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By: - 10th February 2024 at 09:11 Permalink - Edited 10th February 2024 at 09:57
Hi John
My reasonable guess.....
Looks to me like a photo taken on a significant occasion/manufacturing milestone such as completion of build/first engine run/first flight/end of an era.
I think all the guys are related to experimental or production departments,the chap on the left is not Quill (hairline is wrong) and the chap next to him is being very familiar with him (like perhaps they have worked together a lot),the slim chap with the tache and white (?) overalls might be an inspector.
I have a supermarine book which I will look through later and see if I can ID anybody :)
regards baz
By: - 13th February 2024 at 16:36 Permalink
This question has cropped up from time to time in past years and has never yet, to my knowledge, produced an accurate answer to it! May I suggest some extra sources that may be of help..
Assuming, respectfully, you’re certain that the photo was taken at Hursley (more on that later) have you Googled SUPERMARINERS ?
https://supermariners.wordpress.com/about/contact/ .
Maybe they have an original copy of it? They have excellent lists of who was working at the many Southampton and Salisbury area Supermarine sites, as well as a wealth of other information on the company and staff.
The pilot standing on the left of the photo is not Jeffrey Quill. Is it Mike Lithgow? He had retired from the Fleet Air Arm and joined Supermarine as a test pilot in January 1946 and became the company's chief test pilot two years later. He would have extensive knowledge of Naval aviation matters and thus in a good position critically consider the Seafang for the Admiralty. Indeed in September 1946 he flew a Seafang in the high speed air racing event at Lympne! Guy Morgan maybe?
Taking another direction, no photographic accreditation or copyright holder has emerged (so far) to help. The image to me always has a gritty feel to it and seems to be possibly an amateur not an ‘in house’ photo by the company photographer (C.Douglas Burr) of the time. Or maybe it is simply a copy of a copy! Where was it constructed? Quite possibly Hursley Park house, then trucked to maybe Eastleigh, High Post near Boscombe Down, Worthy Down, Chilbolton. Probably not Chattis Hill, there were other sites that were also used in Wiltshire.
Supermarine’s archives were held at a Cambridge University library for many years. I was told recently that they were moved to BAE Systems Central Archives at Farnborough, Hampshire. I haven’t searched there as yet, myself.
There is a helpful website relating to Chilbolton by a local history group it details Supermarine's time there;-
I have an old friend to ask if he knows the answer to this and if there’s any answer I will respond here.
Good luck in hunting this one down, will you keep us in touch with progress, please?
Posts: 2
By: JW1969 - 8th February 2024 at 17:15 - Edited 8th February 2024 at 17:27
Hi, After a bit of Googling I am fairly confident that this is a photo of Supermarine Seafang F.Mk32 VB893, which, according to https://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=VB# was never completed. I can certainly find no other photos of it online.
The reason for believing it to be VB893 and not the far more photographed VB895 is on the port undercarriage door, which clearly shows the middle of a digit "3".
Next question is who is in the photo?
The supplier identified the man in the trilby hat and turned up collar as Ted Henry, a works supervisor based at Hursley House.
The man on the far left could possibly be Jeffrey Quill, but as to the others I have no idea.
Any reasonable guesses greatly received.
Many Thanks,
John