Fieseler Fi103R-4 Reichenberg Restoration

Hi Barry your pictures go back to the early 70’s & the early days of the museum. The tree gave up the gost many years ago the Pickett Hamilton Fort is on the site of the tree now. We still have all the bits of the V1 in store & they will be displayed with the Reichenberg in the new building.

Still got the tree with V1 bits in it?

Blimey – I remember being shown where they used to have to keep patching the road where the thing went off, but I don’t remember the tree! I’d have been visiting from 1982-88.

I also recall – and I have a nasty feeling I’ve been told on here where it was, but I can’t find it – a sort of scrapyard-cum-collection by the roadside somewhere in the Weald which had a whacking great radial engine recovered from the sea crumbling to Daz in it, and I was gobsmacked to find under the hedge the fairly substantial remains of a V1. Anyone else recall it?

Adrian

Still got the tree with V1 bits in it?

Lashenden was always my favourite.:)

(Hi Trevor, been a few years):)

A few photographs showing the various stages of the museum’s Fieseler Fi103R-4 Reichenberg’s life since capture in Germany in 1945.

Photo 1 & 2 show the Reichenberg on display at Farnborough in 1945

Photo 3 Shows the Reichenberg at the Joint Services Bomb Disposal School at Horsham in 1960 the canopy is already missing.

Photo 4 shows the Reichenberg when acquired by the museum in 1970.

Photo 5 shows the Reichenberg at the museum in 1972/3.

Photo 6 shows the Reichenberg with the museum’s Fa330A-1 outside of the museum in 1989

Photo 7 & 8 shows the Reichenberg being dismantled ready for shipment to Germany October 2007.

All photos from the museum collection.

I saw a photo album over 10 years ago at Bletchley Park owned by a guy called Cliff. I cant remember his surname. He had been on Mosquito’s during the war and was in post war Germany. In the album their where photo’s of piloted V1’s without canopys on the production line. He said the had control columns and rudder bars. I tried to get some copies of the photo’s but he became ill and i think he passed away. He lived in London and use to pop up to our museum from time to time.

Dave

The museum is looking to acquire photographs of the Reichenberg at Farnborough, the Joint Services Bomb Disposal School at Horsham or at Fort Clarence Rochester.

If you have any photographs of the Reichenberg the museum would be very pleased to receive copies.

The Reichenberg in the background is a Wasserlaufer version for use against ships and is fitted with a 38cm Granate warhead. It was built at the Henschel factory at Berlin-Schoenfield with the production number 27. It was recovered from Tschechien by a private collector and is 75% original. It is for sale for about 1 million Euros!

There was a article in the other magazine’s June 2012 issue covering the restoration of this Reichenberg, details can also be found at:-

http://www.historynet.com/piloted-v-1-flying-bomb-restored.htm

As for the F100 – yes its still here waiting for the USAF Museum

I’ve just built 3 versions of the V1 to go along with that display, looking forward to seeing it all in place.:)

Its been used as a template for the construction of a replica ? What happened to the F-100 -did it ever get disposed of ?

Yes and its up for sale if you win the lottery!

Is there another one in the background?

I think Xtangomike secretly wants to test fly it….!!

Delighted to hear of the safe return of your most valuable historic WW11 exhibit.
I had worried that it might not come back to these shores, so ‘welcome home’ for January, and everybody dig as deep as possible, to help the well worth ‘defecit’ reduction.

Well done chaps !!