Gang-gang has been deluged with phone calls and emails from readers keen to point out that the ''Bluey'' Truscott Spitfire we reported upon in last Monday's edition now holds pride of place in the World War II gallery at the Australian War Memorial.
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Aviation aficionados will recall that Gang-gang had stumbled across an article on page one of the January 7, 1944, Army News, stating that Truscott's Spitfire, believed to have been paid for by donations from red-headed Britons, had been obtained as a museum piece for Australia.
The article quoted the minister for air, Mr Drakeford, as saying the machine, a Mk II, was ''still in action and a part of the equipment of the famous 452 Squadron, the first RAAF squadron formed in Britain''.
Like many a politician, Mr Drakeford regarded the truth as a very flexible instrument.
Heaven help any Spitfire pilot who went into battle against the Luftwaffe in 1944 in a Mk IIa. It was the machinegun-only variant and lacked the cannons of the Mk IIb.
The early Spitfires, while deadly and ultra competitive in their day, proved inadequate to cope with what became known as ''the Focke Wulf 190 scourge'' and the type underwent a program of continuous development.
It was the strength and flexibility of the original airframe and the ability of the Merlin V12 engine to be continuously upgraded, both in output and reliability, that made the Spitfire so long lived.
Unlike the Hurricane, which was replaced with all new types, the Spitfire could be upgraded. The last planes were built in 1948, the same year the first Holden came off the production line.
By the time the Brits had agreed to give the Truscott machine to Australia for display purposes, its combat days were long past.
It had been upgraded to Mk V specification, which increased power from 1175 horsepower (881kw) to 1440 horsepower (1080kw) and top speed from 355mph (568km/h) to 369mph (590.4km/h).
At the time of the gift the plane was in service with the Central Gunnery School and had flown 24 operations in its training role.
P7973 still bears the RH designation of the school and is one of the very few Spitfires still in their original WWII livery.
Truscott had flown it on ''Circus 68'', the bomber escort mission over France in August 1941 in which Douglas Bader was shot down and captured.
It was also one of the planes in which he shot down 16 enemy aircraft while stationed in Europe.
The plane was stored at RAAF Fairbairn after the war and went on display at the AWM in 1950.
Truscott, as we reported last Tuesday, died in a training accident in March 1943 after returning to Australia to fight the Japanese.
Canberra cadet twins to hit the big time
In other news of matters military, Canberra's Fiona McCready is as pleased as punch that her twin sons, Joe and Alex, have been selected as part of the Australian contingent that will be helping New Zealand celebrate the 150th anniversary of its cadets later this month.
The boys (Alex is older by about a minute) are members of the Harman-based Cadet Unit 224.
They are among 60 Australian cadets who will fly to New Zealand from RAAF Base Richmond on 24 January in a C-130J Hercules.
The contingent consists of about 20 air force cadets, 10 navy cadets, 30 army cadets, and 10 adult cadet staff members.
