Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

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Sorry to put this "Non-Warbird Question"

Can you identify this aircraft?

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/History/1940s/Images/Jumbo-Majumdar01.jpg

Wanted a confirmation that the cockpit is a Mustang fighter. (I know its not a spit , the rear view mirror is missing and the windshield is different). The pic is of Wg Cdr K K Majumdar from India during his tenure with an RAF squadron during D-Day time.

on another note, the unit he was supposedly attached with was No.263 Squadron. Were they flying Mustangs or Spits during the Ardennes offensive?

Jagan
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Original post

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

pic hasnt opened jagan!!

coanda

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

263 Sqn operated Hawker Typhoons. In July 1944, they were part of No. 10 Group stationed at RAF Bolt Head, Devon. Presumably, they moved to the continent some time after D-Day. In July 1945, they were based at Hildesheim as part of No. 84 Group, still operating Typhoons.

As your picture seems not to have uploaded, it isn't possible to identify. However, the Typhoon cockpit is quite similar to the later style Mustang.

Try sending the pic again.

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Images/Jumbo-Majumdar01…

My apologies again, now posted the correct link. The question as i said, which aircraft is this?

Majumdar recieved the Bar to his DFC for flying PR missions during the Faliase Gap battle . The only bar 2 DFC awarded to an indian .

-Jagan

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

LAST EDITED ON 25-10-01 AT 08:50 AM (GMT)[p]Hi All,
263 Sqd. moved around quite abit. Here we go-
Bolt Head 19/06/44
Hurn 10/07/44
Eastchurch 23/07/44
B.3. St.Croix 06/08/44
Manston 06/09/44
B.51. Lille/Vendeville 11/09/44
B.70. Dearne 02/10/44
Fairwood Common 13/01/45
B.89. Mill 10/02/45
B.105. Drope 16/04/45
B.111. Abihorn30/04/45
R.16. Hildenhiem June 1945
Like I said they were well travelled!!!
There are no Mustangs listed on Sqd charge. Gladiators, Hurricane 1's, Whirlwind 1's & Typhoon 1b's are the only types flown from October 1939 to August 1945.
Neilly

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Not Mustang or Typhoon, definitely not Gladiator, wrong for Hurri, not that familiar with Wirlwind.
Looks a bit like a P63 ???

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Having now seen the photo, I'm 99.9% sure that it is a Typhoon. The shape of the canopy frame and the armour plate behind the pilot's head are all right for this type of aeroplane.

The unit and the time are also right.

Laurie.

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Not convinvced that it is typhoon,must have a look at some piccies tonight.

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Sorry Philo, its a Typhoon!! Tear drop canopy version....things to note are rear armour plate, the Reflector gunsight and mounting method! At a push it could be Tempest V but my money is definitely Typhoon!

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

LAST EDITED ON 25-10-01 AT 08:54 PM (GMT)[p]Hi All,
It most certainly a Typhoon canopy. I've just been looking at one of my books, The Typhoon & Tempest Story. There's a picture of a Typhoon canopy, from a similar angle, the shape of the frame is identical in both pictures.
Neilly

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Interesting, good job i didn't stake any money on it.
Phil.

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Thanks everyone, a Typhoon it is, after the intial guesses here, checked out the Typhoon pics, and the shape of the Canopy does match. Interesting, never thought Indian Pilots flew Typhoons at all.. I will update my WW2 pages accordingly.

Regards

Jagan

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Hi Jagan.

Sadly ,the history of Indian and other non-white aircrew is not terribly well known over here in GB.

I think we all know the "reason" behind it as well.

Any info on Asian or Black crew in the RAF is always interesting to hear.

I did recently read a small story on a website of an Indian pilot who crashed his Hurricane into a hill in GB.
I shall have to try and find the story again.

Apart from the Sikh who flew the Mosquito in "633 Squadron", very little is ever shown in books or mags etc, on the huge contributions made by our Asian and Black friends in the Commonwealth.

Regards
Mick

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

I will add my comments to this, starting with the fact that the RAF and IAF records show that the Squadron in question that Majumdar served with was No 268 Squadron RAF, not No.263. No.268 was a tactical reconnaissance squadron operating within 2nd TAF for the invasion of Europe, and at the time Majumdar served with them the Squaron was operating a mixed complement of North American Mustang Mk IA, and Hawker Typhoon FR.1B aircraft (two flights of Mustangs and one of Typhoons brought about by the shortage of Allison engined Mustangs by that time). The Typhoons only remained with the Squadron from July to November 1944, when they were phased out as No2 Sqn passed its NAA Mustang MkII aircraft onto No.268. The Typhoon didn't prove as popular with the pilots for low level tac-recce work as the Allison engined Mustangs. The Squadron eventually handed in the last of its Mustangs in mid-1945, by which time it was changing over to Spitfire FR-XIVEs. By that stage Majumdar had left the Squadron and returned to India.

The aircraft pictured is therefore one of the Squadron's Hawker Typhoon FR.1Bs, the Mustangs had a different style canopy - I have compared with photos I have of some of the Squadron's other pilots taken in Mustangs around the same timeframe as the photo shown, and other photos of pilots in Typhoons. Typhoon it is!!

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Colin,

Thanks for the information. That confirms that Majumdar would have flown Mustangs, and the Indian Air Force is not wrong when they said he was with a Mustang Squadron. My apologies for confusing 268 with 263 (and leading everyone offtrack! :))

Thanks.

Jagan

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RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

Jagan

did you see my posting under 'New'Hurricane that shows where the identity is marked on a Hurricane as it may help you

regards

Tony

RE: Is this cockpit a Mustang Cockpit ?

THE WINDSHIELD, GUN SIGHT AND MOUNTING SHOWS CLEARLY IT'S A TYPHOON.

HAPPY LANDINGS

TEMPEST

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Non-European aircrew in European theatre during WW2

>
>Sadly ,the history of Indian and other non-white aircrew is not
>terribly well known over here in GB.
>
> ...
>
>Any info on Asian or Black crew in the RAF is always
>interesting to hear.
>
>I did recently read a small story on a website of an Indian
>pilot who crashed his Hurricane into a hill in GB. I shall
>have to try and find the story again.
>
>Apart from the Sikh who flew the Mosquito in "633 Squadron",
>very little is ever shown in books or mags etc, on the huge
>contributions made by our Asian and Black friends in the
>Commonwealth.
>
>Regards
>Mick

Mick:

Nice to read your sentiments. I'd be *most* interested in the story of the Indian Hurricane pilot you mention, if you manage to dig it out.

People like Jagan (and Pushpindar Singh, the doyen of Indian aviation historians) will have far more; but in response to your comment that info on Asian and Black aircrew in the RAF is always interesting to hear, here are a few rambling snippets(from an enthusiast, not an expert!):

As you probably know, there were ten RIAF squadrons in the Burma-India theatre which were crewed entirely by Indians, and earned over 25 DFCs between them. But being part of the forgotten theatre, they are often overlooked in European and American histories. More visibly in the UK, there were some Indians (not sure of numbers; but perhaps in the region of 50 to 100?) who volunteered for service as aircrew with the RAFVR after WW2 broke out. By the time they had been shipped to the UK for training the BoB was over, so AFAIK none of them flew in the BoB. However, most went on to serve in other campaigns, and some did fly in the European theatre. Among them, and far from exhaustively:

Shivdev Singh (later Air Marshal and Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force) flew Stirlings with RAF Bomber Command over Germany;

Manmohan Singh (killed in action helping to evacuate Dutch civilians from advancing Japanese in SE Asia) flew Sunderlands, I think with RAF Coastal Command;

Ranjan Dutt (later Air Vice-Marshal, and boss of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) flew fighters in the European and in the Burma-India theatres (pretty much unrelated, but perhaps of passing interest, his daughter Ayesha Dutt became a film actress!); and

Mahender Singh Pujji (still living in the UK, I think) flew Spitfires in the UK, P-40s in North Africa and later served in the Burma-India theatre, was awarded a DFC, and features in both Chris Somerville's book "Our War", as well as in a MoD insert in the education resource pack "Together" on the contribution of non-whites to the war effort. (I found a copy of this pack at the Imperial War Museum shop.)

K K Majumdar, the picture of whom started this thread, was different from all these, in that he was a regular RIAF officer rather than RAFVR; and only came to the European theatre after a distinguished tour in the Burma-India theatre (where he received his first DFC).

There were also a number of black aircrew from the Caribbean who flew Spitfires and Hurricanes, or served as bomber crews, in Europe -- some of them are also featured in Chris Somerville's "Our War" and the "Together" pack. There was an interesting picture on the UK MoD website some months ago, of a black sergeant-pilot together with the great "Sailor" Malan, at Biggin Hill. Given Sailor Malan's nationality, I sometimes wonder what some of his pre-Mandela countrymen would have made of this picture! Incidentally, the black sergeant-pilot's name is given as Bunting -- any relation of the Bunting who founded the Jamaican merchant bank of that name, I wonder?

Hope this is of interest to you (and perhaps to some of your compatriots). Regards,

Snoopy

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RE: Non-European aircrew in European theatre during WW2

I think Mick must be refering to this page

http://www.neeacr.fsnet.co.uk/HurricaneZ3150.htm

about Pt Off H C Mehta who died in a training accident flying a Hurricane.

Very interesting post Snoopy. I would say that most of the pilots who flew in britain and in the RAFVR under different commands finally came back to be a part of the IAF/RIAF by the end of the WW2.

Now the question comes, were there aircrew who were in the RAF of Indian/Subcontinental origin and did not join the IAF by the war's end? i.e. crew who started thier career in the RAF and served only with the RAF?

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RE: Non-European aircrew in European theatre during WW2

Jagan, thanks a million for the post to the site about P/O Mehta.

Interesting that he was with the famous No 43 Squadron -- I think Mahinder Singh Pujji also flew with No 43. And didn't Douglas Bader also fly with that unit?

(At the risk of over-elaborating, a small correction to my earlier post -- Mahinder Singh Pujji flew Hurricanes, not Spitfires, during his service in the UK.)

About aircrew of Indian / subcontinental or generally non European origin who spent the entire period of their service in the RAF, I know of none, but I'm no authority. There may well have been a few, possibly Anglo-Indians, some of whom chose to migrate to the UK around the end of WW2, and did not necessarily identify themselves as Indian in official records. But with the huge force reductions immediately following WW2, I think it unlikely any non-Europeans (who would mostly have been non-regulars) would have remained in service.