March 16, 2004 at 9:06 pm
Hello everyone
I usually hang out on the historic forum, but have a question I hope someone here might be able to answer.
I am trying to find out about the ‘Gloster Flying Club’ – apparently they bought an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley in 1947. This is news to us Whitley historians as current dogma says the last Whitley was scrapped in 1947.
Any info about the club – of which I can find nothing on the web – or the Whitley they bought will be greatly appreciated.
By: Whitley_Project - 18th March 2004 at 09:59
Re: Gloster Flying Club
Originally posted by Malcolm Payne
I was a member of the Gloucester Flying Club from 1946 to ,I think, 1948 when the Secretary, a self-styled Group Captain Andrews, was imprisoned for fraud. I was also an apprentice at Gloster’s and we did not have a works flying club. I am sorry, but I think the Whitley story may be apocryphal.
Hello Malcolm
Thank you very much for that information. I will see if I can get a copy of the aircrafts form 78 and actually see what it says.
By: Malcolm Payne - 17th March 2004 at 17:55
Gloster Flying Club
I was a member of the Gloucester Flying Club from 1946 to ,I think, 1948 when the Secretary, a self-styled Group Captain Andrews, was imprisoned for fraud. I was also an apprentice at Gloster’s and we did not have a works flying club. I am sorry, but I think the Whitley story may be apocryphal.
By: Whitley_Project - 17th March 2004 at 09:57
To the best of my knowledge, Gloster had nothing to do with Whitleys ever – i would have thought it more likely that some rather sentimental soul in the club had some wartime experience with the Whitley and decided by buy one for old times sake.
Anyhow, I am pretty sure that it only acted as a stay of execution for the poor old Whitley!
Still, if anyone knows anything i’ll be glad to hear from them
By: Dave Homewood - 17th March 2004 at 06:14
That is interesting. Out of interest, did Gloster have a connection with the Whitley, ie did they license build Whitley’s at all? I know they built loads of other aircraft for other manufacturers.
How did you find out about this? Just a thought, but I don’t suppse it was meant to be Gloucester, the city, rather than Gloster the company.