Thread: Sideshow Stars
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Old 10th October 2009, 23:27
Testerchild Testerchild is offline
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Sideshow Stars

Hi,

This my first post here, so I hope I'm putting this in right place.

Two stars from Haken's Aviation page and associated Biplane pages (brilliant place if you've not been there yet), are:

1. Fl/Lt. A B Mitchell, 430 Flight, who claimed a Caproni CaA133 over Metemma Airfield (Sudan, or thereabouts?) on 07.09.40 while flying K5355 - a Gloster Gauntlet of all things!

2. Lt. Blake, 1 Sqn SAAF, who got a Caproni Ca 133 on 03.08.40 flying Hawker FURY (ye Gods!) '203'. He was based at Wajir in Kenya.

I want to build models of both the the Gauntlet and the Fury involved. So it's question time:

Does anyone know whether either aircraft carried squadron codes or other distinguishing marks, and if so what were they?

The Gauntlet might have carried 47 Sqn markings (KU?), as 430 Flight was formed from a nucleus of 'D' Flight 47 Sqn. But is that fact or surmise, and would it have carried a third letter?

As to 1 sqn SAAF, I've no ideas as to markings. Was the '203' on the Fury a serial number in the usual place, or a larger identification number on the fuselage behind the roundal, or even on the wings? What colour were the numbers?

Any help really, really appreciated.

Bob
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