Stuka found in Forest. (2004 zombie thread)

I love hearing stories and even rumours about aircraft secreted away in a barn or old shed.

I remember hearing in the 1980’s there was a group of farmers in outback Australia who had four or five secret unregistered Spitfires that they’d bought postwar for scrapping, but actually flew them round the desert where no-one would catch them, and kept them hidden in barns. Probably total crap but a great story. 😉

Here in NZ there are undoubtedly still a few finds to be made in barns and on farms too. After the war the RNZAF had some massive sales at Rukuhia, which was the No 1 Repair Depot, and where all the combat aircraft were sent for storage after the war, including P40’s, Corsairs, Venturas, Hudsons, a few Avengers, etc.

Most of the aircraft were sold for scrap, but a lot of components and even airframes were sold to farmers. My own uncle is a farmer and he bought lots of items and I recall he had things like a Corsair cowling, wheels, propellor hub, engine parts, telescopic crew ladder, intruments, and all sorts of things when I was young. They also had a defused bomb in their garden that was quite an amusement! I believe his father and brother had also bought a number of items for their own farms too.

One day when I was in the RNZAF I visited them and told my cousin about the RNZAF Museum. He convinced my uncle to donate all the gear to them, which was great. But I cannot help thinking that there must be hundreds of farms around the Waikato region with similar items sitting round, wasting away. Uncle John said many, many farmers went to those sales and bought stuff because it was cheap and about the only source of things like nuts and bolts, etc, as metal was so scarce here in immediate post-war NZ.

The same was the case of Walsh’s Corsair here in Cambridge, they bought a complete plane at one of the sales simply to strip small components from to use in cars in their garage! I wonder how many other garages got into this too.

Something I want to investigate is I discovered a few months back that my uncle’s farm also had a large aircraft float being used as a fence. That part of his farm is now in someone else’s hands and a hedge has apparently grown over it, but they reckon it’s probably still there. I guess it has to have been from a Catalina, as the only other RNZAF aircraft with floats would have been the Fairey IIIF, which would be unlikely I’d think. I must see one day if I can take a look at it and get photos.

My favourite plane in a barn story is that of the complete but disassembled Airspeed Oxford found in New Zealand a few years back, which is now with the Subritzky family at Dairy Flat. Marvellous that it survived as it was thought all the 299 we used were either burned, crashed or rotted away. I have seen since there are component collections of at least two more ex-RNZAF Oxfords around now two, one is in Aussie. A pity that the Subritzkys won’t be flying their one, as it was reported initially that they would. But a complete static genuine RNZAF example will be magic anyway. Even it’s paintwork looks stunning and is original.

Shorty01,

It was indeed a Dornier 17Z-2, WNr 3457, coded 5K+JM, of 4/KG3 which crashed on Barnehurst Golf Course at 2-45pm on the 15th September 1940, about a mile from where I’m sitting now. After AA fire had damaged the Dornier, it was shot down by Sqn/Ldr J Sample of No 504 (County of Nottingham) Sqn. The crew all bailed out, two of the crew were killed, one was possibly killed, and the pilot was captured wounded, after which he spent some time on one of the Luftwaffe wards at the Royal Herbert Hospital, Shooters Hill, Woolwich.

Part of the bombload exploded at 3pm, killing one souviner hunter outright, and fatally injuring 1 Special Constable & two CD personnel. Another civilian was very probably fatally injured as a result of this incident. The CD people, Police & Fire Brigade had great difficulty in keeping civilians away from the wreckage, even after the explosion, according to the local papers of the time.

We have in our museum a few relics from this incident, which were picked up at the time by a local resident.

I/we would be very interested to hear what your parents have to say about the incident (or any of the below), so I can PM you my address, or you can PM me their address, if you can get them to jot their memories down for us.

Apart from this Dornier, during the BoB there was also a Bf109 that crashed at Welling (20/10/40), and a Hurricane at Joyden’s Wood (7/10/40). Other crashes within the present day Bexley London Borough were a BE.2c (31/1/16), another Dornier 17 (3/11/40), an A-20G Havoc (24/4/44), and a Meteor F.8 (13/10/56).

Geoff.

ah, Von Perthes, I see you are currently residing in Bexleyheath. Both my folks come from the area & lived through the war there. What do you know about a bomber (DO17 I think) that came down on the Barnehurst golf course & exploded shortly afterwards killing some rescue workers/sightseers ? Just wondered as they always mention it when we talked about these things.

Steve,

There’s no further details, other than what I posted, sorry.

Feel free to come over. I’m not there every Sunday, just one in three.

Geoff.

I think you must be referring to the Do217E (Werk Nr 4592) at Bletchingley* & the Do217K (4510) down at Detling on the 9th July 1943? (Location from ‘The Blitz, Then & now V3). The Bletchingley Dornier was ‘recovered’ by Ken Anscombe. Relics are also on display at the Warplane Wreck Investigation Museum.

Geoff.

I think you must be referring to the Do217E (Werk Nr 4592) at Bletchingley* & the Do217K (4510) down at Detling on the 9th July 1943? (Location from ‘The Blitz, Then & now V3). The Bletchingley Dornier was ‘recovered’ by Ken Anscombe. Relics are also on display at the Warplane Wreck Investigation Museum.

Geoff.

Thanks for that, Geoff, that is certainly the one I was thinking of.

July 9th 1943 was the same day the Whitehall Cinema in East Grinstead was bombed, killing 108 people and injuring another 235. I remember reading the debate at the time of discovery about the Do217 at Bletchingley and if this was the aircraft and crew responsible. An eyewitness at the time had said they believed it was a Junkers 88 that bombed the cinema but this following news item from last year seems to have returned to the Do217 theory:

Service Marks 60th Anniversary of Cinema Bombing

If I remember correctly, the crew were all still inside the Do217 that came down at Bletchingley and they were buried at St.Mary’s Church in Caterham. Somebody then must have had a change of mind because I seem to recall the Dornier crew, and that of a Junkers Ju88 that came down on the recreation ground here in Caterham-on-the-Hill, being exhumed and returned to Germany a short time later.

Geoff, is there anything in the book that gives a date for Ken Anscombe’s “recovery” of the Do217E or any further details?

If all the above is incorrect I apologise, but it’s all up there in my bonce so my recollection could well be flawed! 😮

Cheers

Steve

p.s. will have to pop along and see you one Sunday: I used to live up towards the top end of the Darent Valley and we still go over to Kingfisher Bridge and Lullingstone for the odd constitutional.

the closest incident I can recall to the one described could be the Dornier 217 that was “discovered” in about 1980 when they were clearing woods for the M25. I’m pretty sure it was at the bottom of White Hill, between Caterham and Bletchingley in Surrey…not that far from where Clackets Lane service area is (junctions 5 to 6).

I seem to remember it was one of a pair of Dorniers shot down on the same day in 1943 in this area.

I think you must be referring to the Do217E (Werk Nr 4592) at Bletchingley* & the Do217K (4510) down at Detling on the 9th July 1943? (Location from ‘The Blitz, Then & now V3). The Bletchingley Dornier was ‘recovered’ by Ken Anscombe. Relics are also on display at the Warplane Wreck Investigation Museum.

Geoff.

Hi DHFan

That will be Tom Gleave’s Hurricane which exploded over Biggin in August 1940.

Thanks, Elliott

I assumed somebody would know about it. 🙂

why that crazy Yak 11 fan – why i oughtta…… :):)

The other E boat survivor in the UK

See here – there are two survivors in the uk

this is the one found beached up a river

http://www.prinzeugen.com/S97.htm

enjoy

sk

It seems unlikely but I suppose it is possible. I still lived in the south in 1987 and I’m sure it would have been on the news or in the mags.
I remember reading a book by, I think, Paul Gallico many years ago and it said he’d removed ammunition belts from a crashed Hurricane in the woods somewhere around where he lived. IIRC, the author lived at Down in Kent which as the crow, or Hurricane, flies isn’t a great distance from Biggin Hill.

Hi DHFan

That will be Tom Gleave’s Hurricane which exploded over Biggin in August 1940.

Hey Yak 11,

Whats keeping my boy I would be off to the Farm as soon as I could get the Car out of the Park.

Cheers

I’m afraid this was just another of Y11fs “let’s drag the P51 into another thread” postings. He means the restored ones that he helps out with, not a treasure trove of undiscovered gems.

Sorry

Do you like Susannah York by the way 😉

Moggy

That could be it Steve – the mists of time have turned it into a Stuka?!

The E-Boat is really cool! – Anyone have a favourite Barn ‘find’ (ie not from Lake, glacier etc)…. mine has to be one of two – the Hamilcar at Bovington OR the Brisfit Cache at Weston on the Green…

Wot u lot fink?

von Perthes might be able to find out some more details on this, but the closest incident I can recall to the one described could be the Dornier 217 that was “discovered” in about 1980 when they were clearing woods for the M25. I’m pretty sure it was at the bottom of White Hill, between Caterham and Bletchingley in Surrey…not that far from where Clackets Lane service area is (junctions 5 to 6).

I seem to remember it was one of a pair of Dorniers shot down on the same day in 1943 in this area.

Cheers

Steve

It seems unlikely but I suppose it is possible. I still lived in the south in 1987 and I’m sure it would have been on the news or in the mags.
I remember reading a book by, I think, Paul Gallico many years ago and it said he’d removed ammunition belts from a crashed Hurricane in the woods somewhere around where he lived. IIRC, the author lived at Down in Kent which as the crow, or Hurricane, flies isn’t a great distance from Biggin Hill.

Well I can think of one farm less than 6 miles from my house which is rumoured to have 5 aircraft in a building there.

Hey Yak 11,

Whats keeping my boy I would be off to the Farm as soon as I could get the Car out of the Park.

Here in Maine I always had heard about a Cessena T-50 sitting in a Barn so I went and check it out finally and I missed the Bloody thing by Two Frecking Hours. 😡

It never hurts to go look, we found a B-17 in a Junk Yard in Northern Maine 😮

Cheers

The BPBT has a superb website that is a mine of information and well worth some time exploring, part of the story of their “Schnellboot” is here http://www.bmpt.org.uk/boats/S130/index.htm

There was a German R boat at Ramsgate for may years before it was taken to Sandwich where I believe it was holed and left to sink into the mud. She was quite historic having been captured by the British in Norway if I recall correctly
and used by special forces in raids against the Germans. Her name was ‘Blitz’.

The British Powerboat Trust has it now and is refurbishing it…to pull it back to aviation…they have a couple of ASR launches and a seaplane tender too!

RAF HSL 142 or the remains of are with the BPT, although its future is not at all certain, How do I know?, It belongs to a very good friend of mine.

Von Perths is the man to settle this. 🙂
mmitch.

I can’t say it rings any bells with me, but I’m ‘on’ this Sunday at the museum, so I’ll ask if anyone there has any ideas about this.

Geoff.

There is an E-boat in Amsterdam as well.

Back to aircraft 😎

Cees