the P-51 Mustang

Peter provides an update top Ron Watts on the P 51 Mustang seen recently over West Norfolk

Dear Sir,

REF Ron Watts and the P-51 Mustang

May I join in the Mustang chat and therefore admit to also being sad?

I suspect that the Mustang that you saw was Maurice Hammonds. It is based at Hardwick Airfield near Bungay. (Hardwick, then Station 104, was the home of the 93rd Bomb Group who flew B-24 Liberators from Dec '42 to the end of the war in '45.)

As I missed the fly by, I cannot be certain that this was the plane that you saw. There are other splendid examples based at Duxford and North Weald. Robs Lampleughs 'Miss Helen' is an occasional visitor to Norfolk, having been to both Bodney and Shipdham within the last year or so, and Peter Teichman brought his P-51 'Jumpin' Jacques' to the Marham Family Open day earlier in the summer, though I'm not sure where he is based.

As Ron inferred, it is a splendid piece of living history and we are fortunate that we have individuals who are prepared to lavish a lot of their own time and money on keeping them airworthy.

Yours faithfully,

Peter W. Bodle. MRAeS

Peter W Bodle