This one is for those of you fortunate enough to live near or know the Coniston waters area well.
In 2000, I visited the UK and during my travels, journeyed to the Lake District.
Whilst walking around a very pretty small town, which I think was Coniston, I noticed an old aero engine in the front yard of a church (I think – me memry ain’t what she useterbe!) It had a small plaque announcing that it came from a bomber which crashed in the area during the war. It was an inline engine, so I think it was a Merlin, but didn’t have time to really take it in. You know, wifey saying “Come along dear, you can’t have it.”
Questions:
Is it still there ( and where exactly is it?)
What was the story behind it?
Have any other parts of the aircraft been recovered, if so what has happened to them?
Regards
Wombat
By: YakRider - 31st March 2003 at 11:37
The other image:
By: YakRider - 31st March 2003 at 11:36
The aircraft was Halifax LL505, which crashed on a training mission from Topcliffe on 22/10/44.
Part of the fuselasge is at the Newark Air Museum – I was there on Saturday and saw it along with a photo of the aircraft in quaestion. Other parts were used in the Elvington Halifax project.
I have attached a couple of pictures taken of the site. The one is of the memorial on the top of Great Carrs, showing part of the undercarriage. The other shows some of the wreckage in the scree at the bottom of the crags (circled in yellow). Because the rock is constantly shifting, it is not always clearly in view. The summit of Great Carrs is 2575 feet asl.
Other pictures and information are available at:
http://www.allenby.info/aircraft/greatcarrs.html
YR
By: Paul Cushion - 28th March 2003 at 10:20
It is from a Halifax which crashed on Great Carrs which is the summit next to the old man of Coniston. It has been moved now I think. The Halifax crashed on the mountain on a training flight killing all of it’s Canadian crew. It was however, still rather complete, so rather than leave it where it was or bring it doen, it was cut up at the time and the remains pushed into the gully below. There used to be a lot of this aircraft lying around up until the 70’s when most of it was plundered by souvenir hunters……..
The engine itself was recovered by Chinook in the early 90’s and ever since that time various supernatural phenomenon have been connected with the engine and the people who recovered it!
I am going back up North this weekend and will get you the serial number and more details about the aircraft. I have them in a book at home.
If you want to climb Great Carrs at any time, you will see the complete undercarriage (less tyres) at the top next to a memorial cairn.
Paul.
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March 28, 2003 at 6:17 am