Spitfires in North America?

[RMAllnutt]

Many thanks for the info. Peter... you learn something new every day.

Cheers,
Richard

[Rossco]

Seeing it,s coming into "that season" here down under I can safely say thats the quickest I,ve ever seen an Englishmen topple the stumps... Probably one of the few times it,s happened too

Peter should know: Is that considered "cricket" to drop a bloody great aeroplane amongst a group of gentlemen enjoying their game?

Ducks under a pelting of 6 stitchers from the Barmy Army!!!

[JDK]

SL574 - Stumped.

Thanks, Peter. I recall the photos. The Newtonian physics remains 'interesting', as is the lack of dings on the cricket ground photo...

Yours sceptically,

James,

Look closely, they are there.

I'll send you a high res.

The broken stumps were at one time in glass case at AHB but seem to have disappeared with the various moves.

PeterA

The evidence seems pretty 'solid'. Thanks for the high res. I'd like to consider the physics - I can see it either way.

What's the thickness / strength of a Spitfire's D section?

Speed at landing?

strength / rigidity of stumps in the ground, when hit by a piece of metal as above at the speed above?

I don't think I could dent that kind of piece of metal with a stump however hard (speed) I hit it.

Likelihood of some RAF groundcrew member knowing how to create a great story?

We need Mythbusters!

[Rossco]

Leading edge skins are .080" IIRC or 2.032mm.

[PeterA]

James

If it helps the physics...when I saw the glass case mounted stumps at AHB they were smashed rather that just knocked out of the ground. To break like that, they would have had to be hit on or about the mid point.

I wish I had photographed them at the time. All current attempts to locate them have drawn a blank. They are a piece of 'Spitfire folklore'.

PeterA

[JDK]

I wish I had photographed them at the time.

I thought you had photos of everything!

OK, I'm buying it now, maybe.

If someone fronted up and claimed to have dented a Spitfire leading edge by whacking it really hard (60mph) with a 1.5in diameter rod of wood - would you believe them?

But as you've shown the dents (alleged dents, y'r honour) were quite shallow, and tied in with crunched wood, transferring the energy...

Maybe the stumps were converted into a inter-services ashes set?

[Mark V]

5.) Mk IX: TE517, Kermit A. Weeks, Tamiami, FL, Oct. 1992-2002
6.) Mk XIV: MV262, Kermit A. Weeks, Tamiami, FL, Oct. 1992-2002

Both of these are stored projects (in the UK) having had no work carried out on them in over 15 years.

TE517 was actually sold on to a UK collector some two years ago.

PeterA

Yes but my understanding was that the project status had not actually changed.