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By: - 7th October 2005 at 17:17 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
i agree it would be nice to get parts together to make another complete Wellington, would be even better seing one restored to fly! :rolleyes:
By: - 7th October 2005 at 17:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Would be very nice, not sure where it would go though, theres not many museums with either the space and/or building space for one. Personally i wouldn't mind if it went overseas, would still mean one more complete Welly
By: - 7th October 2005 at 18:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I would favour it being at East Kirby.
By: - 7th October 2005 at 18:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Ah didn't think about that, would be nice, perhaps a second T2 hangar for the Wellington and Hampden, and drag them out to be by the Lancaster before and after it does it's taxi runs :D Ahhh magic
By: - 7th October 2005 at 18:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Snag is.... ownership.
Not everyone is so agreeable, one case in point being the IWM Halifax nose, which they flatly refused point blank to let Elvington have. :mad:
Although RAFM did let the Canadians have a spare Hampden nose that did of course get used. :D
.
By: - 7th October 2005 at 19:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Cees,
Think I've mentioned this before but I would not only like to see NX611 restored to airworthy condition but would also like to see L7775 incorporated into a full rebuild, similar to R-Robert, but to taxible condition.
I appreciate that many hurdles would need to be overcome including money, ownership and prehaps most importantly, agreement from the Panton Brothers but, are these insurmountable problems?
We now have a Memorial to the Battle of Britain but still no major memorial to those that died flying in Bomber Command and with East Kirkby's location, historical links and displays, would this not make the perfect site for a 'national' Memorial to Bomber Command?
By: - 7th October 2005 at 20:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I don't think we really need another memorial - purely for the veterans to be able to see the Panton Lancaster ground running is enough for most. As for her flying - she is privately owned and very well cared for - I cannot foresee
any need for another flying Lancaster in the U.K . The operating costs for the
RAF must be substancial -however she has the best engineers and a budget
which allows for her long term future.
By: - 7th October 2005 at 20:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Re the point about seeing NX611 flying, this seems total madness East Kirby is not a suitable place to fly a Lancaster from, (Scampton would be nice lol) so the main attraction at East Kirby would be lost.
Plus NX611 makes a good income for its upkeep via taxi runs, if it was under a rebuild to fly there would be no way for the taxi runs to take place so down goes the income.
By: - 7th October 2005 at 20:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Cees,
These were taken at Brooklands on the 31st July this year.
Geoff.
By: - 7th October 2005 at 22:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
mmm nice, must go there before too long! Believe theres a walk-through Halifax fuselage at Yorkshire Air Museum too
By: - 7th October 2005 at 23:02 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I don't think we really need another memorial
I'm sure that the 50000+ crew members that died would agree...just as those that survived the BoB agreed that the 500+ pilots and all the others that served during the Battle, don't need the Memorial that was recently unveiled.
Sorry, I don't mean to appear brusque and appreciate that your statement is most likely taken out of context but I personally feel strongly about the lack of recognition (outside of the dedicated media) that Bomber Command, her crews and support personel have received since the end of WW2 and feel that they are due some sort of National recognition.
In fact, in the absence of any specific Campaign medal or clasp, surely its not just those that fell, that need the recognition of a grateful nation, but also those that survived!
In truth, I guess that the lack of interest could be said about most areas of our lives, beacuse if I have no interest in old steam trains, the museums that support these interests wouldn't get my support!
Double edged sword I guess!
As for her flying - she is privately owned and very well cared for
Absolutely, I couldn't agree more and as I said, any move to make her airworthy would depend upon agreement of her current owners
The operating costs for the RAF must be substantial -however she has the best engineers and a budget which allows for her long term future.
If there were agreement and the financial backing to support a second UK airworthy Lancaster, then again, why not?
Although, as has been mentioned in another post, the UK in general does appear to be apathetic towards the Warbird movement (to be fair, its not just Warbirds but there seems to be a general lack if interest in anything unless money can be made) so is most likely unlikely to ever happen but this doesn't mean that it might be a possibility!
Re the point about seeing NX611 flying, this seems total madness East Kirby is not a suitable place to fly a Lancaster from
Didn't seem to stop NX611 from running down the runway, tail wheel up, for that made for TV programme about 2-3 years ago, did it?
And as previously mentioned, if money and the Will were not an issue plus Agreement were obtained , why couldn't East Kirkby could be made suitable for flight?
Sorry, climbing off my soap box now.
By: - 8th October 2005 at 11:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Cees,These were taken at Brooklands on the 31st July this year.
Geoff.
Thanks Geoff,
Doesn's she look great, needs a pair of wings and a tail don't you think. If East Kirkby has a lanc, a Hampden and a Wellington, then there is a magnificent opportunity to see a living and breathing wartime RAF airfield.
Why couldn't this happen, the Bristol Bulldog now at the RAFM was rebuild by gathering all parts that had been scattered all over the UK.
Mmmm
Cees
By: - 8th October 2005 at 11:59 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
If East Kirkby has a lanc, a Hampden and a Wellington, then there is a magnificent opportunity to see a living and breathing wartime RAF airfield.
Cees, why stop there?
Given the right circumstances, why not relocate W1048 from Hendon to East Kirkby and have her properly restored then there would be two Heavies, a Medium and Light Medium Bomber on one semi active base!
Wow, did I just say something positive about a Halifax, i must be loosing my touch ;)
Still as we all know, it will never happen but without dreams....
By: - 8th October 2005 at 12:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
mmm nice, must go there before too long! Believe theres a walk-through Halifax fuselage at Yorkshire Air Museum too
I took these about 2 years ago
If the images aren't visible, they can be found on my Webshots site (see below), follow the link to Yorkshire Air Museum 2003.
By: - 9th October 2005 at 01:12 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Nice idea to recreate a third Wellington. However are the wings at East Kirby complete? I got the impression they were from the engines to tip.
Roger Smith.
By: - 9th October 2005 at 11:29 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I am personally not a great fan of memorials. Look around London and you will see plenty of memorials to various campaigns and people. My 'memorial's' are the run down buildings at Bardney - the former tower at Coleby Grange and the wealth of other buildings that are slowly returning to nature. Certainly we cannot preserve every fragment of our old airfields but I think the flavour of Bomber Command is firmly encapsulated in the fields of Eastern England and not on the banks of the River Thames. By all means raise money for some kind of rememberance - however be visionary and create something of meaning . For instance Canada is leading the way with their stunning rebuild of the Halifax - it's time for the U.K to start seriously looking for a Stirling or Whitley underwater that is rebuildable.
By: - 10th October 2005 at 06:35 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I was at Both Brooklands and East K last year and this thought occured to me then - why not join up all the dots and create a third Wellington - would be great - I think most of the airframe could be found and the Brooklands crew have all the techniques for the parts which couldn't be located .
Very good idea I think
John P
By: - 10th October 2005 at 13:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Nice idea to recreate a third Wellington. However are the wings at East Kirby complete? I got the impression they were from the engines to tip.Roger Smith.
Not too sure on how complete they are but both port and starboard wings, complete with the fuel tanks are on show, what I assume to be a small piece of the upper fuselage plus an engine nacelle and from memory, a wrecked engine.
If the images aren't visible, following the link East Kirkby 2004 (2)
All seem to be in remarkably good condition.
By: - 10th October 2005 at 15:20 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Wellington bomber
Cees
I like the idea of a taxiable wellington rather than an airworthy one. Based at East Kirkby it would look awesome!
By: - 10th October 2005 at 19:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
O.K we've sorted out a wimpy. What about other rare or eaven extict aircraft?. I think that the best candidate for a "Bitsa" restoration must be the Bristol Brigand. There is a substantialy compleate fuselage in existance (at the N.E.A.M. I think) Are there any crash sites that could have a set of wings and the tail feathers?. The engines are sort of available. What do you think?
There is a group at Dowtys building various Bolton Paul aircraft in the same way and I seem to remember seeing a Hurricane restoration using "time ex" and damaged bits too.
Rgds Cking
Posts: 1,353
By: HP57 - 7th October 2005 at 17:05
Hi all,
There are a lot of airframe sections of historic aircraft around in the UK, being on display in museums or in storage gathering dust or corroding away outdoors.
If you take for example the Wellington, there are two complete examples on display at Hendon and Brooklands. But there is an opportunity to build a third. Brooklands has half a Wellington fuselage on display next to R-for Robert (does anyone have a good pic of this exhibit, not meaning R-Robert), there is a tail section on display at Moreton-in-the-Marsh as well as a tail section on display at Sola, Norway and a complete pair of wings is on display at East Kirkby. Oh and I forget the Mk IV remains recentely recovered (any news on that one?)
Now I know that it will never happend but if you put two and two together you end up with a third Wellington. The current situation is a bit of a shame (looking through pink glasses, I know)
But wouldn't you agree?
Cheers
Cees
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