Avro Tudors @ STN 1958 ish

STN or SEN: both

SEN, 3/4/58: G-AGRI,GRZ,IYA,JKC, and 91 Prentii in the middle (over the hedge up North: 38 Harvards, heaped).
STN, 14/4/61: G-AGRY,HNO, and 130 Prentii, heaped, burning on site of present Terminal; 5 Skyways Yorks enscrapping.

Hi Alan
As Iv’e said before I worked for Aviation Traders in hanger 1 from 1959 until 1961 as an electrical fitter on the Britannias, Tudors, and DC4s.

I would like a sight of those photos, Privately if you like, to see if I can identify any old fellow workers for Freddie Laker.

PaddyR (John)

Reference Hangar 1 at Stansted there are some pictures of it on the Carvair site that I sent in. I worked there in the early 60s its been a long time since I have been back that way so I’m not sure if any of it is still around.
regards Alan

I have a few photos of the guys I used to work with and so on

Yes pic 3 is the sole Tudor 8 VX195, being a straight Tudor I (G-AGST) conversion it was a tail dragger compared to the Ashtons tricycle layout.

Tudor 8

Keith
[HTML]I think photo # 3 is the Tudor 8 [/HTML]

Many thanks for the correction – I will annotate the photo accordingly

Brian, I am sure it must have been Stansted (please note spelling), as the mixture of Tudors and Prentices surely could not have happened elsewhere ? or could it ?

very small photo below may help jog your memory ! Keith.

Hi, in the mid 50’s, I went to southend as I remember it – but it could have been stanstead and took photos of the Prentices that had been dumped in the middle of the field plus the remains of the Tudors in the back of the field. I have got one showing G-AKCO complete, the tails of GRJ & GRX (with roundels and fin flash!) and one complete tudor in the colours of LOME AIRWAYS LIMITED – never came across that name before – there may be 1 or 2 more when I sort out the negs, but this is a long term job!!. I seem to remember that BSAA had a fair qty, also Neville Shute’s book/film ‘No Highway’ was based around the Tudor. Have not learnt yet to deal with photos or negs so cannot at present put them on display.

Cheers Brian

Supurb photos, thank you for sharing, I think photo # 3 is the Tudor 8 ?
see link below …

http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Visschedijk/6363.htm

Keith.

I think one of your Ashton shots is the TUdor

Ashtons & Tudors

Here are a couple of Tudor shots, picture 1 includes a Lancaster and Lincoln, and 3 Ashton shots of 3 different variants that clearly show the Tudor origin. All were given to me by Roly Falk, who was a family friend, in the early 60s

Found this while having a clear out of old books.

Even more detail ! It’s amazing what we all carry in the depths of memory ? I think Freddie Laker was a “bit of a lad” Often wondered what sort of airline would have sprung up if he and a certain T. D .Keegan were in cahoots at that time ? Early british civil aviation would’t have been so interesting without these characters ! HP81, I was not doubting your previous last flight details, guess as a positioning flight it would not be as well recorded. Must have been the “last move” of the very lucrative MOD cargo flights ?
The thoughts on Russian radar etc are interesting, thank you.
Are there still people at STN who remember these days……… spooky ! Keith.

I have spoken to a few people who worked for ATEL/Air Charter at that time & there seems to have been a strongly held view that the aircraft was deliberately lead of course by a Russian transmitter, due to its sensitive cargo.
Duncan you are correct, the pressurisation system was removed from the Air Charter Tudors, although Laker wanted to use them on trooping flights & managed to get a passenger certificate for the Tudor no such contract was ever awarded. In the end he bought DC4 & Britannia aircraft for this work.

Years ago I read a biography of Freddie Laker. If I remember correctly it said that the main problems with the Tudor lay with its pressurisation system, So Laker bought them, removed the pressurisation system and used them for troop transport. Presumably members of HM forces could be expected to tolerate conditions that paying passengers wouldn’t.

But my memory often plays false these days.

I had this posted on my RAF Forum re The ‘Hot Potato’ crash in Turkey, I have had a few PMs on this subject and thought that this might interest some of you, the thirty year rule is long gone, so anything goes, fill yer boots!

Avro Tudor crash 1959
——————————————————————————–

The Avro Tudor was on charter from Air Charters Ltd of London and en-route to Australia carrying secret equipment for Woomera.. It went missing on the Ankara to Bahrain section on April 25th.
An intensive search was initiated using Hastings of 70 Sqdn from Nicosia, Shackletons from Akrotiri, Bahrain and Luqa. The wreckage was spotted from a Hastings piloted by F/O George Noble on April 29th on a mountain north of Lake Van, Suphan Dagi(Mount Suphan). The wreck was at 13,00ft roughly 200 feet below the summit.
The Cyprus MR Team were sent to Turkey and managed to reach the crash site and using explosives dropped from a hastings they set charges and destroyed the wreckage.

For more information read “WHENSOEVER’ 50 Years of the RAF Mountain Rescue Service 1943-1993 by Frank Card. ISBN 0 948153 23 7
available from Frank Card, 25, Heycroft Drive, Cressing, Braintree, Essex CM7 8JN

Thanks Keith. Yes, that’s a fine photo of Tudor IVB G-AGRF and one we used in “Fly with the Stars”. It’s quite rare to see photos of that particular aircraft with that combination of markings as I believe it was only painted like that for a few months, in early 1949.

I’m always keen to see photos of Tudors. It’s an aircraft I’d love to have seen ‘in the flesh’ in spite of the ungainly fin and rudder, but as you confirmed above, the last flight was in 1959, the year before I was born!
Kind regards,
Ian

Answers to questions raised. BSAA1947, thank you for your reply, I really have no idea of this persons name ? IIRC at that time I was 10 ish and would think he was in his early twentys, which of course would make him in the early seventys now ? Two things keep coming to mind, firstly I think he may have used specs, and secondly, for some reason, I think he was from Cambridge and rode a vespa scooter ? Today I have found another tudor pic, the origin of which, I also have no idea ! I really wish now that my pocket money from those days was spent on a camera ! most of this is from my memories and they are defragmenting rapidly !
HP81. Thank you too for your input, most appreciated. The side of STN where skyways, aviation traders, etc were in those days resembled a scrap yard ! but they still kept a few flying somehow ? According to my “bible” “British Independant Airlines since 1946” the last tudor flight was from Lisbon to Stansted, G-AHNL touched down @ 14..41 on 16 June 1959 flown by Captain Alfred of Air Charter ! The hangar which I now know is H4 was one of the busiest in the late 50’s and early 60’s, being used by Air Charters 2 brittanias on trooping flights, then when they became merged into British United Airways brittanias from Hunting Clan often appeared as well.
Oh dear I could talk for hours about this, but must do some work soon. Once again thanks to all for your help. Keith.

BSAA1947. I imagine you have seen this in the past ?

Thanks for the map Keith, that’s very helpful. The area you have marked as Aviation Traders is where H1 stood, it’s now under the Zulu cul-de-sac. The hangar you have marked as H1 is actually H4, it was also used by Traders & is still standing today.
Great pictures & memories, keep them coming. 🙂

Hi Keith,
Would that older spotter have been Brian Stainer by any chance? I bought that same photo from Brian a few years along with one or two others taken at the same time, such as the one below ……

Sorry that I should come back so soon, but I have just read, and reread the post, earlier, by alertken, and yes I think I agree with your drift kind sir ! you are obviously in touch with the political side of things so much more than I. Keith.