One of the world's last Spitfire pilots hits 99 not out
Sept 10, 2018 11:51:05 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Sept 10, 2018 11:51:05 GMT 12
Need for speed still strong as one of the world's last Spitfire pilots hits 99 not out
Tim Newman
09:09, Sep 10 2018
For as long as he could remember, Ralph Brown always had a fascination with flying.
Born in 1919 in Oamaru, Brown is one of the few surviving Spitfire pilots left from the World War II.
On Sunday, the former Flight Lieutenant celebrated his 99th birthday with family and friends at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village in Nelson, and reminisced a little about his time flying one of the Royal Air Force's most feared planes.
"The Spitfire was a beautiful plane to fly, they were lovely", Brown said.
A Supermarine Spitfire flying over Lake Wanaka. The plane had a top speed of more than 650kmh.(File photo)
"It would do as you told it to – If you wanted to go up, you would go up, and if you wanted to go down, it would go down."
During the 1940s the Supermarine Spitfire was one of the fastest planes in the world, with the Mark IX models that Brown flew reaching a top speed of more than 650kmh.
"The difference between a Spitfire and an ordinary plane, was the Spitfire was so fast.
"You had to become accustomed to it, and allow for how fast you could land it, if you ever got round to it."
Brown volunteered to fly for the Royal Air Force in the early years of the war, training on Tiger Moths at Taieri Airport in Dunedin.
"We'd play around, we used to have great competitions where we'd find a barbed-wire fence, and then see who could [fly] the closest to it."
In 1942, at the age of 24, Brown was sent to Canada where he earned his wings.
Initially posted to the Royal Navy in Britain, Brown ended up in the Royal Air Force's Mysore Squadron where he escorted bombers from England into war zones in Europe.
The Mysore Squadron, funded by the Maharaja of Mysore, comprised pilots from each Allied country contributing to the war.
One of the operations Brown was involved in was as a bomber escort, flying a Mustang in the bombing of the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 21 1945 (also known as "Operation Carthage").
Brown was part of the Royal Air Force's Mysore Squadron, where he escorted bombers from England into war zones in Europe
After the war Brown got married, had two daughters and worked as a podiatrist in Dunedin for many years.
His wife died a number of years ago but his children were in Nelson to help him celebrate his birthday.
While he didn't do much flying after the war, his fascination with the skies never truly left.
"I'd still go back and fly if I can.
"I'd have liked to take people out in planes – not for an airline, I wouldn't have liked that – I'm more interested in the harum-scarum stuff."
While he never flew after the war, Brown never lost his love of aviation.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/106944019/need-for-speed-still-strong-as-one-of-the-worlds-last-spitfire-pilots-hits-99-not-out?cid=app-android
Tim Newman
09:09, Sep 10 2018
For as long as he could remember, Ralph Brown always had a fascination with flying.
Born in 1919 in Oamaru, Brown is one of the few surviving Spitfire pilots left from the World War II.
On Sunday, the former Flight Lieutenant celebrated his 99th birthday with family and friends at the Ernest Rutherford Retirement Village in Nelson, and reminisced a little about his time flying one of the Royal Air Force's most feared planes.
"The Spitfire was a beautiful plane to fly, they were lovely", Brown said.
A Supermarine Spitfire flying over Lake Wanaka. The plane had a top speed of more than 650kmh.(File photo)
"It would do as you told it to – If you wanted to go up, you would go up, and if you wanted to go down, it would go down."
During the 1940s the Supermarine Spitfire was one of the fastest planes in the world, with the Mark IX models that Brown flew reaching a top speed of more than 650kmh.
"The difference between a Spitfire and an ordinary plane, was the Spitfire was so fast.
"You had to become accustomed to it, and allow for how fast you could land it, if you ever got round to it."
Brown volunteered to fly for the Royal Air Force in the early years of the war, training on Tiger Moths at Taieri Airport in Dunedin.
"We'd play around, we used to have great competitions where we'd find a barbed-wire fence, and then see who could [fly] the closest to it."
In 1942, at the age of 24, Brown was sent to Canada where he earned his wings.
Initially posted to the Royal Navy in Britain, Brown ended up in the Royal Air Force's Mysore Squadron where he escorted bombers from England into war zones in Europe.
The Mysore Squadron, funded by the Maharaja of Mysore, comprised pilots from each Allied country contributing to the war.
One of the operations Brown was involved in was as a bomber escort, flying a Mustang in the bombing of the Gestapo Headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 21 1945 (also known as "Operation Carthage").
Brown was part of the Royal Air Force's Mysore Squadron, where he escorted bombers from England into war zones in Europe
After the war Brown got married, had two daughters and worked as a podiatrist in Dunedin for many years.
His wife died a number of years ago but his children were in Nelson to help him celebrate his birthday.
While he didn't do much flying after the war, his fascination with the skies never truly left.
"I'd still go back and fly if I can.
"I'd have liked to take people out in planes – not for an airline, I wouldn't have liked that – I'm more interested in the harum-scarum stuff."
While he never flew after the war, Brown never lost his love of aviation.
www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/106944019/need-for-speed-still-strong-as-one-of-the-worlds-last-spitfire-pilots-hits-99-not-out?cid=app-android
