Bawdsey Ferry – Pre WW2 Flying Boat Hulls

Accompanying text for the early Atalanta photo

A very early photo of the Atalanta at Felixstowe Ferry, prior to full conversion to a houseboat.

Dear all, please find attached a summary of some of my research, in simple PDF form.

I would be extremely keen to hear direct from anyone with memories of the flyingboats, including ‘NEEMA’ ‘Tartle’ and ‘25deg south’, and Avion ancien of course (thanks for creating this thread in the first place!). 
 

My contact email is on the PDF. I would be delighted if anyone else would email with any hitherto unpublished photos, artefacts of memories. I’ll post some of my more decent photos here as well. 

It’s good to see this thread being revived more than fourteen years after its inception. I don’t think that I can add anything to your research, Philip.B, but if you think otherwise, if you’ll post to that effect here, I’ll contact you via the hyperlink in the East Anglian Daily Times article.

Thanks for the info dhfan – obviously the pm link just does not show to me 🙂

I have seen other long standing members though who do not have the link under the post count.

cheers/regards baz

Baz, since we’re both long-standing members, I could PM you as there’s a “Send private message” button below your post count.

Pre ‘improvement’ members with only a handful of posts have the facility.

@ Philip.B

I have been on here for 18 years and I do not have a direct link for PM’s on my Avatar Box LOL

I can PM people and they can reply to me but obviously they cannot make the initial PM to me as no direct link in avatar box,so as previously mentioned – don’t hold your breath – this forum has virtually none of the usual user tools since the great ‘improvement’ some years ago,it used to have them all – including the normal tools and PM capabilities. 

ahh, while waiting for private posts to be enabled (I’ll have to get posting on some other chats!), please see below a link to the EADT concerning flyingboats at the Ferry, 

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23439049.felixstowe-mans-quest-uncover-secr…

I would be very keen to hear from anyone direct, contact details in the article above. 

You now need several hundred posts before private messages are enabled, so don’t hold your breath!

Dear All, I have been researching the topic of the flyingboats at Felixstowe Ferry for many years, and joined Key Aero specifically to get involved in this thread. Some of my images have recently been published in the East Anglian Daily Times, especially regarding the Fairey Atalanta. I am trying to figure out ho the forum works and if I can said private messages, as there is much I would like to discuss!  Below is a photo of the Fairey Titania and Vickers Valentia at the Ferry.

Don’t worry. Hijack away. It’s a means of keeping the thread going. My suggestion was not made out of hijacking chagrin but in the hope that you might improve your chances of getting an answer to your question, WJ244.

Sorry – didn’t mean to hijack the thread. I just noticed the post about the bits going to Millom and as I have never heard about them before I was curious to know a little more.

Post 13 mentions the remains of an English Electric Kingston at Warton.
Did Millom manage to rescue the remains and if so are they part of the museum disposals or did they move on elsewhere?

WJ244

I wonder whether it might be sensible to start a new thread on this specific point. I know that those connected with Millom have been active on this forum but probably they would not go to a thread bearing this title in expectation of reading something relating to Millom unless they were forewarned. I suspect that those people are best placed to say if the Kingston remains came to Millom and, if so, what has become of them or what is their fate.

millom

Not good news…
see http://www.mywhitehaven.co.uk/main-forum-f1/raf-millom-museum-closure-t462.htm

Post 13 mentions the remains of an English Electric Kingston at Warton.
Did Millom manage to rescue the remains and if so are they part of the museum disposals or did they move on elsewhere?

Not to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Felixstowe 1952

My dad used to take me to Old Felixstowe mudflats in 1951 and 52 where he sat me aged 7, at a bench, bought me an enamel mug of shrimps and a bottle of pop whilst he went through the pub’s books.. I would go exploring and I can remember heaving on the mooring ropes of the two houseboats pictured above!
There is a description of the F5 in Flight 23rd Dec. 1955 (here).
I am researching the aviation career of Maurice Egerton of Tatton Park, Knutsford fame, transcribing his logbook (part here)
Just before WW1 he had his Short pusher modified to have a balanced rudder which he observed made the aeroplane much more responsive and light to control. In WW1 he acted as AID inspector at Curtiss and apparently sent much correspondence back to Murray Sueter in London. It is interesting to read Flight and trace the introduction of balanced control surfaces during ME’s time out there. Is it a coincidence or did ME assist in improving the control design? I might eventually come across the documentation as we riffle through shelves of his papers… and then there are Sueter’s to go at!
Has any more information on the surviving hull pieces come to light?

I have this photo in my collection identified as Fairey Atalanta, possibly at EE’s Lytham site.
Subject to permission being sought from the custodians I do have a number of Photos of the Kingston/Ayr and Corks under construction.

Thought these two newspaper cuttings might be of interest,
taken from Trial by Air & Sea by E. H Symonds.Lower photo captioned as ‘Atalanta as a Houseboat on Felixstowe Ferry Mudflats pictured in 1957.It was later destroyed by fire.

Jonathan, is there any chance of you posting the Atalanta cutting at a higher resolution? Furthermore is there any mention of when the Atalanta hull was destroyed by fire?

Thought these two newspaper cuttings might be of interest,
taken from Trial by Air & Sea by E. H Symonds.Lower photo captioned as ‘Atalanta as a Houseboat on Felixstowe Ferry Mudflats pictured in 1957.It was later destroyed by fire.