Several readers have responded to the "Hangar Headache" Lost & Found feature in our July issue. The conclusion is that the picture was taken in the Middle East, though the exact location still remains open to discussion.
Readers lan Wylie, Peter Arnold, James Scarlett and Steve Haswell all identified No 1 Sqn, South African Air Force (SAAF), as the user of the AX- code letters. Mr Haswell points out that Spitfire ZX-N is a Mk VB, and that the aircraft in the left foreground has pointed wingtips, which would make it an HF.VIII. He also notes the Spitfire bearing the number "6" beneath the wing of the rearmost Lysander, and suggests that, if the picture was taken on Malta (both 145 Sqn and 1 Sqn SAAF were based there for a time) it might be a surviving Mk V of those flown off USS Wasp, HMS Argus and HMS Eagle in 1942 to reinforce Malta's hard-pressed defenders, or a Seafire II. He believes that the upper wing surfaces of the Lysanders might be camouflaged, and points out that 6 and 208 Sqns operated the type in North Africa. Wojtek Matusiak of Warsaw, Poland, also thought that the Spitfire numbered "6" could be a "Skalski's Circus" aircraft of C Flight, 145 Sqn, on, and adds the code was in azure blue.
Mr Haswell believes that the picture could have been taken in either Tunisia or Malta. The presence of 145 Sqn Spitfire Vs, a Mk VIII and camouflaged Lysanders leads him to conclude that the location was Malta in late May or June 1943, "around the time that 145 Sqn re-equipped with Spitfire VIIIs, dependent on when the unit arrived on Malta". However, he adds that, if the Mk VIII is not significant to 145 Sgn, the presence of a single Mk VIII could date the picture to May or June 1943, before 145 Sqn's re-equipment.
Mr Scarlett points out that 1414 Met Flight, attached to AHQ East Africa, had Lysanders, an Lysanders, and adds that both 145 Sqn and 1 Sqn SAAF were part of 244 Wing, Desert Air Force. Peter Arnold feels that the hangar is not on Malta, but that it is in the Middle East, and probably in use by a Maintenance Unit.
So there we are. It would still be nice to hear from someone who was there but the chances seem slim.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1941Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VI / VII / VIII - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1942Westland Lysander - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1936

Hawker Tempest NX140 of 8 Squadron, after a forced landing in the desert owing to a glycol leak on April 12, 1948.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Hawker Tempest - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1943

Il-10 “33” on display at the China Aviation Museum.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Ильюшин Ил-10 - РоссияRussia - 1944

Ormond and T-33 "down in the valley” at Biggin Hill. This picture was sent in by reader Harold Stillwell.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Lockheed T-33A - СШАUSA - 1948