'Bob' Braham's Beaufighter Mk VI

[Oxby R]

Hi Adriano, and Peter Verney ! I hope poor old Hajnel, who first asked the question about Bob Braham's Beau - is still reading his thread !! He will have a good source of information I think, on the two versions of Bob's Beau, thanks to your investigations/descriptions. Pity we can't really help him for sure with paintjob for X8147. Never mind, I can see, 'you know your onions, sir ' and are no amateur, Mr Baumgartner. The harpoon is almost certainly Mark IV, which as you know - was reliable in one respect. One could always rely on it to break down. Oxby snr earnt his first gong (a DFC) for fixing a MkIV with a small screwdriver, whilst his pilot was busy trying to hold contact with an e/a (!!) You can imagine what it must have been llike, being bounced around in the back, whilst twiddling with all those valves, cathode ray innertubes and stuff. Anyway, they managed to catch the bogey in the end. Poor chap. About your second Beau - without actually seeing the photo, I can only hazard a guess - I think its unlikely to be the SCR720/Mk X AI. I'm inclined to agree with you - much more likely to be Mk VII/VIII - both pretty dire sets in the opinion of the WingCo. He very much liked the Mk X/SCR720 fitted to the Mossy MkXXX describing it thus : 'At last, a window seat - much better than just being the powder monkey!'

Mr Verney - I was interested to read your account of NF36/Meteors, and of the expression 'murder, murder' (!!) - for that's certainly how it was then. Oxby snr will be interested to know, that the essence of his nightfighter war still lingers on in RAF parlance !! Cheers, fellas. RO.

Ps Adriano - did you know that Peter Spoden, also a Luftwaffe nightfighter occasionally contributes to the TOCH forum ? A very nice gentleman - we have exchanged emails. It was a particular honour for me, to pass greetings and good wishes between Herr Spoden/Oxby snr, effectively reconciling two former 'Enemies in the Dark' 60 years hence !


Gentlemen, it is midnight here now, and I am being summonsed by 'she who must be obeyed'.