Mick's Pics

[Dev One]

When painted blue with gold registration - AMAU had written on the side under the cockpit 'Last of the many' IIRC.
Keith

[511Flyer]

I worked on Hastings for 4 years, and never heard that one about spinners before. Most of ours, 511 Sqdn had them. I've seen A/C with two, usually inboards, all four, or none at all. The Hastings in the photo was at Colerne during my time there. 99 shown in the fin diamond, but they disbanded in 1959.

Now flying the C-17 out of Brize Norton.

511 Sqdn is no more. Flew the Britannia from Lyneham in 1959 before moving to Brize Norton. Disbanded Jan 1976.

[Garry Russell]

Indeed it did and when camouflaged too it bore that title.

[Garry Russell]

Usually the Hastings have the spinners, but pics I've seen without all, up to now, had been taken in hot countries

[NigelC]

G-AMAU

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bbmf/theaircraft/ ... epz865.cfm

[paulsl]

I'm happy to concede that my Google skills may be ordinary but, not to be contrary, all I've have been able to turn up is pictures of the Hastings in Singapore with spinners

I'm wondering if it's something to do with Benson's hosting of the Ferry Wing at that time - no one's mentioned some of the aircraft having no squadron markings

Trust me, it really has no spinners, my Photoshop is immeasurably worse than my Google

[Garry Russell]

Lots of pics of Hastings in hot climes with spinners.

What I was saying is that all the pics I'd previously seen of Hasting without spinners were in hot climes, that's not saying they always had them removed there.

[511Flyer]

Many of our flights were to the MEAF and FEAF areas. For instance, leaving UK in cold weather, we would stop over in Malta, then on to El Adem, Khartoum, and Khormaksar. So you see, many temperature changes in just a few days.

The groundcrews, I was airframes, went with them. Long hours sitting next to four very noisy engines, was not an enjoyable experience. Although as a teenager, I didn't see it like that at the time.

The squadron diamonds were an orange colour in 1956, at least they were during the Suez crisis. Maybe they hadn't got around to repainting them all? Lots of photos show just the Squadron badge on the fin.

There were eleven Transport Command Hastings Squadrons, one Coastal Command, and two overseas at MEAF and FEAF. About 150 aircraft in total.

Interesting topic. Getting the old grey matter working overtime.

[Tomliner]

So much more interesting to look at than the Airbuses etc today.They would all have had their distinctive engine sounds as well. EricT

[Airspeed]

When painted blue with gold registration - AMAU had written on the side under the cockpit 'Last of the many' IIRC.
Keith

I built an Airfix 1/72 scale, probably late 50s, when the kits came in clear plastic bags with instructions and background on folded paper stapled across the top.
Those instructions taught me an enormous amount about aircraft parts; they used to describe each part, not just give it an anonymous number.
That model was presented as camouflaged with a transfer reading "The Last of the Many!", can't remember the other markings, I'm afraid.