Taking advantage of the Leuchars Airshow, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire -will carry out a flypast on Saturday 13th at the unveiling of a full-sized replica of a Mark 1 Spitfire which has been installed in tribute to air cadets killed while training at Grangemouth’s former RAF base, RAF Grangemouth, and remembers the contribution of the hundreds of Polish pilots who developed their skills there as members of 58 Operational Training Unit (OTU), during World War II. By the end of 1939, RAF Grangemouth was used solely as a Battle of Britain satellite airbase, strategically vital for the protection of the Forth Bridge and Rosyth Docks, where many of the Royal Navy fleet were based or repaired.
The full-size replica Spitfire being unveiled is an exact copy of an aircraft flown by 58 OTU Sergeant Eugeniusz Tadensy Lukomski, killed in 1941 when his Spitfire came down in Avondale Estate in nearby Polmont. The replica will bear the distinctive markings and colours of the Polish 303 Squadron, which was the highest scoring foreign squadron in the Battle of Britain.
The event also marks the opening of a memorial garden to those who died, and is located on ground granted on the perimeter of the original airfield, and has a wall featuring the names of each of the Polish fighter pilots who died at Grangemouth.
The commemoration has been organised by the 1333 (Grangemouth) Squadron of the Air Training Corps who began a campaign to trace the former cadet’s families in 2006.
Update
The original article above contained the following note:
Sadly, it seems that many who test flew the planes were killed during training as a direct result of the poor condition of the aircraft, which had been so badly shot up, but had to be used since new aircraft had to be sent straight into action to replace losses in battle.
This was based on material published by The BBC and the The Scotsman online, both of which contained the statement “Many of these planes had been badly shot up, one of the reasons that so many were killed in training accidents, and which both attributed the statement to Flying Officer Tom McMorrow, commanding officer of the 1333 (Grangemouth) Squadron of the Air Training Corps.
Further to correspondence and research detailed below, we are pleased to report that this statement was incorrectly attributed by those sources, as follows:
I have now received an official explanation! It appears that the C.O. Grangemouth A.T.C. in an interview quoted an extract from a book relating to accidents at another airfield flying elderly Blenheim Bombers. This is the basis of the story, He states that at no time was Grangemouth and its Spitfires implicated. Regretably this erronious version still is circulating on the Web. I received also a fulsome apology for the frustration felt by myself and ex-collegues relating as it did to our wartime service.
A. Paterson.
Secret testing at Grangemouth
Doing a little background reading, I found a report that the base had also been used for secret operations involving the spraying of gas, using Lysanders of 614 Squadron. The whole area around the base became a restricted area due to the stockpiles of mustard gas and the secrecy of the missions carried out. The restricted area took in the nearby town and the docks, and special passes were issued to all residents.
Although the name suggests mustard gas is the harmful component, it is in fact a liquid which can be dispersed as an aerosol, and persists where it lands, denying access to an area, and remaining dangerous for some some, being absorbed through the skin if picked up directly or on clothing, and not displaying any significant symptoms for some hours, by which time it is generally too late for effective treatment to be administered.
Employed during World Wars I and II, mustard agents are now regulated under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Three classes of chemicals are monitored under this Convention, with sulfur and nitrogen mustard grouped in Schedule 1, as substances with no use other than chemical warfare.
Secret Scotland 
was there a flypast?. what time was it?. only new from local papers but not really any information or was i looking in the wrong place. thanks
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I’m sorry to say we can only report on what we like in the news, and not attend everything we’d want to, so can’t say whether or not the local flypast took place.
Unfortunately, all such events are subject to the availability of the flight, clearance, weather, and even time – depending on how the Airshow schedule runs on the day.
A pity if they weren’t able to make the diversion, but it wouldn’t be the first time, and certainly no the last
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I visited the memorial in Grangemouth yesterday, a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives.Sad that it has taken so long to be erected. But where was the Spitfire ? I could see no sign of the replica, neither did I see any signs of the fly-past, though there was a great deal of heavy cloud.
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You have me worried now – surely the BBC haven’t got things wrong?
Clicking the word “unveiled” in the post above jumps to their original article.
Criteria for flying the Memorial Flight combination of the Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane are quite strict and onerous, given the age and uniqueness of the aircraft, and heavy or low cloud at their scheduled slot can easily see it cancelled if they would have to fly through it.
Two of the BBC’s sins in its advance reporting of events such as this are the the lack of detail regarding time and place, and the appearance of the article only the day before.
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Apollo
The replica Spitfire was aboard a lorry (wings not fitted ),adjacent to the memorial at the time of the ceremony.
The PA system was a let-down, only one of the Padres being audible to me… still, a welcome recognition of the sacrifice.
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Re: Flypast……. nah, cloud impossibly low.
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Thanks from me, and a few others I suspect, for the update David.
I hope they get the replica finished, and placed. Presumably it will be being kept safe until the better weather returns.
No surprise about the weather in the area for any Leuchars Airshow veterans. My passport stamps for the show are in double figures, having been issued in everthing ranging from blazing sun under blue skies, to leaning into the wind and hail while wondering why on earth I was there.
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The Memorial wall is not a tribute to Air Cadets killed while training at RAF Grangemouth as atated. The Memorial was built to pay tribute to all the Airmen that were killed while serving from RAF Grangemouth and the aircrew that are buried in Grandsable Cemetery. The pilots training with 58 OTU came form several countries and the unit went on to train the majority of Polish fighter pilots to fly Spitfire aircraft during the war. 1333 (Grangemouth) Sqn ATC started the project called ‘Exercise Grave Secret’ and raised funds to build the Memorial, help came from Falkirk Council and Forth Valley College. Fund raising is ongoing that will eventually place the Spitfire in the near vicinity of the Memorial and next to the old airfield hangars.
The Memorial has nothing to do with secret testing or 614 Sqn.
The Spitfire has nothing to do with 303 Sqn but carries the serial number of Sgt Lukomski’s Spitfire when he spun out of cloud and crashed.
The project was run by 1333 Squadron, it is a great accomplishment for a youth organisation and the community.
It was very unfortunate not to have the flypast due to the weather, however the tribute paid to the deceased airmen was the most important duty carried out at the ceremony and unveiling of the Memorial.
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Sadly, it seems that many who test flew the planes were killed during training as a direct result of the poor condition of the aircraft, which had been so badly shot up, but had to be used since new aircraft had to be sent straight into action to replace losses in battle.
NOT TRUE
The aircraft were maintainted to high standards and no pilot would be sent out to fly an aircraft that was badly shot up or in danger of failing.
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I am appalled at the charge made by the C.O. Grangemouth ATC that many airmen were killed by the “Poor servicing & Shot up Aircraft” used by trainees. As a veteran technical N.C.O.with 5 years service in the RAF in wartime I totally reject his sensational claim. I have contacted him asking for evidence to back up his charges without receiving a satisfactory response! If this is not produced I want a well publicised apology
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A. Paterson.
Where did you learn that C.O. Grangemouth ATC made a charge that:
I trust you have not read more that was written into the SeSco article above, which did not make that statement, and was based on a number of reminiscences made by personnel who served at RAF Grangemouth, and have published their memories on specialist sites on the web.
SeSco did not report that the airmen were killed by poor servicing, or criticise those involved, and recognises the valiant efforts of both the ground staff and pilots concerned, but also recognises that in wartime, desperate measures have to be taken appropriate to the time. Many instances such as the reported use of less then perfect, but serviceable, aircraft have been unearthed since the war, and many would prefer that these accounts are kept secret, or swept under the carpet. Such events have ranged from a few accidental deaths, perhaps at an airfield, to hundreds when exercises have gone wrong. Suppressing these stories is not acceptable, and many are only coming to light now as Public Records are released from the National Archives. Even today, for example, people write of the “shameful” suppression of all references at the time to the explosion and sinking of HMS Dasher, and make their accusation with no knowledge of the hugely successful secret mission that the disaster helped make possible.
If you did indeed read more than was written above, and contacted C.O. Grangemouth ATC based on that error, then there is little wonder you have not received any response, and should contact C.O. Grangemouth ATC again and apologise for your error.
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I will not respond to your varied comments but keep to the core of the issue. The “Poor condition of the Aircraft” and “Shot up Aircraft” responsible for the deaths of Trainee Pilots was broadcast on the BBC Scottish News on 12th. September attributed to the C.O. Grangemouth A.T.C. thereafter on the BBC Web.& now also on Military Photos My anger at these unproven charges being widely circulated is because I was involved both with the Maintenance and Test Flying of similar Aircraft on other Airfields with Training Command during my wartime service I also was with Bomber Squadrons and can verify that the RAF Maintenance Manual Directive was rigidly carried out on Training as well as Operational units. I still have my RAF Manual which can be viewed All Aircraft had a Log Book (Form 700)which accompanied the Aircraft throughout its service and every event is recorded. If damaged the repairs or rebuilding and servicing are shown, at all times the Airworthiness must be certified before it could be flown. I also Test Flew regularly with Training Aircraft to ensure they were totally Airworthy before passing them on to the Trainees. I have my Flying Log Book with pages of these flights recorded Again I will be happy to display the book to prove I know what I am talking about. Other Training units also had their share of accidents apart from Grangemouth. Generally due to Pilot Error. The Trainees had mainly done their initial training in Canada or USA and were taught on light aircraft in ideal conditions. Now they. had to adjust to flying warplanes under different terrain and weather conditions which caused a lot of problems. During the War there was a news black-out but rumours were rife and it was not easy to get to the truth. I imagine that this A.T.C. Officer has come accross something of this nature and decided to make a big noise about it! I have given him the opportunity to justify his charges but he seems to have gone to ground and not responded to my requests. Therefor I repeat “Either produce evidence to support your charges or Apologise to veterans such as myself whom you have maligned”
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Many thanks for your additional information and detailed description of the procedure as per the RAF Manual – also the clarification regarding the BBC and CO Grangemouth ATC, material I had not been made aware of. This clearly explains the attribution referred to in your original, which had upset and concerned me as I did not wish to be seen as, or be mis-quoted as the source, which I was clearly not.
I would ask that it be borne in mind that this is a blog, and a means releasing information such as being discussed here into the public domain, hopefully for further discussion and clarification. It is not a source of reference or researched material, such as may be found on the Main Site.
I hope you, or someone else who may read this, may be able to obtain responses from any of the originators, and will be prepared to pass it on, as we will do if we uncover any further accounts.
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Hopefully I won’t have to apologise for mentioning this, but I came across another maintenance issue while reading up on the history of the School of Aerial Gunnery RFC at Turnberry airfield, dating back to World War I this time.
In Chapter Four of “Sopwith Camel Fighter Ace” by Robert M Todd, 17th Aero Sqdn, USAS – AEF (Five kills and retired to San Diego, CA), while describing the flying difficulties presented by the coastal airfield, he also referred to the maintenance of the aircraft:
“The planes were not maintained as well as the ones we flew at the training field in England, and Aldy was assigned to a Camel that was not rigged right, it pulled to the left and was hard to land.”
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Very interesting comments–However as Sopwith Camel biplanes were involved in World War 1 and the author refers to the U.S. Airforce this is not relevant to the RAF in World War 11 and the standards expected as laid down in Air Publication AP1938.
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I have now received an official explanation! It appears that the C.O. Grangemouth A.T.C. in an interview quoted an extract from a book relating to accidents at another airfield flying elderly Blenheim Bombers. This is the basis of the story, He states that at no time was Grangemouth and its Spitfires implicated. Regretably this erronious version still is circulating on the Web. I received also a fulsome apology for the frustration felt by myself and ex-collegues relating as it did to our wartime service
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Many thanks for taking the time to provide the details behind the story and the associated error.
I had tried to find the original reference – which I’m sure was posted on a wartime memories project web site – but all I could find was the newspaper/BBC reports. These appeared after the “memory” article I believe I read earlier, but without a web reference, there was little I could pass on, or add.
I will add an update to the original post above, and to our Main Site page relating to RAF Grangemouth, to alert readers to the existence of the errant article.
I hope this helps excuse our original inclusion of the material, and helps widen the circulation of the correction.
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You are to be commended for the prompt and satisfactory way you have amended the erroneous Grangemouth (wartime) airfield story. Apparently the BBC were approached to correct matters similarly but so far have not responded!
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To Apollo & A Paterson.Just reading Leo McKinstry,s book Spitfire Portrait of a legend would seem to suggest G/Mouth RAF was equipped with MK1 Spits for training.Quote from the book refering to the mark by Major General R.H.Dewing the head of RAF liason in Australia,to Churchill’s Chief of Staff Sir Hastings ‘Pug’Ismay When I talked to them,officers of the squadron were almost bitter about the aircraft they had to use.They are far from the latest type of Spitfire and the machines themselves have done an amount of flying which at home would put them on the scrapheap.As you probably know the squadron lost rather heavily through
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Also that type was flown in the Japanese theatre.From same book Quote.General Headquarters released their losses without any explanation so that the initial impression was given that they were shot down by the Japs.The moral of the story seems to be that if and when the United Kingdom is sending material contributions to this theatre,someone ought to ensure that the thing is handled to enhance prestige.It would appear to me also the BBC were erroneous
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A. Mears comments are interesting but the quotes he mentions are totally misleading where Gangemouth R.A.F. is concerned. It was a Flying Training Unit preparing fledgling Pilots for operations, a totally non-combat unit.whereas the extract refers to an operational R.A.A,F squadron in combat with the Japanese. They had every right to complain. A.Paterson
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I,would point out to A Paterson that it would be illogical and wasteful of much needed resources to imagine that a training unit would be supplied with the latest mark of aircraft.The Spitfire was not without its failures as Jeffrey Quill Supermarine test pilot would vouch when the tailplane section sheared off at fifteen thousand feet or the great Merlin engine exploded without even a sign of a problem.Speed,power reflex,hatred and adrenalin are the order of the day in an arial combat situation and a well used aircraft would not give rise to the pilots skills.Iam not condeming the training unit or the aircraft god forbid for what these souls did for us but pointing out that in the crashes which ensued (and there were many)it can’t all have been pilot error.I enjoy the comments and equally proud of the links we have with a very historical era (albeit costly)in our time.I was also enriched by the views of German pilots and the preparations they made pre-ops and when one looks at their aircraft they did not have the beauty and lines of the Spitfire but built their craft to do what it was designed to do (destruction).The Spitfire on the otherhand evolved from a speed record dynasty hence its fragility.
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The Mark 1 Spitfire only came into service a few months before the war started in 1939. A year later the development was so rapid that they were producing Mark 1V,s.Also during this period the Mark 1.s in service were all substancialy upgraded. Major work being done in MU units and minor improvements on Airfields. The problems were overcome and performance improved. In tandem the Merlin engine also had major upgrading that in 1941 the production was Mark V’s. Combining ito a splendid aircraft. I was personally involved with Spitfires in RAF Training Command in 1944/5 and we all had a healthy respect for them but appreciated that they had to be handled correctly otherwise the could be awkward. A Paterson
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Can anyone tell me when and where the memorial Spitfire will be erected? Rumour abounds the site will be Grand Sable cemetery which Ithink would be a bad idea and lends itself to vandalism . I get the impression should the site of the aircraft hangars and the memorial had been in Falkirk this would have been attended to post-haste.A lot of time,effort,emotions and money have been spent on this important project,lets see the fruits of these sacrifices especially to the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for us.
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The spitfire will be sited adjacent to the existing memorial and is expected to be in place by spring 2011. The Falkirk Herald ran a story about this a few months ago.
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Sadly, two years and three months have passed and no sign of the commemorative Spitfire.To think it took less time to rid the skies of the Hun and our predators than it takes you and Falkirk District Council to erect a monument to the lives of these brave and courageous men,”some were hardly men”……..”god bless them” for what they did for us.It’s a good job these gladiators of the skies dismissed all admin and fog , otherwise we would be speaking in German now.Never for one moment did any one of these poor mortals question “why”?but just got on with the job.Sadly the same commitment is redundant here………God help us
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I saw the Spitfire last night, and a very splendid looking beauty she is! GB Replica’s (whom I beleive built her) have done a smashing job making a very good job of an early Spit!
She will be placed on her pole in the very near future, “Watch this space”
My only worry is, that some of the local “yobs” may not appreciate just what this aircraft represents, and, out of boredom, or whatever else drives some to break things, may wish to vandalise her.
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On the 12th January 1943, 3 Spitfires flying out of Grangemouth crashed in bad weather onto King’s Seat Hill above Dollar, killing 2 of the pilots and badly injuring the 3rd. The pilots who were killed were the instructor, Flying Officer Hugh “Bud” Reynolds RCAF and Sergeant Gordon Murray Duda RCAF, the injured pilot was Sergeant Vincent Patrick Daly RAAF. Both the dead pilots are interred at Grandsable Cemetery in Grangemouth, Vin Daly was found by a local shepherd the next day more dead than alive and was taken to the Naval Hospital in Larbert where he eventually recovered and returned home to Australia at the end of the war, he died on the 27th February 1969.
On the 12 September 2009 a memorial Cairn was unveiled and dedicated to the memory of these men,on King’s Seat in the prescence of the team of like minded guys, led by Major Brian Imrie REME, who built the Cairn and researched the history, the cadets of 383(Alloa) Squadron ATC, and members of Ochil Mountain Rescue, the event was graced by a flypast from The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
In August 2011 I was introduced to the daughter of Vin Daly, who having heard about the Cairn came from Australia to meet the team.
A good source of material about RAF Grangemouth(OTU 58) is held at the Grangemouth Heritage Centre, there is also a video called “Cairn on the Hill” on Youtube.
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According to this week’s Falkirk Herald, the Spitfire is to be unveiled on 9 May 2013, together with a flypast from a Eurofighter Typhoon
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Thank you.
I will try and find an online reference for this, and make a new post closer to the date.
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Thank goodness, a positive online mention at last:
Via WWII Spitfire memorial gets its wings at RAF Grangemouth
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The Spitfire was unveiled by cadets of 1333(Grangemouth) Squadron Air Training Corps during a very impressive ceremony today, with representatives from Australia, and Poland Defence Forces Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire together The Provost of Falkirk District and Central Band of The Royal Air Force and Queen’s Colour Squadron RAF.
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Thanks for effectively closing this off – I’d like to have dropped in on this if I’d been closer, and catch a pic or two.
I will also add this confirmation as a note to the post I raised a week ago, to help give today’s unveiling a bit more publicity.
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Hi, I took pictures yesterday and will download them over the weekend, shoud you like me to email some to you
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Appreciated. That would be nice. Thanks.
Obvious address admin(at)secretscotland.org.uk
If it protests, I will give an alternate, also pls let me know if you would like a credit attached to the pics, or remain anonymous on the web.
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I am the Canadian nephew of Flying Officer Hugh “Bud” Reynolds RCAF, one of the three pilots that crashed onto King’s Seat Hill above Dollar. I am happy to say that his ‘baby’ sister Donna {my mother, age 83}, his youngest and one of his two surviving siblings,will finally be visiting the memorial cairn at the site of his demise this August 2013. Many thanks from our family to Major Brian Imrie for his devotion to the memory of those young pilots and for inviting Mom to visit and take the time to personally give her, my sister, and my niece the tour that she has wanted for such a long time. I regret that I can not be there to share the experience.
My uncle was only one of three brothers that gave their lives for us all. One was lost over the Mediterranean, and the third over the gulf of St. Lawrence, shot down by a German U boat deck gun. All three lost in less than a few weeks of each other. To say that this visit to Scotland is very important to mom is an understatement.
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