2019

TL4646 : Tiger Moth at Duxford

taken 4 years ago, near to Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England

Tiger Moth at Duxford
Tiger Moth at Duxford
Classic Wings' de Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth PG657 landing at Duxford Airfield after taking a visitor on a short "Tiger Moth Flying Experience" around the area.

The Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was operated by the RAF primarily as a trainer aircraft. During the Second World War, some RAF Tiger Moths operated in other capacities, including maritime surveillance and defensive anti-invasion preparations; some aircraft were even outfitted to function as armed light bombers.

The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until it was succeeded and replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk during the early 1950s. Many of the military surplus aircraft subsequently entered into civil operation and it remains in widespread use as a recreational aircraft.

This particular example was built for the Royal Air Force as PG 657 by Morris Motors in 1945. It was later transferred to the French Air Force with whom it flew until being sold to a French Aero Club It also spent several years in the USA until it returned to the UK in 1988. It is now flying in an appropriate RAF Training camouflage colour scheme to complement three other Tiger Moths in the Classic Wings fleet (LinkExternal link Classic Wings facebook page).
Imperial War Museum Duxford Airfield

During the Second World War, RAF Duxford played a prominent role in Britain’s air defence including the Battle of Britain in 1940 when its squadrons took to the air to repulse Luftwaffe attacks aimed at London. In April 1943, RAF Duxford was reassigned to the USAAF 78th Fighter Group, whose primary job was to escort the vast fleets of US Eighth Air Force bombers on their daylight raids against Germany and On D-Day, 6 June 1944, every available 78th Fighter Group Thunderbolt supported the Normandy invasion by attacking targets behind the beachheads.

Following the end of the war, Duxford was returned to the RAF and it remained an active RAF airfield until 1961. During the Cold War LinkExternal link period, Duxford was equipped with jet fighters such as the Gloster Meteor, Hawker Hunter and Gloster Javelin but the costly improvements required for supersonic fighters could not be justified and the last operational flight from RAF Duxford was in July 1961.

The Imperial War Museum obtained permission to use the airfield to storage, restore and display exhibits too large for its headquarters in London and today, IWM Duxford is established as Britain’s largest aviation museums and one of Europe’s premier centres of aviation history, housing nearly 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibition buildings. The site also provides storage space for the museum's other collections of material such as film, photographs, documents, books and artefacts.

Many of Duxford's original buildings, such as hangars used during the Battle of Britain, are still in use. Many of these buildings are of particular architectural or historic significance in themselves and over thirty have listed building status.

LinkExternal link IWM About Duxford


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TL4646, 431 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
David Dixon   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Tuesday, 22 October, 2019   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 28 October, 2019
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TL 463 460 [100m precision]
WGS84: 52:5.5958N 0:8.1026E
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TL 464 462
View Direction
South-southwest (about 202 degrees)
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Image Type (about): close look 
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