Buried Lancasters.(2004 thread)

Here’s at least one of many parts of Lancasters buried in old quarries at Quarrywood, Elgin. This painted-over fuselage glazing was lying on the surface, a remnant of 45 MU breaking up warbirds at RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth immediately after the war…


Lots of intact rare parts too, like the little brown Air Ministry Bakelite ‘torpedoes’ often found on aerial wires, brake shoes, steel net ammo pouches, etc.
I’ve also seen large Lincoln nose sections, with that unique glazing, half buried in soil mounds at the northside bomb dump at RAF Kinloss around 1983, amongst some Anson fuselage skeletons. The location was used by 45 MU to destroy WW2 aircraft, but I suspect the whole area has been sanitised now though…

Would be interesting to see if there was anything left?

Whilst serving at Brize we were told when the USAF departed they offered the contents of the quarters to the incoming RAF for free, big American fridges, cookers, furniture etc They were happy with this until the Treasury of the day pointed out that as they had been imported Tax free the USA would have to pay the tax on them before they could give them to the UK………….. needless to say a big hole was dug and the USAF dumped the lot in it, ran a buldozer over it and back filled the site………… Also at the same time Brize had an all weather runway the USAF had recently installed consisting of under surface heating elements, they offered to sell the system to the MOD, but the UK declined, after all they couldn’t take it with them so they would get it for free……….. The USAF had other thoughts and put a bulldozer with a hook on the back down the grass and tore the wiring out of the elements scrapping the system……… Still they got a bowling alley, though you couldn’t get on it because of all the civi bowling clubs the RAF let use it.

I can understand the burying off some Aircraft on remote sites, such as the DC3, simply to stop all the aircraft crash radio reports from overflying aircraft.

Whilst serving at Brize we were told when the USAF departed they offered the contents of the quarters to the incoming RAF for free, big American fridges, cookers, furniture etc They were happy with this until the Treasury of the day pointed out that as they had been imported Tax free the USA would have to pay the tax on them before they could give them to the UK………….. needless to say a big hole was dug and the USAF dumped the lot in it, ran a buldozer over it and back filled the site………… Also at the same time Brize had an all weather runway the USAF had recently installed consisting of under surface heating elements, they offered to sell the system to the MOD, but the UK declined, after all they couldn’t take it with them so they would get it for free……….. The USAF had other thoughts and put a bulldozer with a hook on the back down the grass and tore the wiring out of the elements scrapping the system……… Still they got a bowling alley, though you couldn’t get on it because of all the civi bowling clubs the RAF let use it.

I can understand the burying off some Aircraft on remote sites, such as the DC3, simply to stop all the aircraft crash radio reports from overflying aircraft.

I’d heard about burials during my time at Brize, not American domestic stuff but a number of wartime German aircraft- various sites include under the current apron:D to the area around the back of the Hangars over the road (more feasable).

During further training at Halton as the Adours came online we were given a load of sledge hammers and various tools, and told to destroy about 20 odd servicable Avons to prevent their usage again after being sold for scrap… we also dragged all the Gnats out, took the wings off them and stuffed them down the back of the airfield, the wings we stacked and were told to tie them down as they might fly off in a strong wind, being wings and all!!!!!!!!!!!! (seriously, you just couldn’t fathom some officers brain capacities)

When at Odiham used to have to dig the gardens outside the buildings over for AOC’s inspection, until one of the sections unearthed a live grenade….. no more digging yeeehhaaaaaa.

One of the Radio Techs on the Squadron had been out in Cyprus when the Turks invaded and was telling us one they used to mortar the Married families compound and hit the carparks, apparently they got well compensated if they hit your car and one of the guys had a wreck of a car and even though it always seemed to be parked in the right place for a pay out, everyone elses got hit bar his….. 🙁

The radio section were told to pack everything up for evacuation, all the servicable equipment and tooling had to be marked up as such and carefully packed, all the U/S equipment was to be rendered as scrap with a fireaxe… Some of the equipment was hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of gear and a lot brand new…. the day came to shift the Servicable stuff (think it was a Herk) arrived, everything was loaded and off the Herk went with the first load, about 15 mins to their suprise it arrived back, thinking it had a prob they went out to find an empty aircraft ready for the second load of carefully packed equipment, asking where the first load was the crewmen smiled and replied, at the bottom of the Med!…………….

I’ve also seen large Lincoln nose sections, with that unique glazing, half buried in soil mounds at the northside bomb dump at RAF Kinloss around 1983, amongst some Anson fuselage skeletons. The location was used by 45 MU to destroy WW2 aircraft, but I suspect the whole area has been sanitised now though…

Paul / anyone?

I would certainly be interested in knowing if any Lincoln bomb aimers nose glazing sections are remaining at the RAF Kinloss site, obviously 27 years is plenty of time for a clean up, or more dumping over the top, or to simply rot away, but it is a piece of interest, (we already have a partial section to transport home from the UK, more remains added to the pile would be welcome)

regards

Mark Pilkington

I was one of the guys who on a fitters course at Halton 73-74 helped remove a wing from a Gnat, I was at the heavy end and got washed down with OM15 when the wing was lowered from the fuselage.

Paul / anyone?
I would certainly be interested in knowing if any Lincoln bomb aimers nose glazing sections are remaining at the RAF Kinloss site
regards
Mark Pilkington

I doubt if anything much remains now Mark – here are some public domain photos to illustrate the situation. I’ve marked on the 1946 RAF recce photo where the 2009 photo corresponds – showing just how much the area has been cleaned up and flattened since even 1983…

I remembered there was a P-40 that had been dug up in Alaska.

If this is the same dig, I didn’t know they also uncovered an early model P-38 (and a B-24.) So, at least, here is confirmation of one buried aircraft rumor.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/photos/odgers/index.html

There’s a nice little museum at Dunkeswell, set up by a guy who has searched the field since he was a kid. He has some very interesting pieces picked up over the years, turret controls etc (lovely star detail on the grips) and I’m sure he would know if there was anything buried. There is something American buried in the West Country and your invitation will arrive in due course.

if Dunkeswell allowed me to search.. i gladly would for them, and others i imagine,with magnetometers.. 😀

but with the humdrum of life i dont have the time, also what am i to do with tons of liberator, but if someone else wants to act on it, or want me to help in a search no problem

even a Air Vice Marshall friend i used to know said he flew over dunkeswell, and he thought he say a outline of what was or used to be runway , but couldnt be as it was just inside/outside the perimeter.. of the old airfield, .. could that have been the elusive trench ??

if a gang of us can get permission i for one would be interested in going and having a look ,with my magnetometer :D:);)

No but this story is also circulating but regarding Stirlings. Until someone starts dispelling these myths, these stories keep on being recycled on and on. They have all one thing in common, it’s always a friend of a friend of an acqaintance etc etc.
Of course some stories are true but unless someone gets off his backside and starts looking, nothing happens. In Holland there are stories similar as well and the museum I work for as a volunteer has had it’s fair share. But, we checked them out and 99% wasn’t true, but at leas we know now.:cool:

Cees

i was told many years ago of a mothballed lincoln, buried at Locking weston super mare, … and the man who told me.. a old chap who was involved in aircraft decommissioning at weston in the 50s with a private firm…

I wish i had asked him exactly “WHERE” in locking, :rolleyes:

probably here say.. then theres the old story of 3 liberator fuselages buried at Dunkeswell.. ive heard this story from more than one person,.. and a elderly american gent told a well known friend that indeed there was he witnessed it when he was stationed there, story was they were offered to the RAF, who didnt want them, so they dug a very long deep trench on the edge of the airfield, cut the main spars, removed some spares, took the wings off and pushed them into the trench no doubt going over the top with a tracked machine no doubt.. I’ve been intrigued by this story since told it about 10 years ago.can anyone verify this story ??

I can vouch for parts of aircraft being buried on purpose. If you go to 40 Hilltop Road, Forres, Moray, and start digging about three feet from the southern gable end, you’ll find a prop blade from Argosy XP439!

Now who left that there….?!

This thread was originaly about buried lancasters, not bits and pieces, of course a lot of rubbish was buried in any convenient place, I can take you to a pond at East Kirkby where there are truck loads of unwanted aircraft spare parts, but certainly not complete aircraft.

I can vouch for parts of aircraft being buried on purpose. If you go to 40 Hilltop Road, Forres, Moray, and start digging about three feet from the southern gable end, you’ll find a prop blade from Argosy XP439!

My father was stationed at Bari in Italy when he was called up shortly after WW2 also spent time at Fayid in Egypt.
I am sure he said it was Bari where there was an old quarry at then end of the runway and any damaged aircraft which were beyond repair were simply pushed into the quarry and forgotten about. Presumerably the quarry has been filled in since then but it could be that there are still aircraft parts there which would include Caproni CA311s which were flying from there in RAF markings after WW2.

My own research and the costly results of a friend of mine indicate another side to the various buried A/C stories.

Although many people remember seeing A/C (or more commonly chopped up A/C bits) being dumped into pits, few seem to remember that in the vast majority of cases this was only temporary storage. The scraping process, commonly had many choke points which required large quantities of material to be stored. RAF base commanders didn’t like the massive scrap yard look, hence out of sight was favoured, even to the extent that some pits were covered over. However in the majority of cases these pits were cleared at a later date.

This was confirmed when my friend dug at many sites in the 1990’s which where shown by period recon photos, and carefully researched personnel testament, to be filled with A/C parts, only to discover that they were indeed very empty.

However every now and again a forgotten pit would turn up.

I think things were quite different with the USAF.

I was at school in Kinloss and played in a number of Avro Lincolns that had returned from Malaysia. They were alongside the Findhorn road and totally accesable to us kids. This was prior to them being mothballed.This was in 1953.

I trawled through my photo collection, and perhaps found your Lincolns. This 1954 photo was taken from the ATC control tower, looking across the Findhorn road to Findhorn ‘Whitley’ Bay. Sorry for the quality, but the enlargement is probably just 1/30th of the whole image!
Starting from the left, there are two small aircraft (Hunters?) taking off over the bay, some parked/abandoned aircraft (more Lincolns?) beside the woods at Langcot House (Station Commander’s residence), and on the right at least nine Lincolns in a group…