New Client BBC Studios
This Month we officially welcome a new client to AmbientLife, BBC studios and UKTV contacted commercial photographer Tim Wallace earlier in 2019 to discuss working together on a major aviation based project that they has commenced filming. The company is currently in the process of filming a 7 part series 'Warbird' that is based around 7 key legendary vintage aircraft. Tim was asked to work with the team to produce all the stills photography for the series and work commenced this week with the lead aircraft for the entire series, Spitfire MJ772 in London.
This is the first of 7 shoots that Tim has been commissioned by UKTV to complete and this infamous Spitfire aircraft will be the lead one of promoting the entire series as a whole. All of the stills photography that Tim created was shot on location at the Biggin Hill airfield in London. We had a very early start at 3am to get the first light and it was a pleasure to work with the team to get some really dramatic imagery from the shoot that will be used within the series and its marketing as well as TV EPG placements etc.
THE STORY OF MJ772
D-Day Veteran
Spitfire T.9 MJ772. Built at Castle Bromwich in late 1943 it was delivered to No. 341 (Alsace) Squadron of the Free French Air Force then based at RAF Perranporth, Cornwall on January 20, 1944.( With the squadron moving to RAF Merston on April 17, 1944 in preparation for D Day, MJ772 with pilot Sergeant Habib flew a sortie on June 6 over the landing beaches of Normandy. He reported chasing a FW190 which eventually disappeared into cloud after which he landed safely. On June 18 772 suffered Cat Ac FB (Operational Loss) damage which was repaired by June 22 when it was allocated to No. 340 (Ile-de-France) Squadron based at the Advanced Landing Ground at Funtingdon in Sussex. Given the code GW-A it then flew two further sorties over the beaches flown by Sergeant Trouillet.
In July 1950 MJ772 was sold back to Vickers for conversion to a two-seat trainer for the Irish Air Corp after which it arrived at the Irish base of Baldonnel in 1951. Carrying the number 159, it served with ‘A’ Flight Fighter Squadron until withdrawn from use in 1960 when it was sold to Film Aviation Services Ltd. March 1964 it was sold and moved to Ostend till 1965 when it was sold to Simpson Aero Services Ltd registered as G-AVAV and first test flown in 1967.
Used in the Battle of Britain film it again suffered damage and was repaired at Duxford. Simpson Aero then sold it and it was taken to Shoreham and re-painted in the colours of 341 Squadron. It then moved to America 1974, suffered another forced landing and was rebuilt at Mesa finally flying again in October 1985, Registered in Germany as D-FMKN it suffered a wheels-up landing in a field at Woodchurch in Kent and was then rehomed at the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar where it underwent a full restoration to flying condition and now operates as part of the fleet offering 2 seater Spitfire flights.
