Mallochs Spitfire by Nick Meikle Paperback / ISBN: 978-1-920143-78-7 / 288 pages / 200 b/w & colour illustrations, maps + 6pp colour aircraft profile Review by Cape Argus When one hears the name Spitfire, one thinks of those beautiful aircraft that roared through English skies during World War 2. And then one cannot help but think of then English Prime Minister Winston Churchills words of how so many owed so much to so few for the brave defence the pilots of those planes, among others, put up against the attacking Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during the Battle of Britain. But one is hard put to imagine one piercing the skies of southern Africa, thundering over airfields in the bush of sub-tropical Zimbabwe. PK350 was one such an aircraft. Among the last of its kind to be built, PK350 belonged to the then Rhodesian Air Force, who retired her and put her on display. But retired RAF wartime pilot Jack Malloch, then the owner of an air freight company in Rhodesia, was having none of that. She had to be restored and he took up the task with gusto that, by all accounts, typified the man. Meikle writes well, factually and to the point. Here and there, perhaps he tries too hard to bring out the drama, resulting in somewhat confusing word order. But it is rare and I enjoyed his technical descriptions, his clear and detailed telling of historic events and his ability to bring out the character of his main protagonist, the pilot and restorer. What I appreciated most was his ability to write about technical matters in a conversational way that made it clear as a bell. The restoration started in 1977 and on March 29, 1980, she flew again, 35 years after the war ended with Jack Malloch as the pilot. This came after a lengthy period of difficult technical work, the remanufacture of parts that were impossible to get and even, ironically, a propeller made in Germany, the old enemy against which the aircraft meant to fight. PK350, also known as SR64, first flew on July 25, 1945, two months after the end of the war in Europe. Meikle got the details of the first test pilot to fly her, and was able to speak to the restoration projects lead engineer and most of the surviving pilots who had flown her during her time of active service, being sent to Rhodesia in 1946. For two years, this beautiful silver of roaring metal was the delight of many around the city now known as Harare. During those two years, Malloch made it his business to bring joy, to show and to demonstrate the lovely aircraft. And then came what was meant to be her last flight, before she would return to preservation and static display. The end may be tragic, but it is also fitting.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 05:49:40 +0000
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