Visit to Brussels museum

Henlow 1970’s. I would need to locate the negative bag for the precise date.

The RAF Museum had storage facility at Henlow at this time.

My assumption was that these parts were for the restoration of the Icelandic Battle.

I had details that a ‘Spitfire’ had been sighted in Iceland during a periodic ‘Geese Count’.

When it proved to be a Battle I passed all the details on to Jack Bruce at the RAFMus and a party from St Athan recovered it.

For the ‘Stars and Bars’ Battle, Dick Richardson will have the details.

Thank you, Mark12 🙂

Older thread with more pics added relating to Battle projects,
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?39986-Fairey-Battle

For me the CC Fairey Battle / Spitfire swap was another example of people’s obsession with Spitfires. And iirc it was swapped BEFORE the owners tragic death, not after.
I remember seeing the Battle left outside at Dx for quite a while on supposed display with the cockpit half uncovered.

A sad end really to what could of been a flying example!

Rob

Great shame a miniscule fraction of the EU’s vast shed loads of money could not be made available to allow some TLC to be lavished on this gem of a museum. The buildings are also more than worthy of preservation. Wonder whether these buildings give any impression of what the Crystal must have been like? As mentioned before the WW1 collection is stunning, now of course, mostly over a century old.

I made my first visit to this museum last summer. Yes the aircraft hall could do with some work being carried out but its far from the worst part of the museum, that was the open courtyard with a few (unloved) tanks dotted about it. For those of you who complained about the lighting in the RAFM Battle of Britain Hall I suggest you try the gloom of Brussels WW1 hall which is a pity as the collection makes the Imperial War Museum look like also ran’s.

Well, it’s a fantastic location and building, but the state of maintenance leaves a lot to be desired. There is a (new?) exhibition on the first floor of the army part which looks fantastic and it seems a lot of funding has been spent on it. Wall to wall display cabinets with uniforms and weapons, but after the third or fourth you have seen them all. The Whitley rear fuselage recreation was a highlight. In one of the pics in this thread you can see the FN4 in front of the Battle.
While walking around the thought that the money could perhaps have been spent on the aviation hall or structure never left me.

There was an article in the paper about a 110 million euro renovation for the museum. No word about the aviation hall though.

Henlow 1970’s. I would need to locate the negative bag for the precise date.

The RAF Museum had storage facility at Henlow at this time.

My assumption was that these parts were for the restoration of the Icelandic Battle.

I had details that a ‘Spitfire’ had been sighted in Iceland during a periodic ‘Geese Count’.

When it proved to be a Battle I passed all the details on to Jack Bruce at the RAFMus and a party from St Athan recovered it.

For the ‘Stars and Bars’ Battle, Dick Richardson will have the details.

Mark

Prior to restoration starting at Strathallan, the Battle carried the US star and bar insignia and a silver-grey paint scheme! These snippets are from “Control Column” magazines and the lower one seems to confirm the other Battle fuselage as P2183. I wonder if the photographer has still got the original shot? 🙂

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Such a great shame this museum cannot be allowed to reach it’s full potential. A truly wonderful collection of aircraft. I was amazed by the collection of WW1 aircraft, sadly when I last saw them, they needed some attention. The museum is in such an impressive location with Army Museum and a world class vehicle museum all on the same site.

The Brussels Army Museum is linked and partially founded to the Belgian Air Force and since years there are problems about the states of the infrastructure and rumour about a move of the collection far away from Brussels with a potential downsize or dispersion of the collection.
As often when politics are involved, the situation becomes more complex and stupid solution are considered.

From what I heard, some association(s) who were active restoring planes had left or cut links with the museum also.

I understand that the Fairey Battle in the Brussels museum has a late-series Merlin fitted (from a Casa 2.111 I believe) which is why she has always suffered with ill-fitting cowlings.

Could be wrong mind you.

And for information, the Spitfire involved in the ‘swap’ was Mk.XIV RN201. She was subsequently restored to flight in a stunning Silver scheme with Red cheatlines, she is currently ‘resting’ in the US.

With regards to the Hendon Battle, she bears the serial L5343 from the wreckage recovered from Iceland and does indeed incorporate the second Strathallen fuselage which from memory was L5340.

RAF Coltishall 3 May 1990…the swap. Transport each way care of a Belgian Air Force C-130.

Mark

Its done a 180

Spot the differences, this was in 2003…

Im003809_resize by Jelle Hieminga, on Flickr

I understand that the Fairey Battle in the Brussels museum has a late-series Merlin fitted (from a Casa 2.111 I believe) which is why she has always suffered with ill-fitting cowlings.

Could be wrong mind you.

And for information, the Spitfire involved in the ‘swap’ was Mk.XIV RN201. She was subsequently restored to flight in a stunning Silver scheme with Red cheatlines, she is currently ‘resting’ in the US.

With regards to the Hendon Battle, she bears the serial L5343 from the wreckage recovered from Iceland and does indeed incorporate the second Strathallen fuselage which from memory was L5340.

I was wrong…this one was not from Wes Agnew, history at http://www.warbirdregistry.org/battleregistry/battle-p3950.html

When I first visited the museum in 2003 the Battle was in the same condition with panels off. But apart from the Mosquito and the Bolilngbroke in that area of the museum the Spit IX and Hurricane stand on flat tyres including the tailwheels.
Cees

Except for its standing now on (almost) flat tires, the photograph on Wikipedia of the same aircraft dated 2006 shows it in substantially the same condition (albeit on wheel axle stands)…

The one at Hendon comprises the second Strathallan fuselage mated to recovered tail and wing remains from Iceland which were restored at St Athan. The CC example presumably was the better of the two Strathallan examples. I think both originated from Canada.

Following the dispersal of the CC collection, the Battle (still in static condition) was displayed at Duxford before being sold to Belgium. IIRC a swap for a gate guardian Belgian Spitfire was somehow involved. Has it deteriorated though-or has the restoration just not been progressed further

I thought this was the former Charles Church example?

Didn’t that one end up at Hendon? I remember seeing it at DX looking quite complete and refurbished to flying condition. His untimely death saw the dispersal of his a/c collection but I don’t recall the reason the Battle didn’t pass to someone with similar interests in getting it flying.

Its a shame the Belgium Battle has been left to deteriorate in such a way. Their collection is superb.