Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 3,394 Threads: 106
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Location: Darkest Bedfordshire
Interesting clip Chris. I especially enjoyed the guy brush painting the roundels!
Sqn. Ldr. Charlton Haw was a family friend until his death in 1993. He was one of the RAF pilots sent to Vaenga on HMS Argus in 1941 to teach Russian pilots and ground crews how to operate the Hurricane, might well have been some of these very aeroplanes. Argus was an Italian merchant vessel captured in the first war, which had been crudely converted so that the Hurricanes could take off - but not return. The first pilot who took off - the C.O. - demolished his undercarriage on the ramp at the end of the deck and consequently had to belly-land at Vaenga, not an auspicious start! That far north the aircraft compasses were not reliable so a destroyer was positioned a mile from the Argus and pilots were told to head for it and keep going till they found the coast, then turn right until they saw the (huge) airfield. When they left three months later the RAF pilots handed over everything to the Russians except their personal effects - even their flying helmets. Haw was a likeable man and didn't make a big thing of his war service, I wish I'd asked him more questions when I had the opportunity.
Joined: Aug 2017 Posts: 66 Threads: 1
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Location: Herefordshire
It's details like the hand painted roundels that get lost on restorations. They're always done so neatly and it just doesn't represent the reality of wartime construction.
