Old Warden airfield 22nd May Chipmunk meet

[Starman]

While the great and good were lapping up the Spanish Sun at Zaragoza, a group of top gens (and your scribe) were sallying forth to deepest Olde Englande for the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the DHC-1 Chipmunk. Tempted to turn the car round and follow the stream of Aston Martins to their owners club event, nevertheless we pushed on and were rewarded with almost 50 of the beasties, including a very impressive "70" formation


Unfortunately typical Dutch spring weather kept the "Piet Lima Oscar" away (I'll take that loop next year) but otherwise, a good day out.

I have presented the log in a sanitized manner, some of the Chippies only carried their mil serial, others are more "civilianized", but it's simpler this way:

WB565 GPVET
WB619 GAPYG
WB654 GBXGO
WB703 GARMC
WB756 GAOJR
WD286 GBBND
WD319 OY-ATF
WD327 GATVF "Super Chip"

WG308 GBYHL
WG321 GDHCC
WG407 GBWMX
WG465 GBCEY
WG474 GBCSL
WK514 GBBMU
WK520 ("1377") GBARS
WK522 GBCOU

WK548 GBBMZ
WK549 GBTWF
WK577 GBCYM
WK585 GBZGA
WK586 GBXGX
WK611 GARWB
WK630 GBXDG
WK634 (BRNC/902) GCIGE
WP800 GBCXN

WP803 GHAPY
WP809 GBVTX
WP831 GBBMT
WP870 G-BCOI
WP896 GBWVY
WP901 GBWNT
WP903 GBCGC - apparently the actual a/c in which HRH Prince Charles learned to fly

WP925 GBXHA
WP964 really still military?
WP971 GATHD
WP973 GCCPU
WZ847 GCPMK
WZ879 GBWUT

P-123 ex-RDAF SE-XKU
P-129 ex-RDAF OY-ATO
P-139 ex-RDAF OY-AVF

1350 ex-FAP GCGAO
1365 ex-FAP GDHPM
1367 ex-FAP GUANO
1373 ex-FAP GCBJG

Also present were G-AKDN, GALWB (ex-Lebanese AF ntu) & G-AMUF for which I can find no military history.
Mil visitors were XX513 and XX629 (ex RAF Bulldogs) with ex RHKAAF example HKG-5 (camera ship for the formation, called in at the Kodak lab on approach to develop the films, really G-BULL) and ZA634 Venture. Partial restoration project Chipmunk WB560 was also present (along with a Shuttleworth Collection Chipmunk in their restoration hangar).