A friend took the attached shot in April 1998 in the John Dowly Scrap Yard at Battlefield, located on the A49 North of Shrewsbury in Shropshire. It had by then been in the yard for many years. It depicts a freight pannier reputed to be off a Handley Page Halton. (civilian Halifax). He would like to know – is the pannier still there and if so wouldn’t it be of interest to those interested in preserving things Handley Page?
By: richw_82 - 16th August 2017 at 17:46
Bumped – David, I’ve sent you a message regarding the pannier but have had no response. If it still urgently requires it, I’m willing to give the pannier a home and have space and transport available.
Regards
Rich
By: Flying_Pencil - 15th August 2017 at 17:48
Last of its kind is still the last of its kind.
Once gone all the details that made it and the effort to build it are gone.
Although only a portion, that is still well worth preserving (where to display is another challenge)
By: richw_82 - 15th August 2017 at 12:17
Pm sent. I’m a big fan of the Halton, and would like to help if possible.
By: Piston - 15th August 2017 at 12:15
But then it’d just be stored in a garage. I’m perhaps just being cynical, but I fail to see the value or worth of this item, other than it’s scrap value.
By: Paul - 15th August 2017 at 11:22
I believe that what was salvagable from the scrap yard pannier was retreved by the archivist for the Eagle Group of Companies in 2014. (I thought there was a thread on here about it but can’t find the link). I think they salvaged the two frames for hoisting the panniers into the aircraft. Also one loading side door. The rest was a wooden frame skinned with Aluminium so was too far gone to be saved.
Personally I think it is such a shame that these relics are left to rot. If it were Lancaster of Spitfire relics folk would be calmmering to save them….. The role of the civil Halibags in the Berlin airlift is legendary but its only the likes of us with specialist interest that seem to understand this… Pity I don’t have a huge garage and deep pockets!
By: Moggy C - 15th August 2017 at 08:44
Picture just added
Moggy
Moderator
By: markb - 14th August 2017 at 22:38
Would it be worth another approach to Yorkshire Air Museum, this time with some more details and some photos? It would make the most sense to display it with their Halifax.
By: David Thompson - 14th August 2017 at 22:26
2008 Zombie thread – Halton pannier requires new home ASAP
The Halton pannier was mentioned in Post#7 , 17 January 2008 ;
“spoke to Ian Foster about it on the phone (Elliott and Phil, he says hi!) last evening and he confirmed that this is not the relic he found. That one was in bad partial condition and is in storage in Yorkshire.”
The pannier has been in storage in Yorkshire since 2008 and in that time has had no preservation work done to it and it’s condition continues to deteriorate . It now needs to find a new home ASAP and help can be given to lift it and possibly transport it a short distance if required but it needs to move on to a new home for active restoration and preservation before it is too late . If anyone or any organisation can offer the pannier a good home please PM me in the first instance with your details and plans for it’s future use .
Thank you
[ATTACH=CONFIG]255310[/ATTACH]
By: Adrian Barrell - 3rd December 2013 at 15:20
Well if it does survive and was used for dropping Jeeps and Guns, has one considered approaching the Tank Museum at Bovington, when I was there this year, they have a few remaining parts of a Hamilcar glider set up to show how a Valentine tank was transported. I am trying to think out of the box, but maybe if it survives they would be interested.
Valentine! That would be a bit heavy….. 😉 The Hamilcar has a Tetrarch inside it as intended.
By: nostalgair2 - 3rd December 2013 at 14:15
No its the wrong kind of pannier for jeeps/tanks etc, despite the heading photo which makes it look huge, its really only about four feet deep and i would say five feet across, its purely for freight and has an alloy skin and and ply lining, the frame work is a very nicely constructed alloy frame with ply sandwich.
By: TonyT - 3rd December 2013 at 11:58
Well if it does survive and was used for dropping Jeeps and Guns, has one considered approaching the Tank Museum at Bovington, when I was there this year, they have a few remaining parts of a Hamilcar glider set up to show how a Valentine tank was transported. I am trying to think out of the box, but maybe if it survives they would be interested.
By: Arabella-Cox - 2nd December 2013 at 16:21
Also cars were carried that way (and jeeps with fieldartillery).
The airdrop of Jeeps and guns didn’t use any additional fairings. But at least on the Halifax it was semi-recessed, when the same system was used on the Hastings it was fully out in the open. This is why the pannier was developed into the Paratechnicon which allowed the carriage and parachute drop of the Jeeps and guns in a(slightly) less draggy arrangement.
By: Paul - 2nd December 2013 at 15:50
That Spitfire fuselage was a one off transport by Halifax, only some crude protection against the airflow.
Also cars were carried that way (and jeeps with fieldartillery).
Versatile she was, pity they cut up the last complete Halifax in 1973 in Argentina.
Cees
Ah ha, that explains it. The bomb-doors in the background did look Hali.
As to the last Halifax I read in the Aeroplane mag years and years ago that another Halifax airframe or part of one was on an RAF field looked after by some ATC till the Station commander chucked out the bits…. I wish I could remember which date it was.
By: CeBro - 2nd December 2013 at 15:33
That Spitfire fuselage was a one off transport by Halifax, only some crude protection against the airflow.
Also cars were carried that way (and jeeps with fieldartillery).
Versatile she was, pity they cut up the last complete Halifax in 1973 in Argentina.
Cees
By: ericmunk - 2nd December 2013 at 15:26
And I wonder if the pannier still languishes in the scrapyard! Now if it had been from a Lanc it would have been preserved for the nation years ago!
If it were from a Lancaster it would probably have been put stored out in the open together with an Avro Lincoln… 😀
By: Paul - 2nd December 2013 at 15:13
And I wonder if the pannier still languishes in the scrapyard! Now if it had been from a Lanc it would have been preserved for the nation years ago!
By: ericmunk - 2nd December 2013 at 14:22
Thanks very much for those pics, the top photo definatel;y isnt a halifax pannier as the internal structure is totally different, judging by the bottom photo you can just make out the thunderbirds style cables/wires that hoist it back into position, which stll makes me wonder why it has fore and aft hatches?
These would seem handy to the crew for inspecting and securing the cargo without taking out the whole pannier every time.
By: mantog - 2nd December 2013 at 14:22
Cool photos! Crying out to be replicated in a 1:72 scale diorama!
By: nostalgair2 - 2nd December 2013 at 14:04
Thanks very much for those pics, the top photo definatel;y isnt a halifax pannier as the internal structure is totally different, judging by the bottom photo you can just make out the thunderbirds style cables/wires that hoist it back into position, which stll makes me wonder why it has fore and aft hatches?
By: Paul - 2nd December 2013 at 13:47
This is supposed to be a Halifax panier in situ. (But I am doubtful)
These photos show the loading a two ton Liberty ship rudder pin into the freight pannier
And pannier on the ground again…. Apologies that I cannot credit the owners of the pictures.
Many of the Berlin airlift Halifaxes were converted to tankers so would the pannier would stay in place
Sign In
January 16, 2008 at 6:56 pm