It's a mystery…

Ashley – Z8721 was a Wellington VIII that crashed into a cliff in bad visibility in Beckland Bay, Devon, 13/4/42, according to Air Britains RAF Aircraft W1000-Z9999.

Flood

I visited that museum the same week as Lundy and I still don’t recall it.

The memory’s not what it was – possibly, I don’t remember.

😀 at Nermal, ta 🙂

Macky42…now what’s the point of getting a nice clean glass dirty when you can drink it straight out the bottle? 😉

But seriously…the answers:

1) Bristol Pegasus engine

2) Wellington bomber

3) Z8721

4) Hartland Quay Museum at (surprisingly!) Hartland Quay, North Devon (Join the A39 at Barnstaple, and continue west past Bideford, past Clovelly, and take the turn for the village of Hartland on the right, then follow the road signs to the Quay)

5) (The following is what I can remember from the displays – I did make some notes which have since gone into hiding!) Z8721 belonged to 172 Squadron, based at RAF Chivenor. 172 Squadron’s Wellingtons were equipped with powerful searchlights to carry out anti-submarine patrols, and it was on a training flight for such a patrol that Z8721 came to grief in April 1942 (I believe the date was the 13th, but not 100% about this) It was a very foggy night, and the crew of the Wellington became disoriented. Attempting to return to base, they failed to see the rugged cliffs of Hartland looming ahead in the gloom, and flew straight into the cliffs. There were no survivors. Z8721 had a multi national crew – the pilot was Canadian I believe, and one of the crew hailed from New Zealand. All were buried in a cemetery in the area (although I have a feeling that the body of the pilot was repatriated to Canada after the war ended) Most of what was left of the aircraft was removed by the MOD, but one of the engines remained embedded in the rocks until it was salvaged in the 1970s, and put on display at the Museum (I will post the full photo of the engine tomorrow as the disc it is on is at home today!)

Hope some of you found this a little bit interesting…

Becka

Bumping this coz Ashley obviously had a very good weekend investigating fermented grape juice… – Nermal

Lundy sounds possible. I don’t recall it being there when I visited but as it was around 13 years ago, I wouldn’t take bets.

The only things west of Ilfracombe are Woolacombe and Lundy Island.
And America, of course.

Probably not until she returns to work and her computer on Monday…

Flood

Are you going to put down your glass and enlighten us? 🙂

Steve…1 and 2 are correct…Location is further west than Ilfracombe (past the Long Bridge at Bideford, past the donkeys at Clovelly, but before Hawker’s Hut at Morenstow…)

1 – Bristol Pegasus
2 – Vickers Wellington
3 – serial unknown
4 – in the Ilfracombe Museum ( http://www.devonheritage.com/ilfracombe/museum.htm )
5 – because of it’s local connection, being an ex-Chivenor aircraft.

Steve…well that’s questions 1 and 2 answered 🙂 You’re right about the coastal ops element but not from St Mawgan/Dunkeswell/St Eval (the base in question might be another you’ve mentioned 😉 Yet the engine is not on display at the aircraft’s former base. Think further north west than Barnstaple, and think by the sea…

Okay, so north west of Cobbaton is Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Chivenor 😉 … do Chiv have a base museum? I don’t know the area all that well.
I’ll plump for this being a Bristol Pegasus off a Wellington, possibly one flown on Coastal ops out of St Mawgan / Dunkeswell / St Eval if any were based at either of those locations.
Possibly it’s there as a memorial to one that went in?

A clue…it’s not been in the sea…but BY the sea…and it continues to reside by the sea…but in warmer surroundings…Kev is right on the county (think a bit further north west Kev…) Steve…you would be right in thinking you’ve seen one like this in the Wellington shed at East Kirkby (hint hint…there’s a clue there…;))

That’s it for clues today 🙂

C’mon Becka, we wanna know! 😀

Cobbaton Combat Collection in Devon?
It’s an engine.
It’s there because nobody else wanted it ?

Regards,

kev35

Thinks – where was Becca’s recent holiday?

Hmm, right… bearing in mind you’ve just returned from down Devon / Cornwall way, I’ll take a guess at it having been trawled up from the sea somewhere down there.

Museums down that way… erm… Possibly from Flambards at Helston, or a local museum somewhere…

Other than that, sorry mate, not a clue.

Ok…Steve and James…you two are getting warm on what it is, but not where it is (and it has nothing to do with the IWM :D) Colin…you are heading along the right lines with the sea aspect…

Another clue then: it’s in a Museum, but not an aviation museum…

Cornwall.

After that I dunno.

Sunderland?

Wreck recovered for a TV programme?

Now at the IWM?

(Pegasus)

Well it’s a nine cylinder radial, but that’s about as far as I can get. I was thinking possibly one of the engines they have in the Wellington shed at East Kirkby… the NAAFI there does nice teas…