P-47 At West Malling WWII Airfield

[cflord]

My Flight1 / Realair Spitfire Mk IX & Mk XIV came with the WWII airfield West Malling, UK. I took my A2A P-47 to West Malling to fly with the Spitfires. The following pic are of me and my A2A P-47 at West Malling:















Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down!

Ret SMSgt Cliff Lord - C-130 Flight Engineer & Mechanic

[cflord]

I put this post out there for your guys from the UK and I get a lot of looking; but no bites! Is there any history to West Malling Airfield during WWII or not?

Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down!

Ret SMSgt Cliff Lord - C-130 Flight Engineer & Mechanic

[speedy70]

Yes there is quite a lot of history attached to it as have most of the old ww2 airfields but most of them are long gone.

Here is a little snippet from Guy Gibson of Dambuster fame.

An extract from ‘Enemy Coast Ahead’ by Guy Gibson, writing at West Malling in 1941: Some workmen had been imported from the north to do some renovation work and one day a badly shot-up Spitfire crash-landed near them and one of the old labourers gave the pilot a cigarette and got talking to him. The subject got round to pay; “I get about six pounds a week” the Spitfire boy told him, “How much do you get?” “About eight pounds” was the reply, “but then I work through air-raid alerts”

He had this to say about West Malling:
‘Of all the airfields in Britain, many say (including myself) that this is the most pleasant. It is near London and near the sea, and is extremely attractive to Air Force fellows for nearby are many pubs, and good ones at that….The local people are fine types who have cherished their land for many centuries and are kind and generous, probably because they saw the Battle of Britain rage above their heads, and know more than most what the Air Force has done for this country’.
(As a member of that Air Force it might not have been the most modest of comments, but perhaps he can be forgiven!)

Cheers Chris

[cflord]

Chris, thanks a lot for the reply. I wanted to know if West Malling was real. I take it by your story it was a Spitfire base just like the scenery.

Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down!

Ret SMSgt Cliff Lord - C-130 Flight Engineer & Mechanic

[Helmetfire]

Hello.

West Malling certainly does (or did until recently) exist.
It was a lovely airfield and I had the pleasure of being an instructor there with 618 Sqn.
The airfield in the sim looks NOTHING like the real West Malling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_West_Malling

[n421nj]

Just did a nice flight in the 23in p47 around Hawaii last night while trying to put the kid to sleep. I have the engine sounds come out of the speakers so it acts like a sound machine to comfort the child. So the great sound effects don't just add to the realism, they also put 3 week old babies to sleep.
Thanks again A2A.

[Lewis - A2A]

Just did a nice flight in the 23in p47 around Hawaii last night while trying to put the kid to sleep. I have the engine sounds come out of the speakers so it acts like a sound machine to comfort the child. So the great sound effects don't just add to the realism, they also put 3 week old babies to sleep.
Thanks again A2A.

hehe thats great. My two year old loves to fly aeroplanes on daddy's computer, so you've that all to come yet

cheers,
Lewis