Typhoon heaven(old thread 2004)

Back in the 90’s I took some photo’s of a Typhoon that was owned by Jon Medder Nr. Bath I know he sold it on. Does anybody know who has got it and what is it like now.
Ian

Whitley too? any large chunks at the time Alan? Halifax as well?

No large sections at all Cees. Just the ‘detritus’ of a fairly large scale scrapping opertion that must have gone on for some years.

Whitley specifics – several throttle boxes.

Halifax specifics – Boulton Paul Type C turret, a windscreen wiper control panel, plus control yokes from Hastings and Hermes. Edited to add Halifax throttle quadrant, too!

In fact, just for fun, and off the top of my head:

Throttle boxes: Albemarle, Anson, Lancaster (several), Spitfire, Master, Wellington, Mosquito (several) B17, Whitley, Botha, Defiant, Beaufighter, Welkin, Tudor (several).

Control columns/grips/yokes: Spitfire (lots), Firefly, Tempest/Typhoon and poss Hurricane, Anson, Mosquito (bomber and fighter versions), Oxford, Wellington, Lancaster, Manchester, Stirling (fragments), Master, Lysander, Welkin, Hermes, Hastings, York, Vulcan, sundry Dunlop jet-era stick types, a wartime Luftwaffe stick grip type that we still haven’t identified, Dornier 217, sundry postwar British airliner types such as Comet, HS125 etc.

Instrument panels: actually not that many. Some have featured in past “what’s this?” threads on the forum. The star is undoubtedly the main panel from G-ALUN, the only Princess Flying Boat to fly, and we actually ignored that on many visits to the yard because it looked too bland and modern to be of any great interest to us!

Add in the B-P turret (was there more than one – I cannot recall now?) plus Lancaster/Lincoln canopies, etc etc.

And the Northern Aircraft Preservation Society don’t appear to have felt any of that lot worth preserving, which is why I eventually let my membership lapse after many years of devoted effort on its behalf. The “shed in Wigan in 1976” thread confirms that N.A.P.S./T.A.C. were more interested in light aircraft than military stuff, and that period co-incidentally is when I started to collect seriously in my own right.

There is someone over near Ipswich who has two cockpits and a complete rear fuselage.One aircraft for rebuild.One of the cockpits appears to have a lot of kilss marked on it .But I might be mixed up and it could be Tempest but I think they are Typhoon.He also claimed to have some other stuff but it had been Stolen some time ago.I definately saw one cockpit section and the rear fuselage etc.

It is/was Tempest – two cockpit sections of Mk V, and a rear fus. of Mk II.

Since sold on; one of the cockpit sections ended up with Barry Parkhouse IIRC.

Bruce

Whitley too? any large chunks at the time Alan? Halifax as well?

Cees

Talking of long time I never remember the airframe in Stockport ???

If you mean the one I referred to (and posted a pic of) in post 10 (as 682al), then it (they) were in a scrapyard in the Bredbury area and never made it into preservation.

If there’s one thing that threads like this prove, there was still a ton of stuff around in the ’60/70s and even early ’80s yet many involved in preservation at that time could not get beyond the thought that something was “scrap”, i.e. find it in a scrapyard, take a couple of photos and write it off as “scrap, beyond economic restoration”.

I still recall the thrill of discovering Magnesium Elektron in the late ’70s. A yard full of control columns, throttle boxes, rudder pedals, instrument panels from all manner of WW2 aircraft – Lanc, Spit, Halifax, Mossie, Tempest/Typhoon, Blenheim, Beaufighter, Botha, Whitley, Fortress, the list goes on – a collector’s dream.

Years later, reading through past minutes of N.A.P.S. General Meetings, I read that they’d visited there years before me. They noted it as being a yard “full of various unlikely cockpit sections” and walked away from it.

I guess the view at the time was you could not save everything.

On Peter Smiths aircraft I have not sseen peter for many years having moved etc.But from what I recall he had two cockpit sections one with some fuselage still attached .One was definately car door and early the other a later canopy.He also had One complete Napier sabre engine and at least two others in bits I think from memeory the complete engine was sat on display in mounts on the front of the car door cockpit.Very Impressive beast.

Dont know current status or ownership I am afraid its been a long time .

Talking of long time I never remember the airframe in Stockport ??? I lived there from 1959 to 1990 and was involved with a couple of the preservation organisations around at the time as well as working at Woodford.

Don’t know if this is of any help but according to my old Historic Aircraft Society newsletters the Typhoon and Wellington turret both belonged to a Ray Harvey and came to Southend in 1982. The museum auction did include lots entered by others as well as the items actually owned by Historic Aircraft Museum so presumerably Ray Harvey agreed to their sale.

On the subject of Typhoon cockpits,there were 2 in Bucklands scrapyard just outside Cheltenham in the early 1980’s.Did they both survive?

Typhoon Cockpit (Car Door)

Fab pictures, I’m glad I posted mine now.

I only included the supposed identification, as what I hd gleaned from the earlier posts. However Peter Smith I believe had 2x sections, so perhaps it is the other one, which was not car door. There is so much miss information.

I just wanted to include in a post, what I knew to be true from my involvement, as I was there when we recovered it.

I agree, there was no ID at the time of rescue, but still a superb artifact.
It would be interesting to learn more about it.

Most of the rest of the yard seemed to be bulldozed, as everything was wanted BIG money for, so little was sold.

I think Jim managed to get the Typhoon for £25 and a Wellington turret for another £25….

Yes the man wearing a Wellington Boot on his arm 😮 is Jim Howard. I wonder where he is now?

Guy

7 years earlier and EJ922 …. er no …

Just to take the photocoverage of the Brownhills Typhoon relic back a bit more, the attached photos were taken in 1970 and include the shot that appeared in an early edition of ‘Flypast’.

I was surprised to see this cockpit section identified as having come from EJ922, for two reasons. Firstly there was no trace of identity when I saw it and I don’t think the AHG found anything either. Secondly, a look at EJ922’s Form 78 shows that after service (from March 43 to Oct 43) with 3 Sqn as ‘QO-F’ and a period of storage it went for ‘RIW’ (Repair in Works) in July 1944.

At that time this would have included all the latest mods, notably replacement of the original ‘car-door’ with a sliding bubble canopy. This is confirmed by its later allocation (in May 1945) to 83 Group Support Unit, which was a holding unit supplying aircraft and pilots to the sqns of 83 Group, 2nd TAF. If it still had its original car-doors it would not have been there.

Two months later it was dispatched to 51 MU, Lichfield from where in March 1947 it was sold to International Alloys.

Incidentally, it seems to me that the cockpit section had seen some use as a training aid or exhibit. It was painted ‘silver’ over the top of the camouflage and the yellow of the fuselage roundel was too thick to be the correct later wartime style and too thin to be the style originally worn by Typhoons. On the starboard side, under the windscreen was ‘TYPHOON’ in one-inch (or thereabouts) white letters. The latter was only just visible when I saw it and seems to have disappeared by the time AHG came to the rescue. Wouldn’t it be nice if that rang a bell with someone?

I am sure there is a very good explanation for why the chap in the yellow jumper is wearing a wellington boot on his hand in the last photo!

Typhoon Cockpit (Car Door)

This is an old thread, but it needs a few words.
I posted a couple of pics on the scrapyard thread the other day, as I was there.

The following is what I know about Car Door Typhoon, belonging to Peter Smith.

Recovered from Brownhills Scrapyard in about 1977 by ‘The Air Historical Group, Surrey. Pics below of recovery. It had remained in the yard as there was a huge lorry chassis with a wheel resting on it, and this had made it not easily moveable. I had not been any more complete at any time just before rescue.

It then went to Brooklands Museum, where we were offered outdoor storage.
It then went to a better home, we thought at Southend.

The Air Historical Group waned, through lack of premesis and cash.

Southend was all sold off, the Typhoon with it.

Typhoon reappears at Brooklands, indoors, and with another cockpit section, belonging to Peter Smith. Thought to have been ID’d by him as EJ922.

Moved from Brooklnads to Hawkinge, where it still resides.

Modern photos please.
Guy

682al is that Mike Cookmans cockpit you posted the piccie of? If so it is JR505 now residing in Coventry (or was a couple of years back)

Hi TonyD,

None of those sections survived into preservation as far as I’m aware. They were in the back of a scrapyard, long since cleared and re-developed.

My pal and I found several Typhoon/Tempest control columns and throttle boxes in our favourite local scrapyard during the ’80’s. Sadly, the last remains in that yard were cleared away about fifteen years ago. Ahhh, I remember it like it were yesterday…

Southend…

Wasn’t aware that there was a cockpit at southend? Do you know when this was and where it went?

I saw JR505 (Brian Barnes ex. mike cookman) a couple of years ago when it was based at the midland air museum…this was just the cockpit framework and was of a sliding hood Typhoon.

RIAT Typhoon

Anyone know the story behind this one . I didn’t see any info at the show….probably missed it looking for the Phantoms ! 🙂

I’d like to see the photo Tony, if you can find it. Sadly, I can’t remember from the airshow who it belonged to. Shame I didn’t take a shot from the opposite angle too.

Geoff.

Dave,

Are you saying my photo is of EJ922? If so then thanks for the ID.

Geoff.

I dont think it is Geoff, your photo looks like the Southend Museum one. I have a phot of it somewhere.

682al is that Mike Cookmans cockpit you posted the piccie of? If so it is JR505 now residing in Coventry (or was a couple of years back)
regards
TonyD

ID

If it is the one that was recovered from the Midlands then Peter managed to ID it a few years ago, the pilots armour had EJ922 marked on it (I believe from when the aircraft went back for mods). I had forgotten that this was also a car door type Typhoon…therefore 1 of only 2 known ones.

Dave,

Are you saying my photo is of EJ922? If so then thanks for the ID.

Geoff.

Midlands Recovery…

The midlands recovery was from the Brownhills scrapyard. This is EJ922 currently owned by Peter Smith. It was complete with rear fuselage only a matter of weeks before it was ‘rescued’.