Prose & Photography: Robert Griffiths

Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries? - Amelia Earhart

You speak to anyone and they will have dreams or goals that they want to attain. Photographers are no different; especially aviation photographers. In aviation photography, these dreams usually revolve around a place, museum, airshow, or specific aircraft. I would hazard a guess that at the top of most lists would be the chance to do some air to air photography with a specific aircraft. Sometimes it may feel out of reach for many; most opportunities are either through friends or more recently a pay and play type endeavour. The Centre of Aviation Photography is one place where air to air is available to everyone. I never in my life thought I would get the opportunity to do air to air, let alone do any major subjects for that matter. My opportunity arose when COAP sent out for air to air with not one but three Supermarine TMKIX Spitfires; I’d be stupid not to try and get on this. I was lucky enough to be chosen out of the large interest for this and I couldn’t believe my luck.

That is when the panic set in, and the many questions arose. Would I do this justice? What lens should I take? What if I screw it up? The usual stuff for a first time shoot. Thankfully, my Full Disc Aviation brothers have a wealth of advice they imparted on me. With that, it was now a waiting game and sorting out getting to the base of operations for that day; Headcorn Aerodrome, a former RAF and USAAF airfield from 1943. Not long before, we were notified by Rich Cooper that our cameraship, a vintage de Havilland Sea Devon, the only airworthy example in the world, had gone tech and spares were a long way off. Rich, in his infinite way of overcoming adversity and having plans B through Z, had already sourced a replacement, a D-Day veteran itself, a C-47 Skytrain by the name of Drag-Em-Oot. Now that was a major upgrade!

Around this time, Dakotas had been arriving into the UK for the start of the D-Day anniversaries, so the South of England was becoming busy with many WWII aircraft and not just the usual Spitfires over Dover and the White Cliffs. To add to the day, COAP had managed to secure one of the Dakotas/Skytrains for a morning air to air sortie, and we were given the option to add it to the Spitfire afternoon sortie. It would be rude not to, considering the cost of it, and when else would I get such an opportunity?

Watching the cityscape of London disappear into the distance I ventured closer to my destination, grey turning to green outside the window in a blur. Thankfully the weather was blue sky with partial cloud, extinguishing the anxiety that the typical British weather were to cancel the day. Greeted by a small single grass strip with a couple of small hangars and huts, quite reminiscent of a satellite airfield from WWII, there was a buzz of engines from small aircraft and the Cessna Caravan taking eager skydivers to their drop point. I found my way into the Aero Legends hut, and finding Rich and Steve, got pointed in the direction of what would become a great group of friends to spend the day with. After a brief and harness allocation (mine was kinda snug but safety first!) we did a practice run of our seating/standing positions at the door. Next up was securing our cameras, which means duct tape all over the camera [editor’s note: gaffer’s tape wont leave behind sticky adhesive residue on your lens the way duct tape does!], and no lens hoods or caps to make sure nothing is flying out the door! Next was wheels up and a path toward Dover to find our quarry.

It wasn’t long before we headed down the runway and launched lazily into the air, heading out to the south coast of England, and our target RV point near Dover. We stood up, and headed to the door, making sure to hook up to the static line. It was a number of minutes of staring through the door, still trying to tell myself that this was actually happening. The rolling green fields of Kent, the (surprisingly blue) waters of the English Channel and the famous White Cliffs of Dover came and went. Soon, we were joined by another C-47 in the skies out over the channel, and the shape of ‘Miss Virginia’ came into view.

In a rush, I had actually accomplished something I thought would never be possible for me. I would take video and stills for the next ~20 minutes in the air with 10 other photographers, sharing for me a monumental time. Miss Virginia would follow us closely, shifting her relative position lazily before we headed inland and finally breaking off from formation in spectacular fashion. Afterward, we would sit back in our seats as Drag Em Oot headed home to Headcorn. It was only then, once sat down, that the entire experience hit me. The physical and emotional energy expended was a bit of a surprise to say the least, but that really didn’t stop the ear to ear smile that I had. 

We were expertly landed at the aerodrome and the tail wheel settled onto the grass; we taxied back to the apron to shutdown. Even as the engines wound down, I took my time standing up, just enjoying the moment before begrudgingly standing up and stepping down the paratrooper ladder and back to earth. Now was a time to reflect and rehydrate before the afternoon flight with Spitfires.

Between sorties, the three spitfires turned up, piloted by two people I had only ever read about and seen photos of; Flight Lieutenant Anthony ‘Parky’ Parkinson and Flight Lieutenant Charlie Brown with his iconic moustache. Myself and one of the other photographers managed to have a brief chat with Flight Lieutenant Brown, something that felt surreal, speaking to someone so experienced on all manner of Spitfires and he even posed for a photograph, no questions asked. Soon it was time to harness up once again, a check of positions due to new photographers joining, myself opting for the sitting position near the door. 

Once again we were strapped in as the two radials coughed into life, taxying sedately to the runway. Engines spun up and we laboured into the air. Within 10-15 minutes, Kevin, our loadmaster, gave the signal for us to get out of our seats and head to the door, again hooking up to be sure. Sitting, waiting, staring out the door of the Skytrain, I was really appreciating the South East corner of England, a sight many airman would have seen, hopefully with relief, as they headed home. Just as we started getting close to the coast, three unmistakable shapes formed on the left side of the Skytrain, right in front of us. Three two seat Supermarine Spitfire TMKIXs.

At first I was astounded, not quite realising this was happening right in front of me before snapping to and starting to photograph for all I was worth, altering settings as I got braver but making sure to play it safe as things changed. Circling over Dover and the white cliffs for some iconic backgrounds, banking this way and that; before we knew it, we were given the signal they would break off before heading home. 3… 2… 1… and break, utilising my 7D MKii’s 10 frames-a-second to its advantage. To add to the fun, our pilot decided to follow their example throwing into a left bank, all of us bracing but loving it. And just like that, we were on short finals, descending to a barely-felt landing, with the tail falling gently onto the grass strip. As we taxied back to the apron again, I couldn’t stop smiling, and I took a moment letting the rest disembark the aircraft, but I couldn’t wait too long, they were taking passengers back to North Weald, the Skytrain’s home. 

As quickly as the day arrived, it was over. A seemingly short time but a lifetime of memories, and probably something I would never experience again, especially the subjects I shot. At the station, as I headed home on the train, green turning into the grey cityscape of London. I sat rewatching videos taken on my phone and the photos on my camera, realising just how exhausting but exciting this hobby can be. What would take longer than the flights themselves was the culling and editing of photos, but what they would leave was an eternity of favourable reminiscence and new found friendships from a little over 2 hours of flight time.

I would like to thank The Centre of Aviation Photography, Aero Legends, the Drag Em Oot crew, The D-Day Squadron, Dynamic Aviation, the Miss Virginia crew and the pilots of the Spitfires for creating such a memorable experience at such a poignant time in the D-Day commemorations.