In the run up to next weekend’s ‘jumble at Brenzett, I’ve been having a bit of a weed out in the garage and these two columns have come to light.
No. 1 came from the infamous Failsworth scrapyard when it closed. They had many Shackleton parts in there and I’ve always assumed that this is a Shack column. It’s very “Avro” in design and construction but is my assumption correct? The only Part Numbers I can locate are 1R2309, 23R2309 and 11R/2671 and perhaps they might help someone positively identify it?
No. 2 is a Gannet column, or at least that’s what we were told when we bought it. It’s very similar to a Firefly column but if it is a Gannet column, the socket at the top shows it must be from a version designed to mount a Dunlop spade grip, not a stick grip. Does the prominent Part Number help confirm its origin? Over to the Fairey experts!
Any help much appreciated, as always!
By: Arabella-Cox - 14th April 2015 at 18:34
Hi richw_82,
Thanks for posting that photo. I’ve been kicking myself for having spent a day in The National Archives without devoting an hour to looking through the various Shackleton APs to see if I could pin down the column’s identity. Your photo seems to prove I would have been wasting my time!
It raised the question though, what else could it be? Avro didn’t make too many types in the 40s and 50s, so it had to be on a fairly short list of suspects.
In the end, I think I may have solved it myself. Here’s a scan from AP2484A, Volume I…the Avro York.
That’s something else I never knew about the Failsworth yard!
Thanks everyone.
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By: richw_82 - 7th April 2015 at 16:43
The torque tube looks too long for Shackleton.
By: Arabella-Cox - 6th April 2015 at 17:05
Thanks for the replies so far Pete x 2.
I didn’t know there were Lincoln parts in the Failsworth yard. I can recall nose sections and we rescued a very battered early instrument panel that had been almost buried in the mud by the weight of traffic in the yard – that’s why I always assumed Shackleton for the column’s identity.
By: MerlinPete - 5th April 2015 at 15:03
A lot of Lincoln stuff came from there as well.
Pete
By: Peter - 5th April 2015 at 14:13
Looks like shackleton going by the square column remains
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April 5, 2015 at 1:37 pm