Scrapyard Photos; Any More?

A friend of mine took some images of the Shackletons at the Kinloss fire dump, probably taken in the late 1960s, when we used to often cycle to the dump to explore.
His father was an engineer on Lancasters, and was involved in the acceptance trials of the Shackleton at Kinloss in the 1950s.
Apparently his father still had the wartime ‘make do and mend’ mentality back in the 1950s, and needed some wheels to make a trailer. He and a friend clandestinely set to work on a 45 MU Spitfire, and by daylight the Spit was jacked up on oil drums Toxteth-style, with all three wheels missing! The trailer was still around in the 1980s!
I seem to remember those 45 gallon oil drums were vital to aid entry into the fuselages…


Interior shot from rear looking forward…

[ATTACH]184930[/ATTACH]I know it`s not an aircraft,but interesting all the same,Vic Smiths scrapyard in Sturminster Newton Dorset was full of old interesting stuff including Stirling parts.

Tempest EJ660 shot down 2 FW190s and damaged another on 23.01.45 while with 3 Sqn. What a wonderful scrapyard that must have been!
http://www.acesofww2.com/greece/Vass/Vass.htm

Looks like our very own Mark12 has already covered it! http://www.hawkertempest.se/TempestsatInternationalAlloys.htm

WV629 was a Provost written off in Sep ’54, interesting that it is listed along side a Venom write off here (scroll down to 21 Sept), http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/dblist.php?Year=1954&page=4
That will explain how a ‘modern’ type ended up in a pile of wartime types!
EJ660 was a Tempest.

Interesting Lanc setcions, hard to tell if they are ex Coastal or FE IIIs, guessing the latter as there dosen’t appear to be a light grey top decking.?

Yes, but…It’s because these things are rare that we love them so. Cambridge had a double-fronted (“antiques” =)junk shop whose name was “But Auntie had One and We Threw It Away”.

If only this yard was still intact and untouched!!

Looking for something else in a terrible filing system I found these two pics. From the late Peter Foote collection labelled Aylesbury 11/10/58. Serials visible WV629 and EJ660. Looks like a few Lanc bits as well.

New post on a recent visit to a now disused Moray aircraft scrapyard here….
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=99389&highlight=quarrywood

Don’t watch this if you have a sensitive nature…
A short Pathe film of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft being melted down in a scrapyard ‘near Oxford’ to provide aluminium for ‘future homes of Britain’!
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=48210

Attn: elaref

I have down, among the more interesting Sea Vampires:-

F1 TG286
F21 Prototype VG701
F21 VT803
F21 VT805

ALL of these had been involved in ‘flexible deck’ trials at some point!!

Others were:-

F20 VV136
F20 VV143

VV548 A solitary Vampire FB5 ex Lossie Station Flt

With Sea Venoms….

FAW20 WM504
FAW20 WM572

+ a few from the later WW, XA & XG batches

I must confess I remember, when I was reading off the TG & VG serials, saying to myself something like ‘These can’t be correct – there are no Vampires/Venoms this early in the serial system!!
But it was l-o-n-g before today’s internet/computerised society, where the info is available once you can spell YAHOO or Google ( I had internet access long before Google arrived, so still tend to use Yahoo)

Many thanks for these serials. Also, were you able to get an up-to-date e-mail address from Douglas Rough for me? Thanks in advance,

Fascinating Tocumwal pictures. Spent two years at that airfield (actually living in one of the big WW2 hangars). Not a lot left of the aircraft that were broken up there. There were two good spots, however, to taste the history of the airfield.

The first was a Lockheed Hudson aft fuselage stored in the open behind a barn on private property outside the current airfield (but on the grounds of the bigger WW2 base). No plans for its immediate future, apparently. One side was bare alu with traces of yellow primer, the other still in original camouflage, with roundel and USAAF serial showing (41-23198, this would make it A16-128).

Other site is the two big WW2 hangars just outside the current airfield that are owned by a private gentleman who used to be a Sunderland radio-operator during WW2. He uses them for storage of about any conceivable thing, and they were in the process of getting cleared out when I was there. One held a complete Dakota (VH-JGL later moved to Mulwala for display) and a fleet of dismantled Singaporean AF Hawker Hunters plus an incredible amount of spare engines, etc. At the time I noted 526, 502, 533, 535, 546, 506, 521, 538 (left to right in the photo) and 531, 529. Some of which have found a new home since. The other hangar held dozens of aircraft for spares or parting out. A lot of glider wrecks, some modern stuff (Cessna’s etc.), but also a stack of 6 fuselage frames I was told were CAC Wirraway, radial engines, WW2 aircraft wheels, dozens of antique cars. Moest of it has moved by now. At the time I was told ‘that the good stuff had already moved’, the good stuff apparently being amongst other things Mosquito cowlings and undercarriage legs, B-24 engine and various parts, a Boomerang (40 % complete) and a big collection of vintage gliders that went to Melbourne.

Incidently, the third WW2 hangar still standing (Sportavia’s) at the time held a stored Dove and Albatross, both for sale.

Tocumwal scrap yard

One of the largest aircraft scrap yards in Australia was located at Tocumwal Airfield on the the state border between Victoria and New South Wales. It became a storage and disposal facility after World War 2 and remained in operation until the early 1960’s. It was towards the end of the scrapping at Tocumwal that these photographs below were taken;

The largest group of aircraft scrapped at Tocumwal were CAC Wirraways. Seen in December 1960 is Wirraway A20-256 is seen in the initial stages of scrapping.

In late 1961 the remains of around 30 single seat Vampires were at Tocumwal. Many such as A79-796 were in the colours of No.2 O.C.U. For some unknown reason these aircraft were stored indoors in one of Tocumwals huge hangars.

Two Boeing Washingtons were sent to Australia in the 1950’s for trials work at Woomera in South Australia. Their service careers in Australia were short. One example WW353 was sent to Tocumwal for scrapping. Seen in March 1962 the process is well under way. The sole surviving component is the nose wheel undercarriageleg which is in the possession of the Moorabbin Air Museum.

Another resident at Tocumwal was the Gloster Meteor.Here is seen Meteor F8 A77-865 undergoing scrapping in September 1961. This was one of the last seven Meteors scrapped at Tocumwal.

And Mr Stott is still on the go as well? I seem to recall I took over as SCAN mil editor from him many many moons ago.

He just replied on ScotAvNet today!

These are excellent photos, many thanks for posting them. Did you note which single seat vampires these were?

I have down, among the more interesting Sea Vampires:-

F1 TG286
F21 Prototype VG701
F21 VT803
F21 VT805

ALL of these had been involved in ‘flexible deck’ trials at some point!!

Others were:-

F20 VV136
F20 VV143

VV548 A solitary Vampire FB5 ex Lossie Station Flt

With Sea Venoms….

FAW20 WM504
FAW20 WM572

+ a few from the later WW, XA & XG batches

I must confess I remember, when I was reading off the TG & VG serials, saying to myself something like ‘These can’t be correct – there are no Vampires/Venoms this early in the serial system!!
But it was l-o-n-g before today’s internet/computerised society, where the info is available once you can spell YAHOO or Google ( I had internet access long before Google arrived, so still tend to use Yahoo)

There were several single seat sea Vampires at the yard.

No these are single seat Vampire cockpits.

And Mr Stott is still on the go as well? I seem to recall I took over as SCAN mil editor from him many many moons ago.

After your comment I posed the question on the ScotAvNet forum about which Hornets had been recorded there.

The reply from Douglas Rough was:-

Hi Elaref,

Thanks for this. I’d lost Doug’s email address in the early noughties. I take it you are still in touch with him. Pass on my regards.

Did you get photos of these Sea Hornets too?

I would be interested to see how VR856 got there as it was written off after it ran off the end of the runway at Hal Far in Malta?

After your comment I posed the question on the ScotAvNet forum about which Hornets had been recorded there.

The reply from Douglas Rough was:-

“eLaRef” & others (and definitely Brian Irvine & Ian Stott),

Having looked at the Key Forum and the various questions that arose I note that the same “old hoary” questions re FR.20 VR856 & F.20 TT213 pop up yet again. So, let us deal with these first:-

VR856……whilst with 728 Sqdn (presumed coded ‘534/HF’) ran off the runway on touchdown at RNAS Hal Far on 18.6.55 . Removed to Aircraft Holding Unit (AHU) Hal Far the same day for repairs (NOTE it was not destroyed in that minor mishap). Departed Hal Far by air on 24.6.55 for the UK arriving at RNAS Lee-on-Solent on 27.6.55. Flown to AHU RNAS Lossiemouth 11.7.55 for Long Term Storage (LTS). Allocated for use in a Fire Fighting Competition 23.12.55. SOC 20.1.56. Parts noted on Quarrywood dump, Elgin c1966.

Other than NF.21 VW949 with a Civil Defence Unit near Chichester which survived to 1966, another Lossie Sea Hornet (. well worth a mention is F.20 TT213. It was probably the last virtually complete example in Scotland. Attempts were made to preserve TT213 & later VW949 but, unfortunately, with little official backing re TT213 and an “ownership” issue re VW949 no complete Sea Hornet has been preserved. Another unsuccessful “save” attempt was made in 1957 at Abbotsinch circa 1957 to preserve the fuselage of F.20 WE238 which lay dumped on the airfield for months & months. A more successful campaign a few years did save the Attacker WA473

I have attached 2 photos of TT213 (one of them attributed to Brian Irvine (still around) & I.G.Stott (still a pillar of the kirk))
TT213 went out to Australia in 4.48 for RAAF trials at Laverton, Victoria. It was allotted Aussie serial A83-1, but never carried. Eventually returned to DH at Hatfield arriving with them on 2.4.51. To Airwork General Trading Co. Ltd at Gatwick on 2.1.52 for re-conditioning. By 7.52 it had been delivered to AHU RNAS Abbotsinch for storage (as AC was closed to traffic at the time because of runways construction, it flew into Renfrew and was towed to Abbots). By 7.52 it had been delivered to Airwork RNAS St. Davids (near Brawdy, Pembrokeshire) where it was coded “421/BQ”. Contrary to published info it was not recoded “421/BY” when the Brawdy Station Letters changed from BQ to BY. (Note: photos of Sea Hornets & Sea Mosquitoes with “BQ” fin codes are very rare). Transferred to Airwork Fleet Requirements Unit (FRU) at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth on 28.4.53 (retaining its Brawdy code details & a distinctive yellow band around the rear
fuselage). Declared surplus to requirements in 1.55 and flown to AHU RNAS Lossiemouth 17.3.55 for Long Term Storage. SOC there (date info vague but presumed circa 3.55) but noted there in 1957. By 1958 at least it was noted on its belly (still with BQ code & yellow band) dumped near the perimeter fence and still there in 19.7.59 (noted by D.A.Rough). Rumoured to have gone to Quarrywood circa 1960 but I have no confirmed sighting date. Over to you the readers!

I have also seen refs to Sea Hornet remains at Milnathort near Balado.

For those interested in finding out the histories/fates of all the Lossiemouth-stored Sea Hornets please refer to:-

1) British Aviation Research Group (BARG) “Roundel” magazine (1980 MY75 – through to- 1982 MR55 including numerous illustrations)
2) Air-Britain’s FAA Fixed Wing A/C since 1946 (Pages 124 – 134)

Hope the above is of interest to somebody.

I have also attached 2 photos of TT213 which should get to eLaReF. Also sent to ScotAvNet but not sure if successful as not sure of method of sending photos.

If any individual is interested in seeing the photos please get back to me at my E-address.

Aye,

Douglas A. Rough

These are excellent photos, many thanks for posting them. Did you note which single seat vampires these were?

Will check – watch this space