COVER IMAGE

RICHARD PAVER photographed John Beattie flying Kennet Aviation’s Supermarine Seafire F.XVII SX336/G-KASX on July 7, 2006; and Rod Dean flying the same aircraft for this month’s CENTRESPREAD on June 5 this year.

Contents

August 2010 Vol 38 No 8 Issue No 448 (on sale July 1)

Features

18 The Dexion Dakota In this month’s Hidden History feature, Ian D. Johnson reveals how a seriouslydamaged Burma Airways C-47 was put back in the air in 1955 — using office shelving

24 My Favourite Object Carl Warner of the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, describes his favourite object there — an unmissable artefact known as Hangar 4

26 Win Gold Pass Tickets! Twenty VIP tickets to Duxford’s Battle of Britain airshow are up for grabs

28 Rare Colour Archive A glorious air-to-air image of one of the first Boeing 707-123Bs delivered to American Airlines in 1961

74 Skylarks at Lanark Evocative images of the 1910 Scottish International Aviation Meeting o n x

FAA SPECIAL SECTION

32 From Torch to Iceberg Donald Nijboer traces the wartime career of the Supermarine Seafire — the navalised Spitfire which took some time to find its sea legs

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FLYNAVY!FLYNAVY!FLYNAVY!

38 Popeye at Cherubs OneSix Former Fairey Firefly pilot Bill Hodgson recalls a terrifying night flight in atrocious weather over the Scottish mountains in 1945

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42 Picture of the Month This month’s candidate is a splendid head-on shot of de Havilland’s brutish yet elegant D.H.110

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48 A Royal Visit We revisit legendary aviation journalist John Fricker’s report from HMS Ark Royal in late 1957 — with stunning previously unpublished photographs by Maurice Rowe

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53 The Supermarine Attacker Renowned aviation author Tony Buttler describes the genesis and development of the Fleet Air Arm’s first operational jet fighter — Supermarine’s not-much-loved Attacker. Includes artwork by Juanita Franzi and cutaway illustration by J.H. Clark

In News

Bf 109 recovery

Page 7

B-17 Swamp Ghost Page 9

S.E.5a repro

Page 10

Ca.1 centenary

Page 13

Regulars

6 News All the latest preservation news, compiled by Tony Harmsworth

22 Aircrew This month’s crew spotlight falls on the Lockheed Hercules Flight Engineer — with illustration by Ian Bott

31 From the Archives Nick Stroud looks back at the news and issues of 80 years ago — 1930

72 Q&A Your questions asked, and answered, with Mike Hooks

79 Book Reviews 83 Events

85 Flying Visit Chief Pilot of Golden Apple Operations Ltd, Mark Linney, on his aviation career

Corsair gathering Page 14

87 Moving On . . . Registration updates with Mike Hooks

89 Services, Next Month e stablished191 t ablihed191

established 1911

92 Readers’ Album Dan Gudmundsson’s photographs from his time at Iceland’s Keflavik airport

94 Skywriters A selection of readers’ letters on a wide range of subjects

98 Hairy Moment Our regular spot for your historic-aviation close calls

Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The Aeroplane, founded by the legendary C.G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was relaunched as a monthly magazine in 1973 by Richard T. Riding (Editor for 25 years until 1998)

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