God I wish I could paint. Isn't this photo of a couple aces and the dog evocative? I enjoy this genre of photograph, particularly the British ones. RAF and, in this photo, RAAF personnel were a little more eccentric in dress than their American counterparts (especially when they are out in the boonies like these guys: they are in Borneo: quick, find Borneo on a map), and, in this case, cooler aircraft. That's a Mk. IX Spit they are leaning against; meant to be a stopgap Mark, it was a potent aircraft,and I believe the most produced version. And of course, there is the general look of elegant lethality in Spitfires of any mark.
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As I'm sure you know, the Spitfire is most often cited in support of the "form follows function" argument. That is, if a thing does its job well it has its own beauty. There's no doubt the Spit is pretty but I see equal, but quite different, good looks in the US WW2 carrier fighter plane with the W-dihedral whose name escapes me for the moment. Robert Mitchum type, get-the-job-done good looks.
That would've been the F-4U "Corsair". "Whistling Death" was the nickname some Japanese gave to the Corsair. Surprisingly, the most "effective" US Naval fighter was the F6F "Hellcat", with the highest kill to loss ratio.While looking at a Spitfire on the ground, one could say, "That looks fast standing still"; no one would say that while looking at a Hellcat. And of course there is the old saw "Spitfire got all the press while the Hurricane did the work" or some such. That is another conversation...
Thank you for the comment. I enjoyed visting your blog and will do so frequently.
Thanks for compensating for my memory slippage. What's more you've given me an idea for a recurring series of posts called "WW2 planes: Looks right, Looks wrong" First two candidates: Beaufighter (Right), Blenheim (Wrong)." Of course I need to filch artwork to make the point. My interest was triggered when my dad, too deaf for active service, joined the Observer Corps. Goes without saying I find lots of fun in your blog. Lived in Pittsburgh and Philly between 1966 and 1972 and am, natch, a Pirates fan.
Thank you. The Missus and I enjoy taking the train to Philadelphia for the weekend about once a year to enjoy a big city.
I found a Beaufighter and Blenheim pic here:
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/Museums/Hendon/BritishWw2/index.html .
I'll leave the filching to thee.
The Beaufighter was an excellent anti-shipping aircraft, according to accounts I have read. Decent night-fighter too.
That would be an interesting series of articles about a/c. Looking forward to them.
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