What jacket(s) are you wearing at the moment?

[Jorgeenriqueaguilera]

SUPERIOR TOGS CO

 

[newagegeezer]

First decent evening here for a while so took the old '43 Willy's out for a sunset ride around the old airfield with the GW Perry on my back.

Being far from the madding crowd means this place was top secret during the war. At times like this it is not to imagine you can hear the roar of B-17 & B-24 engines throttling up at the start of their take of run during the USAAF & USN time here, then later the sweet sound of Merlins as umpteen RAF Mosquito and Mustangs mount Operation Carthage In March h of '45.

Like most wartime airfields you can almost touch the atmosphere...

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Bright lights...12V ? my old one was still on 6V and night driving was...... let's say interesting
Cheers

 

[ausreenactor]

Bright lights...12V ? my old one was still on 6V and night driving was...... let's say interesting
Cheers

Think the 12v conversion is common these days.

 

[Micawber]

Bright lights...12V ? my old one was still on 6V and night driving was...... let's say interesting
Cheers

Oh no, no, no! Still the original 6v which if kept in good order, with plenty of clean earth points, does a good job. I have never converted any of my previous vehicles to 12v if they were originally 6v and have never felt handicapped by the lights. I have always avoided busy main roads if travelling alone at night as the tiny rear reds just do not register with modern drivers... but neither do hand signals and 'trafficators'!

 

[ausreenactor]

Oh no, no, no! Still the original 6v which if kept in good order, with plenty of clean earth points, does a good job. I have never converted any of my previous vehicles to 12v if they were originally 6v and have never felt handicapped by the lights. I have always avoided busy main roads if travelling alone at night as the tiny rear reds just do not register with modern drivers... but neither do hand signals and 'trafficators'!

Nobody uses indicators in Australia..... constantly shaking my head.

 

[Smithy]

Nobody uses indicators in Australia..... constantly shaking my head.

Boy you should come here mate it's worse than Melbourne. I spend half my driving time here swearing at bastards who don't use their indicators. Every other bugger here seems to think that they're using "The Force" or some bloody thing and we'll all magically know which bloody way they're going.

Pisses me off no end as back in NZ, the cops would ping you with a ticket right, left and centre if you didn't indicate so it's drummed into you from when you start driving to use the things.

 

[Dany McDonald]

SUPERIOR TOGS CO

Jorge,

My god this is nice... love it..... and great fit too...

D

 

[Flightengineer]

First decent evening here for a while so took the old '43 Willy's out for a sunset ride around the old airfield with the GW Perry on my back.

Being far from the madding crowd means this place was top secret during the war. At times like this it is not to imagine you can hear the roar of B-17 & B-24 engines throttling up at the start of their take of run during the USAAF & USN time here, then later the sweet sound of Merlins as umpteen RAF Mosquito and Mustangs mount Operation Carthage In March h of '45.

Like most wartime airfields you can almost touch the atmosphere...

View attachment 65175View attachment 65176

Nice photo, Steve, I wanted to ask - are you standing right on the old RWY or is it the remains of a taxiway? If it's the RWY why it's so narrow? It was partially dismantled after the war and use as a road?

 

[Micawber]

Nice photo, Steve, I wanted to ask - are you standing right on the old RWY or is it the remains of a taxiway? If it's the RWY why it's so narrow? It was partially dismantled after the war and use as a road?

That is part of the perimeter track on the western side of the site below where the firing butt was once located, I have marked a rough approximation with a red X along with the direction of the first image.
The airfield was used for motor racing for a short period after the war, there is colour film of it on YouTube, but the concrete surface was in poor condition so they started to use the old 96th BG H base at Snetterton just a few miles away - and that is still a racetrack today!
Many of the redundant airfields had their concrete surfaces broken up in the decades since the war. The concrete being crushed and sold for use in construction elsewhere. Most of our driveway is made from crushed concrete from RAF Watton. Sometimes narrow tracks were left for access or agricultural purposes which is what happened here, other places the hard surfaces and buildings were removed completely and others remain somewhat intact.
There are several companies who have done well out of dealing with the leftover wartime concrete etc - and are still doing so today. It is hard to comprehend the vast amount of construction that went on in the war years around here.

 

[Flightengineer]

Thanks for the detailed answer, Steve. Abandoned airfields have something both attractive and sad at the same time.

 

[mulceber]

Well, after a week where I felt like I was being besieged by the sun (temperatures around 88 F/31 C), the temperature broke yesterday and this morning it was 68 F/20 C. So, @Nnatalie and I decided it was jacket weather and went for a walk, me in my BK Star and her in her newly-patched Five Star Dubow:

The patch is a WASP patch that I bought her for Christmas, but hadn't gotten around to having attached until about a week ago.

 

[Flightengineer]

Amazing patch and ww2 look!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I’ve also heard that some canny farmers sold options on their concrete runways etc, more than a couple of times over and did very nicely from it.

 

[Micawber]

Yours truly looking pained (note to self - remember to stop looking pained and smile instead) in the GW Acme that has been up for sale at a bargain price for too long now.....

 

[Micawber]

I’ve also heard that some canny farmers sold options on their concrete runways etc, more than a couple of times over and did very nicely from it.

You heard that too?

 

[Smithy]

Yours truly looking pained (note to self - remember to stop looking pained and smile instead) in the GW Acme that has been up for sale at a bargain price for too long now.....

View attachment 65336

Hells bells you old bugger, smile!

Swish jacket, Willys Jeep, nice strides and it's bloody summer.



Hope you're doing well mate!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

You heard that too?

Yep. From one I had as a client at one point.

 

[Micawber]

Hells bells you old bugger, smile!

Swish jacket, Willys Jeep, nice strides and it's bloody summer.



Hope you're doing well mate!

Thanks Tim. Not the best of days as you can probably tell by the scowl

 

[Smithy]

Thanks Tim. Not the best of days as you can probably tell by the scowl

Everyday above ground is a good one as my great-uncle said Steve!

Hope all's going well. My mother-in-law is going through cancer treatment now and it's knocking her around.

Hope things are going well mate!

 

[Dany McDonald]

GW Acme that has been up for sale at a bargain price for too long now.....

Steve, I love that Aero, just a tad too big for me and I did try mentally to make it fit; What if I wear it like this or let's say like that....

Anyways it's a hell of a nice jacket!

D