Xtended

In this episode we take you behind the scenes of one of the Fleet Air Arm Museum’s most important restoration projects - the return of Fairey Barracuda DP872.
During a special visit to the museum, Pieter teams up with Dave Homewood from the Wings Over New Zealand podcast to explore the latest progress on the aircraft, which remains the world’s only surviving Barracuda.
Joining us are Dave Morris and Will Gibbs from the Fleet Air Arm Museum restoration team, who share an update on the work taking place inside the workshop.
From engineering challenges and original parts recovery to the stories hidden within the aircraft itself, the conversation offers a fascinating insight into what it takes to bring DP872 back to life.
Contact Us: GetInvolved@aviation-Xtended.co.uk 
Links
Fleet Air Arm Museum - the home of the Barracuda DP872 restoration project. https://www.royalnavymuseums.org.uk/visit-us/fleet-air-arm-museum 

Fleet Air Arm Museum on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FAAMuseum/ 

Fairey Barracuda DP872 Rebuild on Facebook - Project page for restoration progress and behind-the-scenes updates. https://www.facebook.com/FaireyBarracudaDP872Rebuild/ 

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Buy our audio or ebook - Constant Endeavour – RAF Coastal Command: The aircraft, operations and aircrews of an overlooked RAF Command – from the Second World War to the Cold War https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H2WDLS9Z/ 
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Jonathan “Jonny” McNee BEM is an aviation historian and military aviation archaeologist from Northern Ireland whose work has literally brought lost Second World War aircraft (and their stories) back into the light.
Drawing on years of research and licensed excavations, he has helped uncover wartime aircraft that came down over Northern Ireland and along the Irish border.
His aviation work is voluntary and fits around a demanding day job as a Senior Marine Officer.
 In this episode, we talk with Jonny about what aviationarchaeology looks like. He explains how licensed digs are planned and carried out, the care that must go into preserving recovered artefacts to museum standards.
We explore some of his best‑known projects, including the “Donegal” and “Monaghan” Spitfires and his work on a Coastal Command Bristol Beaufort.
 We also talk about the Fairey Barracuda DP872 restoration in the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Jonny’s role in the project and how this whole aviation circle is always connected amongst us all (somehow)!

Contact Us: GetInvolved@aviation-Xtended.co.uk
 
Please leave us a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your podcast playing app. Aviation Xtended Partners
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You can shop through this Amazon link (No cost to you but a small benefit to us:
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In this episode Pieter steps away from our usual format to introduce Constant Endeavour – RAF Coastal Command, the first ebook and audiobook to emerge from the podcast.
He reflects on why the team has been quieter on the main feed, and how turning episodic content into a complete story offers a different way to explore the air war at sea.
He also explains how the long-running Coastal Command series developed into a full narrative, drawing on years of conversations with historians, authors, and researchers who followed Coastal Command from the Battle of the Atlantic through the Cold War.
This short update shares what the project has meant: keeping Coastal Command stories alive, working with a wide range of contributors and turning detailed research into something people can enjoy listening to.
It also includes a 3½‑minute clip from the audiobook introduction, so you can hear the tone and scope of Constant Endeavour and how it grew directly out of Aviation Xtended.
The audiobook is completely reengineered and edited to suit an audio book listen
The ebook is a standalone read (not a transcript) but a full account of each episode in Pieter’s own words
Audio Book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Constant-Endeavour-Operations-Overlooked-Command/dp/B0H51CK479/
E Book LINK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Constant-Endeavour-Operations-Overlooked-Command/dp/B0H51CK479/
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Contact Us: ⁠GetInvolved@aviation-Xtended.co.uk⁠ 
Xtended Link Tree https://linktr.ee/aviationxtended
Contact Xtended: GetInvolved@aviation-Xtended.co.uk
Also from XTPMedia – The Partnership Edge Podcast https://xtpmedia.co.uk/podcast/
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Aviation Xtended Partners
Royal Aeronautical Society 
Global Aviation Resource 
XTPMedia 
Ellie Carter 
Show Supporters 
The Aviation Historian http://www.theaviationhistorian.com/ 
Aviation Enthusiasts Book Club https://www.facebook.com/groups/359410134220076 
 Xtended Podcast family 
AeroSociety https://www.aerosociety.com/events/catch-up-on-events/video-audio-archive/  
AirplaneGeeks http://www.airplanegeeks.com/  
PCDU https://www.planecrazydownunder.com/  
Wings Over New Zealand Show http://cambridgeairforce.org.nz/WONZ_Show.html 
You can shop through this Amazon link (No cost to you but a small benefit to us):
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/?tag=xtenaeroradi-21&linkCode=ur1

In this episode of Aviation Xtended, host Pieter Johnson is joined by Bob Davy and Keith Wilson, authors of 'Warbirds to Workhorses'.
Together, they explore aviation beyond the headlines, following the journey of the book from iconic warbirds to the quieter, often overlooked aircraft that shape everyday flying.
The conversation looks at judgement, workload, and the human realities of operating and photographing aircraft across very different eras.
Rather than chasing heroics, Bob and Keith reflect on what these aeroplanes really teach you once the romance fades and why honest storytelling matters in aviation today.
For full notes and links please visit:
https://aviation-xtended.co.uk/

The Xtended team welcomes back historian and author Jane Gulliford Lowes to discuss her latest book, The Invisible Campaign: Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940–1945, with host Pieter Johnson.
Drawing on Air Ministry and Admiralty archives, squadron records and veteran testimony, Jane reveals how RAF Bomber Command’s aerial minelaying campaign (codenamed“gardening”) quietly sank or damaged hundreds of Axis ships and in fact destroyed more tonnage of enemy shipping than direct air attack. Yet it remains one of the least understood aspects of the air war.​
In this episode, Pieter and Jane explore why mining operations were developed from 1940 onwards, how Bomber Command integrated them into its wider strategy, and the evolving technology, aircraft and tactics used to plant“vegetables” from Hampden, Wellington, Stirling, Manchester, Lancaster and Halifax, in some of the most heavily defended waters in Europe.
They look at the human experience of low‑level, night‑time sorties over ports, estuaries and sea lanes from Norway tothe Bay of Biscay and deep into the Baltic, the real risk and loss rates behind the so‑called “milk run”, and why manyskilled specialist crews received little recognition during or after the war.
Jane also reassesses Arthur Harris’s view of minelaying, thesometimes tense relationship between Bomber Command and Coastal Command over anti‑shipping roles, and what this “invisible” campaign tells us about how we remember Bomber Command’s legacy today.
If you are interested in RAF history, maritime warfare or under‑told stories of the Second World War in the air, this conversation will change how you think about Bomber Command and the power of aerial mining.
For full show notes, links and images, please visit:
https://aviation-xtended.co.uk/