Help needed to identify aircraft from a piece of wreckage

If it was from Stanley could it have come from a Pukara.? There were a few of those scattered around the airfield at the time

But would the Argentinians have helpfully have put instructions in English on their aircraft…?

I knew Nick Taylor as he was attached to the British Army detachment at Suffield, Alberta, Canada in 1997 where he flew the Beaver. I remember him as a thoroughly nice young man.

Different Nick Taylor – this one died when his Sea Harrier came down over Goose Green in 1982.

As one who was there in ’82, I agree it could not be from a Harrier. Wrong colour to start with as the RN Harriers were all dark blue.
If it was from Stanley could it have come from a Pukara.? There were a few of those scattered around the airfield at the time

I have looked at ‘Walkround’ photos of all the likely candidates (fixed wing) and could not find a match – but I was mostly looking at the fin base area of the a/c – so could be different airframe part !

I knew Nick Taylor as he was attached to the British Army detachment at Suffield, Alberta, Canada in 1997 where he flew the Beaver. I remember him as a thoroughly nice young man.

As one who was there in ’82, I agree it could not be from a Harrier. Wrong colour to start with as the RN Harriers were all dark blue.
If it was from Stanley could it have come from a Pukara.? There were a few of those scattered around the airfield at the time

So at some point in time an error in identification has been made…..or a deception has been perpetrated.

Def not Sea Harrier – they (mostly) had countersunk screws (flush) and were painted gloss white internally ( both structurally and panels) – and as I said before – it really does not look like a Harrier panel at all – looks older/slower/heli ??

Also if this isn’t a piece of Sea Harrier, but specifically it was claimed to be a piece of XZ450 (the first Sea Harrier to fly), then perhaps we ought to be a little suspicious of some of the evidence that it is what it was claimed to be. The colour of this panel could be changed, but that seems very unlikely in this case, however stencils and decals can be added to a part (and part numbers can be removed)?

XZ450 was allocated to 800NAS aboard HMS Hermes on the voyage south and, along with all the others onboard, was painted extra dark sea grey overall at some point between April 10 and 16 (brush painted although there are some who say the SHar’s were also painted using mops…). They were brush painted (apparently) because the ancient air con couldn’t cope (unlike that on the younger HMS Invincible) but the advantage of this over spray painting was that the paint was thicker and therefore more resilient.
I feel that had this been from XZ450 there would be some sign of the EDSG paintwork still visible on it…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]231072[/ATTACH]
The wreckage of XZ450 at Goose Green, rather than Port Stanley as the caption claims

Incidentally, XZ450 had been wired up for the Sea Eagle trials; the Argentinians when searching through the wreckage found the Sea Eagle panel in the remains of the cockpit and, the speculation goes, decided that the missile must be operational and decided to keep nearly all their shipping in port…

If the part is in Argentina and is supposed to be from a Sea Harrier, but there are doubts about its authenticity (but it is still British), maybe there are other types that can be considered such as Canberra, or more likely, Lynx or Sea King?

Also if this isn’t a piece of Sea Harrier, but specifically it was claimed to be a piece of XZ450 (the first Sea Harrier to fly), then perhaps we ought to be a little suspicious of some of the evidence that it is what it was claimed to be. The colour of this panel could be changed, but that seems very unlikely in this case, however stencils and decals can be added to a part (and part numbers can be removed)?

If it is wreckage from the Falklands Conflict, could it be from Stanley Airfield? Islander etc? [exposes own pig-ignorance]

A list of the various types that might have been found or were wrecked on the Falkland Islands by 1982:
BN Islander
DHC Beavers
Cessna 172s
Whirlwind HAR9 (XM666, which ran out of fuel and ditched whilst carrying AVTUR on 17/10/1969. Stripped hulk left at Salvador Settlement but was still to be seen in 1982)

Doubt it’s any of these, but…

Sometimes lightly stamped onto components etc but sometimes lightly etched.
On panels – it is poss they may have been painted on – in which case very easy to lose on overpainting etc but almost all aircraft items/components should have id marks – insp stamps/part number/mod standard etc !

Yes could be on hidden part of panels/stringers/angles etc

rgds baz

Had another quick look at images this morning and cannot see an easy match,as others have said – it does not look like a jet panel – looks more like low speed/heli but I cannot match it to FIGAS types – although I may have been looking at the wrong airframe area LOL.

Also as others have said – any inspection stamps/part numbers stamped/etched on the item ?? there should be some !

rgds baz

Baz

Would these be on the removeable panel? Would they just be engraved into the metal, or stamped using a die? Might they be under the join of the panels?

I will ask.

Regards and thanks

Andy

Had another quick look at images this morning and cannot see an easy match,as others have said – it does not look like a jet panel – looks more like low speed/heli but I cannot match it to FIGAS types – although I may have been looking at the wrong airframe area LOL.

Also as others have said – any inspection stamps/part numbers stamped/etched on the item ?? there should be some !

rgds baz

The FIGAS Islander was totally red, so doubtful.

NO IT WASN’T, YOU IDIOT – THAT WAS THE BEAVERS/OTTERS/TWIN OTTERS! The Islander that had its tail nearly severed (VP-FAY) was overall white with red trim.

If it is wreckage from the Falklands Conflict, could it be from Stanley Airfield? Islander etc? [exposes own pig-ignorance]

Rivets look to have purple tails and mush heads (SP85?) and the slotted screws make it look distinctly British to my eyes.

Short Skyvan?

The Flux Valve (remote magnetic sensing detector for main compass) quite often is mounted in the fin (or occasionally wingtip) so that could point to it being a base of fin panel.
Yes the Harriers did have a Flux Valve mounted in the fin but it does not look Harrier to me !
As a matter of routine – all panels are usually fitted for compass swings – but those nearest the Flux Valve would be the most critical !

Maybe it was brought back to Argentina before the surrender? Nick Taylor’s Sea Harrier was lost fairly early in the conflict and the Argentines may have been keen to offer some proof to back-up their various claims.

If the source of the part / photographs is Argentina it would rule-out British aircraft lost in the Falkland Islands after the end of the conflict.

Rivets look to have purple tails and mush heads (SP85?) and the slotted screws make it look distinctly British to my eyes.

The guy who came up with the photos interviewed an argentine veteran who claims it’s a piece of the wreckage of Nick Taylor’s aircraft that was shot down at Goose Green. Quite how he managed to get it back from the islands after the surrender would be interesting.

I shared the photo before I came on here with a RN officer who was a spanner monkey during Corporate, and he shared it with some ex harrier mates who didn’t recognise it as a Sea Harrier part. So, I had already ruled that one out. However, it would seem its origin is more likely British, from the internal colouration. Still puzzling.

Could the FIGAS aircraft be added to the mix?