Found on Britain from Above aerial photographs from 1919-1953 http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/
Picture titles are “The Thornton Research Centre, Stanlow, 1947”
link to pics http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw008708
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By: Graham Boak - 25th March 2014 at 22:12
I still don’t see any whitewash (and why bother?). The white of the underside wraps around the leading edge and the cowlings – only the pure plan view areas were painted in Extra Dark Sea Grey, which has weathered and faded.
By: Flat 12x2 - 25th March 2014 at 21:22
The colour scheme is a dead give-away that it is a Coastal Command aircraft. X9 was 517 Sq, which (I think) was meteorological, so the aircraft will be a Met.V. The white isn’t a whitewash but the proper side colour, with the unit codes being in a light grey – Medium Sea Grey I suspect?
What makes you think it wasn’t CC?
I thought it was whitewash because the roundels are covered with it and it appears to be washing off the wings showing something darker beneath
On closer inspection it does look like a demarcation line between the upper camouflaged surfaces (now covered in whitewash :D) and white lower surfaces.
Your 517 sqn. is spot on :eagerness: as a search quickly throughs up
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By: Graham Boak - 25th March 2014 at 20:45
The colour scheme is a dead give-away that it is a Coastal Command aircraft. X9 was 517 Sq, which (I think) was meteorological, so the aircraft will be a Met.V. The white isn’t a whitewash but the proper side colour, with the unit codes being in a light grey – Medium Sea Grey I suspect?
What makes you think it wasn’t CC?
By: Flat 12x2 - 25th March 2014 at 20:17
Well it used to sit in what is now a carpark, dead centre of the view in link below
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=swc0y8grxz9z&lvl=19.1&dir=92.08&sty=o&eo=0&form=LMLTCC
By: Flat 12x2 - 25th March 2014 at 20:04
Now I have worked out how to zoom in, I can see the code X9-T underneath the whitewash paint (so not a Coastal Command aircraft as commented on the web page ?)
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By: Arabella-Cox - 25th March 2014 at 18:50
We are aware of this one from a couple of ex-Shell employees who worked there post-war. It had one or two Merlin engines mounted to test various engine oils, the engines being run for protracted periods and operated, along with monitoring and test gear, from the cockpit.
The aircraft was broken up later but rumours are that it was either scrapped completely, broken up and buried on site or only the Merlin engine(s) buried on site.
Without being able to do a scan survey of the area I don’t suppose we will ever know.
It was probably obtained by Shell from the RAF direct from Hooton Park a mile or two away, where they broke up around 400 Halifaxes after the war.
Anon.
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March 25, 2014 at 1:17 pm