WW2's 'Spitfire Women': Eleanor Wadsworth, one of last female pilots, dies

[Paul Jacobs]

Now there are just two left, one American and one Englishwoman living in Canada.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-55601962

[jimcav]

thank you--not a group I knew about.

[vertical_doug]

The BBC has so many awesome tribute films about the Spitfires. Seeing a Spitfire above the white chalk cliffs on the channel is just about the most romantic thing in aviation in my opinion.

The BBC ran a program about the women who flew the Spitfires and other planes from the factory to frontlines. I don't know if this woman was in the film but they were a bunch of cool ladies.
The very embodiment of Stay Calm and Carry on. .

[j44ke]

The more you know of history the better.

[gregl]

When I see a Spitfire, my first thought is always “ground loop.” Chapeau to an aviator who clearly had the Right Stuff!

Greg

[Dave Thompson]

There’s an excellent documentary on Netflix called “Spitfire, the plane that saved the world”. Elegantly photographed and almost lyrical in its narration. Towards the end it has a Spitfire owner/pilot talking about his plane. It was made in 1944 and ferried from the factory by one Mary Ellis, one of the ATA ferry pilots. She ferried 1000 planes during the war, 400 of them were Spitfires. During the restoration of his plane, he discovered that Mary Ellis had signed the plane. He found that she was still alive, 99 years old, and arranged to have her brought to the airfield to reunite her with “her” Spit. The film ends with her reminiscing about her time and he asking Mary if she would sign his plane again.

This is one of the best things I’ve seen about the Spitfire. Historical and all but the aerial photography, so well done, really seems to capture the true beauty of flying.

[vertical_doug]

There’s an excellent documentary on Netflix called “Spitfire, the plane that saved the world”. Elegantly photographed and almost lyrical in its narration. Towards the end it has a Spitfire owner/pilot talking about his plane. It was made in 1944 and ferried from the factory by one Mary Ellis, one of the ATA ferry pilots. She ferried 1000 planes during the war, 400 of them were Spitfires. During the restoration of his plane, he discovered that Mary Ellis had signed the plane. He found that she was still alive, 99 years old, and arranged to have her brought to the airfield to reunite her with “her” Spit. The film ends with her reminiscing about her time and he asking Mary if she would sign his plane again.

This is one of the best things I’ve seen about the Spitfire. Historical and all but the aerial photography, so well done, really seems to capture the true beauty of flying.

The BBC has shown this documentary the past two years in September as the tribute to Battle of Britian which started in September 1940. It is really well done.

[jclay]

When I see a Spitfire, my first thought is always “ground loop.” Chapeau to an aviator who clearly had the Right Stuff!

Greg

When I see one I think of Reginald Mitchell's elliptical wing planform and the RR Merlin engine which, by the way, is what transformed our P51 from an otherwise underpowered and outclassed fighter into what it became. Hearing one, the Merlin and in either airframe, scream past at high manifold pressures still brings tears to my eyes.

The women who flew them were, of course, quite something; heroines and pioneers...on a number of fronts.

[Paul Jacobs]

When I see one I think of Reginald Mitchell's elliptical wing planform and the RR Merlin engine which, by the way, is what transformed our P51 from an otherwise underpowered and outclassed fighter into what it became. Hearing one, the Merlin and in either airframe, scream past at high manifold pressures still brings tears to my eyes.

The women who flew them were, of course, quite something; heroines and pioneers...on a number of fronts.

The first time I stood next to a Merlin engine outside of an airframe I was astonished by how big it was and how complex it was, yet nearly 150,000 were built.

The other fact that impressed me was that when the Packard Motor Company started building Merlin engines in the USA during World War II they replicated the British screw threads so that parts were interchangeable between the Packard built and the Rolls-Royce built engines.

"An often asked question is; “did Packard replicate the British thread system when they built Rolls-Royce Merlins under license during World War II?” The answer is yes; all threads that were used on the Merlin were accurately replicated by Packard. This would include BSW (British Standard Whitworth), BSF (British Standard Fine), BSP (British Standard Pipe) and BA (British Association). Having said that, however, Packard Merlins> used U.S. built Bendix injection carburetors; PD-16 for single stage engines and PD-18 for two stage engines, both of which used U.S. Unified threads. British built Merlins employed S.U. carburetors using Whitworth threads. The job facing Packard when they undertook manufacture of the Merlin was daunting to say the least. It’s bad enough having to build a complex product like the Merlin but exacerbating the situation was the fact no tool maker in the U.S. made Whitworth taps or dies. Therefore, Packard were forced into making their own. Although this created a significant hurdle to overcome, the effort was well worth it, Packard and Rolls-Royce components were interchangeable." from https://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...ystems-265742/

[gregl]

When I see one I think of Reginald Mitchell's elliptical wing planform and the RR Merlin engine which, by the way, is what transformed our P51 from an otherwise underpowered and outclassed fighter into what it became. Hearing one, the Merlin and in either airframe, scream past at high manifold pressures still brings tears to my eyes.

The women who flew them were, of course, quite something; heroines and pioneers...on a number of fronts.

Please don’t take my off-the-cuff observation as being dismissive to the beautiful Spitfire. It was a gorgeous aircraft to see and hear. I was acknowledging the skill needed by pilots to fly these machines. The men and women who flew them required much more stick-and-rudder skills than needed today. I know that the first time I flew a narrow gear tail dragger, I was challenged to keep it heading down the runway! That Stearman had to be flown from the second it left the chocks right up until the chocks were back in at the end of the flight!

Greg

[vertical_doug]