Can anyone solve the mystery (at least to me) of why the majority of the impressed Stinson Reliants which survived military service during the last war were burned at 5 MU on 23 April 1946? It appears that, after up to two years in store at Kemble, the following Reliants were put to the torch:
G-AEJI X8520 SR-8
G-AEOR HM593 SR-8
G-AEVX W7980 SR-9
G-AFBI W5791 SR-9
Were any of the non-impressed military Reliants treated in the same fashion at the same place and/or time or was it just the former civil aeroplanes that were singled out for this treatment? Furthermore why is it that the impressed SR-10s that survived the war avoided such a fate and escaped back on to the post war UK civil register? These were:
G-AFHB W7981
G-AGZV BS803
Does anyone have any ideas?
By: avion ancien - 17th February 2008 at 18:03
If they were purchase under Lend-Lease then they had to be destroyed
No, all those which were burned on 23 April 1946 were impressed aircraft which had been in private ownership on the UK civil register prior to impressment. So does anyone know why they were torched?
By: Scorpion89 - 17th February 2008 at 17:58
If they were purchase under Lend-Lease then they had to be destroyed
By: avion ancien - 17th February 2008 at 17:55
Aagh!
Firstly my apologies for writing Sentinel when I meant Reliant. Since doing so I have put my brain back in and amended my original post. Moderators, will you please change the title of the thread to ‘Burnt Stinsons’!
My original post was prompted by reading, over breakfast, Volume III of the A-B Impressments Log by Peter Moss. I didn’t do any cross referencing then but I will do so now.
It’s interesting that Jackson says that G-AEOR was scrapped at Ringway in 12.42. Moss states that it was used by Fairey Aviation until it was impressed on 31.12.42. After that it was used by No. 43 Group Communications Flight until it went to 5 MU on 12.2.44.
G-AFHB apparently ended its life being reduced to spares in Kenya in 1956. After a spell in Kenya, G-AGZV returned to the UK in 1951 before leaving those shores for New Zealand in 1954. It was destroyed by fire at Rotorua in 1957.
By: Arabella-Cox - 17th February 2008 at 14:18
Avion Acien………..
First were these a/c definitely known as Sentinels? I have had a look in A J Jackson’s “British Civil Aircraft 1919 -1972 Vol III”, they are all listed as Stinson Reliants. The only Sentinel on the UK register has been G-AKYF a Stinson L5………
G-AEOR is listed as Scrapped Ringway 12.42 .
Both G-AFHB & G-AGZV both went to Kenya as VP-KDK & KDV respectively.
Doesn’t really answer you question………..
Planemike
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February 17, 2008 at 12:17 pm