G-ADGT was born at the
de Havilland Hatfield facility in May 1935 with the constructor's
number 3338. First registered to Brooklands Aviation Limited on
May 23 1935 as G-ADGT. She was part of the initial batch of 12
aircraft used to establish the company's Sywell, Northampton base
training RAF aircrews under contract.G-ADGT was impressed into the
RAF, assuming the serial number BB697 on the 17 September 1940.
She carried on her duties training 'Battle of Britain' pilots at
Sywell, as a member of No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School
(EFTS).On July 15 1942, G-ADGT was moved to take up a role at the
newly established No. 26 EFTS, RAF Theale.
From 1944 she operated
alongside gliders as No. 128 Gliding School began operating from
Theale that year. With the end of hostilities, 'GT was flown to
No. 12 Maintenance Unit, Kirkbride, for storage but on October 17
1945 she joined the strength of 652 AOP Squadron in Germany,
Initially at Hoya then Celie.The Air Observation Platform
Squadrons worked in liaison with the Royal Artillery for spotting
purposes. In May 1946 'GT was transferred to No. 151 Repair Unit,
flying out a year later, on May 5 1947, to No. 5 Maintenance Unit
at RAF Kemble for disposal. Acquired by the Laygold Company on
August 27 1947, then after a rest her civilian flying career
recommenced with her acquisition by Hants & Sussex Aviation Ltd in
1957. Once brought up to flying condition G-ADGT was restored to
the civilian register with her original registration, G-ADGT, on
April 29.
Always a working
aeroplane, G-ADGT was sold to a new company, Crop Culture (Aerial)
Limited in mid 1957. Fitted with spray gear, G-ADGT again went
overseas, this time as a passenger inside a Bristol Freighter, to
the Sudan in August 1957.Her time at Crop Culture, meant G-ADGT
played a small part in another British aviation story. The crop
spraying venture was registered in Bembridge, Isle-of-Wight, to Mr
John Britten and Mr Desmond Norman. The business was to raise
working capital to fund their aircraft design,resulting in the
Britten-Norman BN2 Islander flying in 1965. The Islander is still
in production today and is the most successful British aircraft.
As an interesting aside, Britten and Norman first met at
aeronautical college in Hatfield, beside the de Havilland factory,
the birthplace of G-ADGT.G-ADGT continued with Crop Culture until
being sold once again to Westwick Distributers Limited of Foulsham
in Norfolk in September 1961. There she carried on her duties as a
crop spraying aircraft across the Norfolk plains until 1967.
There follows a period
of rest, prior to being purchased by David and Molly Wood in
September 1974. The Woods have a long history of Tiger Moth
restoration and care, so G-ADGT could not have found herself in
better hands and remained part of the Wood family for 28 years
based at Laddingford in Kent. As a tribute to the RFC pilots of
WW1, David Wood decided to paint G-ADGT in the scheme of the early
years of the Great War.Now that G-ADGT has joined the Delta
Aviation team, and owned by Mike and Kate Dalton and Jillian and
Howard Franks, she is once again employed in her original role as
an elementary training aircraft by providing trial instructional
flights. Still working at the venerable age of 67, G-ADGT is the
fourth oldest DH82a still flying out of some 8,000 originally
built.
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