has been sitting patiently in my "to read" pile.

The rest all focus on the RFC and/or the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte (except In the Company of Eagles, a novel by Ernest K. Gann about a duel between French and German pilots) with no less than four devoted solely to Manfred von Richthofen.  These include his own [translated] memoirs and a fascinating in-depth record of his 80 career victories.

German War Birds is a splendid book from the 1930s, written by the mysteriously pseudonymous "Vigilant" (generally agreed to be one Claud W. Sykes and probably a serving RAF officer hence the name), details of some of the lesser-known German pilots of the Great War and is written in wonderfully charming Thirties style.  I picked it up in 2003 from the wonderful book stalls that can still be found underneath Waterloo Bridge.

Many of the other books are written by well-regarded aviation/military historians such as Peter Hart, Alan Clark and Norman Franks.  Then there are the famous wartime memoirs of Cecil Lewis (Sagittarius Rising) and Victor Yeates (Winged Victory), not to mention James McCudden's Flying Fury.  Finally there is, of course, Biggles - who nearly 20 years ago introduced me to the fascinating world of dogfights, biplanes and heroic flying that I would later go on to read so much more about.  The First World War stories fully deserve their place here, being inspired by true events and stories that the author W. E. Johns (himself a bomber pilot in the war) saw or heard.

Finally, as a bit of light relief, Practical Flying is a good read - it being a facsimile of the standard training manual given to pilots joining the RFC.  I doubt there'll ever be any call for me to fly a Sopwith Camel, but you never know!  I actually got it (and a real hip flask!) with the old PC simulator, Flying Corps, way back in the late '90s and am pleased to report that the old game still runs so I can at least take my bus up for a spin virtually if not in reality(!).  Incidentally I'm amazed to see how far computers and graphics have progressed - the modern equivalent of Flying Corps, Rise Of Flight, looks incredibly realistic and expansive.

Just as soon as I've finished reading my current tome, Waiting For Hitler, which is an equally enthralling series of accounts from the first year of the Second World War when the invasion of Britain looked likely, I shall begin working my way through these Great War books.  Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while!  But no, in all seriousness, I really looking forward to doing this; in the centenary year of the start of the Great War it just seems the "right" way to go about commemorating the occasion.  I may even post a review or two up along the way.  Then there's my film collection too, I haven't even touched on that yet.  If that's not enough the Daily Telegraph is also marking the anniversary by making available online copies of every one of its newspapers from 1914 to 1918, each day for the next four years!

What have you got planned for the 100th anniversary and are there any more(!) books you would recommend I seek out?

Fairs, letters and patterns

Earlier this month - the 15th to be precise - I found myself at another of my local Essex Vintage Fairs.  Fast becoming a quarterly tradition thanks in no small part to its proximity to m'parents' home it is also a well-run yet intimate event with some good bargains to be found if one is prepared to search beyond the "vintage" (in the worst possible sense as used to describe stuff from the 1970s, '80s - or even later - that just looks old or has a bit of retro about it) and "[insert decade here]-style".  (Those two types of items are, of course, found everywhere these days so this event is not unusual for that.)

While perhaps not quite up there with the summer fair in terms of atmosphere (despite the "Special Christmas Vintage Fair" tagline of the advertisements there was really very little to differentiate it from any other time of year beyond some occasional Christmas music and a few decorations) it was still great fun and we - mother and I - were both able to find a couple of things to take our fancy.

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Mine has lost the wording
but is otherwise identical

The first find was mine - another book for my library and quite an apposite one in view of next year's centenary of the First World War.  In The Royal Naval Air Service is comprised of a series of letters written by RNAS Flight-Lieutenant Harold Rosher to his family (in Beckenham, South East London) from the outbreak of war in August 1914 until February 1916 when he tragically died in a flying accident.  I've already leafed through the first chapter and it looks to be a cracking read and a welcome addition to my World War One book collection (it should be a particularly good companion piece to James McCudden's Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps).  It's my intention to read through all (or as many as possible!) of my Great War books in 2014 as part of my own commemoration of the centenary and this one will be top of the pile.  I'm also delighted to note that it has been republished twice in the last eleven years and that copies are still available to buy or even read/download online.

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At £3.50 for an original 1916 copy, however, there was no way it wasn't coming home with me.  It also has a fascinating pencil inscription on the frontispiece - 'G. Barham N.A.A, "Hood" Division'.  A little bit of digging has found that Hood Division was one of eight battalions of the Royal Naval Division, an infantry unit made up of surplus Royal Navy and Royal Marine volunteers not serving on ships.  A clear link to Harold Rosher, then, who served in the Navy's air force (before it was merged with the Royal Flying Corps on the 1st April 1918 to form the RAF).  Maybe this G. Barham knew Harold Rosher, who can say?  Interestingly enough, towards the end of 1916 the Royal Naval Division was re-deployed to the Army as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division with the eight battalions losing their names (all famous naval commanders) so it should be possible to precisely place this Barham chap in the timeline of the RND. 

Now, for the second find (mater's, but equally exciting for me too) I must ask any ladies reading - particularly those of you who knit - to please be sitting down or holding on to something because I don't want there to be any swooning.  Yes - knitting patterns!

Not just any old patterns, either.  Hiding in amongst piles of Seventies- and Eighties-tastic booklets (dubious cardigans, three-piece sets where one of the pieces is a hat - you know the sort of thing) were a couple of absolute gems from a far earlier period...  Just feast your eyes on these!

From the 25th September 1937 issue of Woman's Own, a whopping 44 pages of woollen wonders in the Big Knitting Book!!  I mean,everything!  Look at it all! Quite literally the mother lode.

Cardigans!

Jumpers!

Pullovers (for chaps too)!

Even the kiddies are catered for!

If that wasn't enough mother also nabbed an "Autumn Woollies" book from "My Weekly, of approximately the same vintage (sadly there's no date to be found in it, but the styles look very much the same and the fact that it has some colour pages and is roughly A4 in size leads me to believe it is also pre-war).  

Got your breath back yet?  OK, here we go...

Not as many pages as the Big Knitting Book, but still some corkers for the whole family dwell within.

Why not indeed?!

Mater was quite tickled to note that the older, larger lady was referred to as a "matron"...

We chaps are well-catered for too!

By Jove, what a lot of patterns eh?  Should keep mother busy well into the next year.

I'll certainly be returning to the next fair on the 26th of January, with an even bigger one scheduled for the 2nd of March at a larger sports hall in Southend, to look out for more bargains, patterns and books for 2014.