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By: - 23rd September 2004 at 14:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Alex, 'BlackKnight' is the man you want to talk to!
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 14:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Welcome to the forums Mart :) As JDK says, Alexis (BlackKnight) is the person to speak to...I certainly recall seeing a picture of the cornfield flight you mention, think it was in Aeroplane sometime around 2000/2001? Sure Alexis can confirm/offer further info on that for you :)
The CF-100 is one of my favourite aircraft at Duxford - I cannot tell you why as I've never seen it fly, but I just like the look of it :)
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 14:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Martin
welcome here !
you will find a member named "Black Knight" here - he's serious into OHB.
There was a thread started by myself a few days back with a photo of G-OAHB.
I for my part am also especially interested in his F-51 Cavalier I-BILL with which he tragically crashed at Mainz-Finthen, shortly after Greenham Common 1977.
If you have photographs and/or recollections re. this aircraft, I'd be happy to receive a PM or mail:
[email]martin@swissmustangs.ch[/email]
thanks and best regards
Martin / Swiss Mustangs
http://www.swissmustangs.ch
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 14:19 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi guys and thanks for the pointers. Alas I was only 12 or 13 years old at the time (if that) and I regret to say I have no pictures at all! I didn't even own a camera I don't think! It's such a shame as we and many others had a blast there.
I remember so much from those days. Ormond and his two brothers, Wensley and Densel. And who could forget his two sisters, Leonora and Pandora! :-) I remember trips out in Ormond's Rolls Royce Phantom 6 to the garage on the A505 to buy fags/food/pop etc. And the long hours I spent polishing the spoked wheels of his Aston Martin DB5! And "pulling 16" on the prop of the Sea Fury to get the oil into the journals of the engine...
Those were the days! If only my son would get into such stuff, instead of his PC and PS2! :-)
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 15:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
This is the original thread i started
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11837
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 15:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks Alex. I have just contacted John Romain at ARCo to see what he has. I'll keep ya posted...
Oh and i was there when the picture of the T-33 was taken flying that's on your thread. I don't recall if John was on foot for that one. I reckon he may have been on the at-the-time derelict control tower building. In any case, he would only have been at first-floor level tops!
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 17:23 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
John did take that photo from the control tower, it's my favourite. I did contact John Romain afew times but i think he's too busy nowadays.
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 17:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
OHB and T33
Back in June/77, I spent a week at Duxford crawling all over some of the planes in Ormond's collection. I was in the UK on a holiday and was introduced to Ormond by a bank manager at the Royal in Berkeley Sq. He picked me up in his DB5, blue if I remember rightly, took me to Duxford and introduced me to his squad of "restorers". He was killed within the next week, after I was back home. It seems to me that he was flying to Germany where he was picking up his newly camouflaged Mustang, I-BILL. I took lots of pictures of the T33 and various other "stuff" hanging around Duxford. I sent some pic's of Ormond to the Royal Bank after the crash to forward, as they were the most recent. Great and sad memory!
By: - 23rd September 2004 at 23:02 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I would certainly be interested in obtaining copies from you if possible?
By: - 24th September 2004 at 12:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks Foster B. I too would love some pictures if you have any electronic versions. Post them here if you like or, alternatively, send them to my email address.
And thanks Alex for the picture of Ormond in the P-51. One of those spooky shots when you consider his fate the following day! :-(
By: - 24th September 2004 at 12:31 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Had the Mustang been repainted prior to it's tragic accident? Does anybody have a photograph????
By: - 24th September 2004 at 12:42 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I-BILL initially had a white paint with red bands along the fuselage and all red nose and spinner - this was in 1969 through the early 70's; when OHB displayed the a/c at Greenham Common late June 1977, it was overall yellow with thin black bands and red spinner. It always was my believe that at the time of the crash in Mainz-Finthen (Germany) on 3 July 1977, the Cavalier F-51 was in the latter paint-job. (scans of my slides will be posted tonight)
Would the one week between Greenham and the crash have been sufficient to repaint this a/c - and if yes - with what scheme ?
All info highly welcome
Best regards
Martin / Swiss Mustangs
*EDIT*
here's a b/w Greenham shot from the web:
By: - 24th September 2004 at 12:46 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
...and here the original scheme when owned by Ditta Billi - an ice-cream factory from Northern Italy:
Martin
By: - 24th September 2004 at 13:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Looks like a Bf108/Nord 1002 next to it in the first shot. Lindsey Walton's?
By: - 24th September 2004 at 15:45 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
No it wasn't painted at the time of the crash. Dornier were going to do the paintjob for free during the following week but Ormond decided to drop in on the celebrations at the USAF base 1st.
By: - 24th September 2004 at 15:53 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Any idea what scheme it was due to wear??
By: - 24th September 2004 at 15:57 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
No, i was just told a USAAF 8th Air Force scheme.
By: - 24th September 2004 at 21:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
OHB camo:
Thanks for straightening me out on the I-BILL colours. OHB had planned to have the Mustang painted prior to picking it up as I remember laughing with him about the irony of having the "Germans" do the best job of camoing it in USAAF colours. There was a young man who planned to accompany OHB to Germany in the T33. Does anyone know if that happened or what became of the passenger? I'm assuming that I-BILL was a single seater, right?
By: - 24th September 2004 at 22:56 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
What exactly happened to cause Ormand's crash? Was it pilot error or a mechanical failure?
John
By: - 24th September 2004 at 23:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I-BILL had a passenger seat the same as most P-51's do. I have heard many different causes of the crash but from sources it seems it was down to a torque roll.
Posts: 15
By: Mart - 23rd September 2004 at 13:51
Hi There!
Just found this forum and am impressed with what I see! I've been looking for some photographs for years now and I've found some here already but am looking for further help.
My name is Martin Ambrose and, back in the mid 70s, I was a part of Ormond's Black Knight ground crew. I recall on numerous occasions standing proudly in front of his Sea Fury, T-33, CF-100 etc, sporting a crisp white set of overalls emblazzoned with the Black Knight embroidered logo patch.
I was at Duxford the day the CF-100 came in. I was also there on the day we and many others (Kev Smith, John Romain, Billy Kelly etc.) cowered in a corn field as Ormond skimmed above our heads whilst John Rigby took some pictures.
Does anyone have any pictures available of these and other occasions? I'd be grateful for whatever you have. Alternatively, if any of you are named above or who remember me from these days, please do not hesitate to drop me a line. My email address is: [email]mart@zx-6rzone.co.uk[/email]
Any help tracking down some shots would be great.
Cheers
Martin Ambrose