The Vampire returns

[sknepper]

I was looking for a DH100 Vampire model and stumbled on the one by Roger Hardy and David Friswell (dh100_f3.zip). Being an ex Rhodesian (Zimbabwean now) I thought of the great old Vampires we used to have and started work on a repaint of the old fella in Rhodesian colours.
Anyone interested?

[Garry Russell]

:think: What does animo mean?


The pole asks a question

How can you vote on whether or not there is an answer?

Garry

[sknepper]

The word "animo" means excitment (Rhodesian dialect word for "ammunition"), in a friendly form, naturally.

[Garry Russell]

Ah I see :think:

But respect....are we supposed to know that?



Garry

[sknepper]

Thanx for the respect Garry
The old Vampire was also a great old warrior of its time (God bless her) and I was just wanting to know if there was a public awaiting her return in the battling we had in Rhodesia where she proved her cunning in the confict that occured.

[Garry Russell]

No prob Sknepper

All clear now ......I am sure there is a lot of interest in her.

She comes from a time of wide use and thee must be infinite livery variations for the type.

Someone could be very busy with this

ATB

Garry

[DaveB]

I'm glad you asked the question Garry 'cause I didn't understand it either

I voted 'YES' as everyone else has at this point

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[petermcleland]

Sknepper,

I remember visiting the Rhodesian Air Force twice...The first time in 1953 when they still had Spitfire 22s in PRU Blue...We visited with our Venom FB1s of 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron R.A.F. for the Rhodes Centenary Celebrations. The second time was in 1959, this time with Venom FB4s of 208 Squadron...We had a detachment to Thornhill and did a lot of weapons training on Kutanga Range. We also visited around the place and I remember seeing one of your Vampires upside down and being restored...I also remember that in the Rhodesian Air Force you always repaired things instead of replacing them like we did...I went into one supposedly sterile building where you worked on instruments and there in the middle of it was a great Termites nest growing out of the floor

I also visited as a competitor in the World Practical Pistol Championships in 1977...you were having your war then and I remember a lot of brave young men in wheelchairs. I was billeted with a prison officer and his wife at Chikurubi Prison and enjoyed very fine hospitality. I did love Rhodesia very much but have never been back since then.

Yes, I would love to get a Vampire in Rhodesian Colours in my Flight Simulator :think:

[Garry Russell]

Thanks for that Peter

Whenever Africa come up there always seems to be a great story there.

Always a great read

Garry

[sknepper]

Thanks for that lovely story Peter. There isn’t much more to see in that country anymore, which is a shame, but I can look back at a rich flying history with many great engineers and people who were driven to sometimes improvise in the most phenomenal ways
Yes, as Peter said we did keep old things running for a long time there in Rhodesia and we got quite handy at doing the small repairs to equipment, mainly because we had sanctions imposed on us. So if you can't get new ones, keep the old ones going. We even made new parts for the jet engines, etc. and kept the squadron of Hunters and Vampires running until the 1980’s.
There is not much material left as lots was destroyed after independence in 1980, but here are a couple of pictures I could find to start working on the repaint. Unfortunately my source went offline (http://www.brushfirewars.org/ by Kristjan Runarsson who I would like to thank) but I posted them to my website.

Sean
http://home.wanadoo.nl/sknepper/Vampires.htm