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Flying an Unencumbered Spitfire 9

Heroes Remember

Flying an Unencumbered Spitfire 9

Transcript
The Spitfire was such a wonderful airplane. I should just mention one little... when I force landed in Sicily I flew the plane out of this small field and there's this high irrigation ditch on one side that I had to take off over so I took all the guns out, all the ammunition, everything, got the weight down to almost as low as I could, of extra weight down, and then I had 2 or 3 people sitting on the tail, couple of others holding the wings, and then I revved it up and let the brakes off and took off and I came to the end of the runway and I had to bounce it over the irrigation ditch to get it, but once I got up in the air, you never realized what a wonderful air plane the Spitfire really was. It's just too bad that most pilots never had the opportunity to fly a Spitfire without all that extra weight. I loved that Spitfire ever since.
Description

Mr. Wilson describes flying his Spitfire 9 out of the farmer’s field in Sicily after removing all unnecessary weight. He tells us that the experience of flying an unencumbered Spitfire 9 was a pilot’s dream.

Gordon Wilson

Gordon Wilson was born on December 5, 1917 in Limerick, Saskatchewan. The Royal Canadian Air Force was no longer accepting recruits when he enlisted so he joined the Royal Regina Rifles. Six months later, Mr. Wilson joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at Brandon, Manitoba. His first wartime deployment saw him serving in North Africa near El Alamein, where he initially flew Hurricanes in a Royal Air Force squadron. He later piloted Spitfire 9’s in Sicily, Italy and the Middle East. After the war, Mr. Wilson completed a university degree and became a museum curator.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
1:24
Person Interviewed:
Gordon Wilson
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Branch:
Air Force
Rank:
Flying Officer
Occupation:
Pilot

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