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Thread: western desert

  1. #1
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    western desert

    My dad was an aircraft mechanic with 40 squadron SAAF in the Western desert, Sicily and Italy. They were a reconnaissance squadron and flew clipped winged Spitfires.

    He kept an album of photographs taken with his box camera over the period. Here are just four:

    aircraft inspection
    IMG_20200703_0001.jpg

    engine repair
    IMG_20200703_0002.jpg

    waiting to go up hellfire pass
    IMG_20200708_0002.jpg

    sollum pass
    IMG_20200708_0001.jpg


    Good luck with your upcoming release.

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    Team Fusion ♣_Spiritus_♣'s Avatar
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    Re: western desert

    If you have time and you feel comfortable sharing, you should continue to post more.

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    Re: western desert

    Really interesting, thank you!

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    Re: western desert

    Excellent pics. Thank you for posting. Please post some more.

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    Re: western desert

    It is really fascinating to see real pictures of people's war experience! Thanks for sharing! Salute!

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    Re: western desert

    Thank you!

    Your Dad was a quite a photographer as well as a mechanic. If you're able, we would love to see some more. Pictures like this are a wonderful insight and make history come alive again.

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  11. #7
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    Re: western desert

    A few more photographs and a link to a website you guys must check out.

    ENGINE CHANGE FRANSISCO SICILY



    KITTYHAWK ENGINE CHANGE



    KNOCKED OUT GERMAN VEHICLES


    OFFICERS MESS, THE TALL CHAP IS SQUADRON LEADER 'TINY' NELL



    ERKS MESS



    BOSTONS 24SQUADRON ( FAMOUS 18)


    The last image caption peaked my interest and on googling 24 squadron I arrived at this interesting website.
    https://samilhistory.com/category/no...n-theatre-ww2/



    The SAAF “Boston Shuttle Service”

    South African Air Force (SAAF) Operations in North Africa during World War 2.. Here SAAF pilots perform the “Boston Shuttle Service” a squadron of Douglas Boston Mark IIIs of No. 3 Wing SAAF positioned for their famous simultaneous take-off manoeuvre on a landing ground in the Western Desert. This commenced with all aircraft turning into wind in line abreast. The leading aircraft, on the right-hand side, then commenced its take-off run with the remainder following in echelon port so that each aircraft avoided the dust of the one ahead.

    The term “Boston Shuttle Service”, was given to the SAAF’s single most memorable feat in North Africa in which eighteen aircraft of 12 and 24 Squadrons showered hundreds of tons of bombs, primarily using Boston Medium bombers, on the Afrika Korps as it relentlessly pushed the Eighth Army back towards Egypt during the “Gazala Gallop” in the first half of 1942.


    This page in particular contains a wealth of articles on the South African involvement in the North African Campaign including a video interview with a Stuka pilot who was shot down by a SAAF pilot whom he befriended after the war, as well as original colour photos of 40 squadron Spitfires. Also included is a brilliant article on Hauptmann (Captain) Hans-Joachim Marseille, the German WW2 Fighter Ace known to the Axis Forces as “The Star of Africa”.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by rince77; Jul-10-2020 at 13:58.

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    Re: western desert

    You should submit these photos to a publisher. They are good enough quality for publishing, and you have the background information for each photo. They could easily be made into a book or be featured in one.
    It would be a shame if they weren't seen by many.
    Last edited by major_setback; Jul-10-2020 at 15:54.
    http://theairtacticalassaultgroup.com/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=2673&dateline=1390351127

    Principle skinner
    .

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    Re: western desert

    Thanks for the advice and the interest shown by all. The photographs are quite small and it's great to scan them and view them enlarged on the computer screen. I should have done this sooner.

    My father:
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by rince77; Jul-11-2020 at 05:19.

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    Re: western desert

    I still have a lot of his airforce paraphernalia such as pith helmet, forage cap, wallet, medals, badges and training textbook.







    Last edited by rince77; Jul-11-2020 at 05:47.

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    Manual Creation Group DerDa's Avatar
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    Re: western desert

    Quote Originally Posted by rince77 View Post
    Thanks for the advice and the interest shown by all. The photographs are quite small and it's great to scan them and view them enlarged on the computer screen. I should have done this sooner.

    My father:
    I know exactly what you mean.

    In case you did not yet see:
    https://theairtacticalassaultgroup.c...ad.php?t=22866
    where I posted pictures from my dad, who had to serve as ground soldier on the other side.

    S!

    DerDa

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  17. #12
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    Re: western desert

    Wow DerDa! Thank you for the link, a fantastic thread. My grandfather on my dad's side was a Scot and on my mother's side, German, so I've always had an interest in both sides of the conflict, in the men on the ground, and in the air, and their stories.
    Last edited by rince77; Jul-11-2020 at 06:29.

  18. #13
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    Re: western desert

    These are fantastic pictures-really exceptional. Thanks for posting!

    skud
    i-9 11900KF@ 5.1 GHZ CPU Watercooled, 32GB Corsair vengeance@4133Mhz, ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero (WiFi 6E) Z590 , MSI Gaming X Trio RTX 3080Ti, 2 x 1Tb Samsung NVMe 980 Pro, 43" Gigabyte Aorus FV43U QLED 4K monitor, GVL 224 Ju 88 Big Throttle, BAUR BRD-DS with KG-13A control column, MFG Crosswind Rudders, GVL224 Ju88 Trim Wheel Box, GVL224 Ju 88 Switch Panel, Blackhog SB-2, SB AE-9, Audeze LCD-GX headset, TrackIR5, Buttkicker Simkit + Buttkicker Gamer2, 2 x DSD Flight Panel 2s

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