Walrus G-RNLI on the move

Flying the Walrus

Nick Berryman Snr, has just written a new article for SticknRudder about flying the Walrus (“Shagbat”) on Air Sea Rescue duties during WWII.

You did ask. 😉

I did. Me and my big mouth!

Adrian

(now you mention search patterns & reporting fall of shot, the ever-decreasing circles make perfect sense!)

Is that why they called it a shagbat, then? :diablo:

No. However the reason is as amusing.

The Walrus was a spotter aircraft; so it flew in circles and figure 8s above the fleet observing the fall of shot.

The name ‘Shagbat’ came as an allusion to the semi-mythic bird which allegedly flew in ever decreasing circles until one day it vanished, having disappeared up its own fundament.

You did ask. 😉

The Scimitar was refinished before RIAT 2003, so should be in good nick cosmetically but probably no so good internally.
The Sea Venom was also in good condition before it was put in store, so perhaps these two objectives might be easier to complete then the others.

solent sky walrus.

i never realised that displaying historic aircraft was such a money spinner,solent sky plans to restore a walrus to flight condition, complete the swift restoration, create a larger building for the exhibits,return the scimitar and sea venom to exhibit standard. even with outside help this all seems a huge ambition. i wish them well in their endeavours.

Not quite a zombie thread, but perhaps a little green around the gills?

On perusing my copy of this month’s new Other Aviation Magazines Are Also Available (OAMAAA) today I note a piccy of said Walrus in transit, and stating that Solent Sky are looking for backers for a restoration to fly.

I would dearly love to see this strange beast that quite belongs to neither earth nor air nor water in action again!

10 reasons why the Walrus is better than the Spitfire:

10 You could take a willing WAAF out on a nice day and land in the Channel to pass the time in the ASR bunk in the back of a Walrus. You can’t in a Spitfire.
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Is that why they called it a shagbat, then? :diablo:

Adrian

Lottery funded eh!
I was thinking of getting an Albatross for the family runabout when(if! :rolleyes: ) I won the lottery but I think I might go for the Walrus instead! 😀 It would be great to roll up in a show in it wouldn’t it.

As an aside , does any one remember that Commando books story about the Walrus? Can’t remember the title, but one of them needed a swift kick from the front gunner to make it climb! Great story!

Cheers, Alan.

Well, you’ve sold me on it.

I remain less convinced that Walrii is actually the plural, however since there are never likely to be two of them at Legends I think we can let that one hang.

Lottery funding? I’d guess those clowns with the Vulcan have queered that pitch irrepairably.

Thank you Moggy. ‘Walrii’ is just my affectation. It doesn’t appear in the book – Janie & Mrs JDK said ‘no’! Lottery Funding? Not impossible; I do believe from being lottery funded at one stage myself (and I have been flown… 😉 ) that the lottery folks do look at each project on its own merits.

Andy, I’ll do some digging / checking. I’m not sure if the engine with the project isn’t off (or spare) for a Walrus anyway.

Another interesting and amusing fact on the Walrus (I can go on all day) is that the early props had bolt-holes that allowed assembly either the correct way around or reversed. A reversed prop makes mighty wind and noise but creates no thrust. Imagine, if you will, firing a Walrus off a HM ship catapult in such a set-up. Plof, it go, flopping onto to the briny rather like a large rubber duck…

A good story relayed to me:

One day the Navy flew a Walrus in for an overhaul. The RAF were determined to do a superb job to impress the Senior Service and eventually the immaculate Walrus was pushed out of the hangar for its airtest before being given back to the Navy.

The RAF unit test pilot got in and after a good engine run etc tried to take-off. The acceleration was very poor and he eventually realised that stopping was not an option. He managed to gain just enough height to clear the boundary fence and fell into the sea on the other side. He taxied up the seaplane ramp and the Walrus was given back to the engineers for investigation.

The engineering experts went through the engine and the airframe with a fine toothcomb and could find no problem so the test pilot tried again next day with the same result.

More boffins were despatched from Group HQ and more engine runs etc were carried out. It was some time before all of these boffins suddenly realised that ACH Fred was trying to get their collective attention.

“I know what’s wrong” quoth he. How could an ACH possibly know the solution when they couldn’t see it? The idea was absurd but eventually a Wg Cdr engineer said “All right then lad, what’s wrong with it?”. “You’ve got the propellor on back to front” said Fred – and they had!

Fred didn’t know much about aeroplanes but he knew that when he was polishing a wooden propeller his yellow duster would snag on the little brass plate on the propellor blade on the upstroke but on this beast it happened the other way round!

Via ‘JW411’ on PPrune, and possibly from ‘Air Clues’ originally.

Books on the Walrus:
Mine: MMP Book on the Walrus & Stranraer

Two excellent books on Walrus ASR, both published by Grub Street:
Another Kind of Courage; Norman Franks, 1994. (OP)

Beyond Courage: Air Sea Rescue by Walrus Squadrons in the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian Seas 1942-1945. Norman Franks. ISBN 1 904010 30 X, 224pp, 234 x 156mm, 100 b/w photos, £18.99 hb. http://www.grubstreet.co.uk/beyond_courage.htm

‘Air Whaler’ John Grierson, 1948, on using Walruses for whaling post-war. (OP)

And best of all ‘The Supermarine Walrus’ by GWR Nicholl, Foulis, 1967, (OP) and rare.

[QUOTE=JDK] What differences there are with a ‘pusher’ vs a tractor Pegasus I don’t know;QUOTE]

The axial thrust loads on the output shaft of a ‘pusher’ are pushing into the engine casing rather than pulling away as in a tractor. I’d imagine that this would require a different design of thrust bearing and output shaft for the reduction gear setup, although without a drawing of a pusher is hard to verify.

Anyone have a section through a ‘pusher’ Pegasus?

Ten Reasons why the Walrus is more important & fun than the Spitfire.

Well, you’ve sold me on it.

I remain less convinced that Walrii is actually the plural, however since there are never likely to be two of them at Legends I think we can let that one hang.

Lottery funding? I’d guess those clowns with the Vulcan have queered that pitch irrepairably. 😡

Moggy

Did the airframe come with a ‘pusher’ variant of the Pegasus? Pete Rushen once told me that unless they came up with a suitable engine it would not fly. Thrust bearing configuration is different in a ‘pusher’ as I recall.

The project has a Pegasus, that Dick Melton told me was suitable, and he should know and was realistic and qualified to comment. However the engine was unrestored or overhauled. Of course it can be bourne in mind that he was looking to sell the project at this stage! 😉 What differences there are with a ‘pusher’ vs a tractor Pegasus I don’t know; as ever, there will be documentation, and enough money would resolve potential problems… Anyone know more? Certainly the Walrus used different exhaust stubs and an interesting carb air heating setup that would be different to all other Pegasus engined types.

…especially when it was unable to get airborne after a rescue but was so tough that it just taxied to the nearest friendly ship.

Not just that, but taxied all the way back to the English coast and into port from the other side (i.e. in small calibre gunshot range) of the French coast, on more than one occasion. On other occasions Walruses was also taxied through minefields, and also lost a wing float in rough seas, thus requiring the rescuees and crew to hang onto the opposite wing strut while the aircraft tried (and succeeded) to make port.

oops

Sorry , I see that is what the article is about…it does say that they would like to fly the Walrus.

Did the airframe come with a ‘pusher’ variant of the Pegasus? Pete Rushen once told me that unless they came up with a suitable engine it would not fly. Thrust bearing configuration is different in a ‘pusher’ as I recall.

raising awareness

I have a very small amount of experience in marketing, but that little bit does tell me that an airworthy Walrus has many aspects which could allow it to fit into displays,open days, marine events etc.

Some have already been mentioned in a very amusing way.In particular the role as an airborne lifeboat appeals to many, especially when it was unable to get airborne after a rescue but was so tough that it just taxied to the nearest friendly ship.

Comfirmation of the new owners intentions would be welcomed.

Time to get the old team back together! Come on Pelican!

Many thanks for that Stringbag.

More cheerfully, and slightly tongue in cheek:

Ten Reasons why the Walrus is more important & fun than the Spitfire.

10 You could take a willing WAAF out on a nice day and land in the Channel to pass the time in the ASR bunk in the back of a Walrus. You can’t in a Spitfire.

Let’s hear it for the Walrus!

Willing? and able!
Ahhhh women in uniform… I do hope it was HER cheek mentioned above was it??

Success.
Recovered, scanned, and patched together…

Many thanks for that Stringbag.

£1m might be a bit light though….

Most important aviation project of modern time – no; there are plenty of others that fit the bill there….

You might be right on the estimate, Bruce. The Walrus is a ‘simple’ aircraft, and there’s all the bits there, including rolled spar material, but there’s a long way still to go.

As to the importance, I confess to a bias, but what Sqn Leader Jones actually was quoted as saying was: “… I don’t think it is over stating it when I say that this is one of the UK’s most important aviation projects of modern time.”

As there is not single pre-W.W.II or W.W.II British marine aircraft of any type actually flying anywhere in the world, to the best of my knowledge, and Britain prides itself on a strong maritime and aeronautical history, as a representative of Britain’s rich marine aircraft heritage, it’s not putting it too strongly. However it’s sadly a realistic measure of potential interest, even the interest here, that this thread had drifted to page three. Much better to have a pointless debate about flying the IWM’s Lancaster than actually support a real project of a rarer and important aircraft to fly. :rolleyes:

More cheerfully, and slightly tongue in cheek:

Ten Reasons why the Walrus is more important & fun than the Spitfire.

1 Spitfires could land on land, or water, not both. Walrii can.

2 You can play cards in the back of a Walrus. You can’t in a Spitfire.

3 The Walrus served throughout W.W.II in only two marks. No fiddling about trying to get it right 37+ times.

4 RJ Mitchell nearly had a heart attack when Mutt Summers looped the Walrus prototype. No one noticed the Spitfire going upside down.

5 The Walrus served further north (into the Arctic) and further South (into the Antarctic) that the fair weather Spitfire (or Seafire) ever travelled.

6 Flying Spitfires are quite common these days. No-one’s ever going to say ‘Oh, just another Walrus’ when they see G-RNLI go past. They’ll probably say ‘What the hell’s that?!’

7 You can get a whole bomber crew out of the water and back to port in a Walrus in a pinch, but not in a Spitfire.

8 It was a Walrus that saved Sqn Leader Desmond Smith from the Mediterranean and the Messerschmitts, not his Spitfire. He was able to father one of the leaders of the Tory Party. (This may not have been a good thing.)

9 The Walrus has folding-up instructions stuck on the side – neither the Spitfire or the Seafire have.

10 You could take a willing WAAF out on a nice day and land in the Channel to pass the time in the ASR bunk in the back of a Walrus. You can’t in a Spitfire.

Let’s hear it for the Walrus!

I helped out on this project back in the mid 90’s and spent many happy evenings at Dick Meltons hangar. He told me he was planning to fly it up to the Lake District, and I always hoped to be there on that day. It’s an amazing aircraft with a great story. It’s also had a lots of TLC and could still make it to flight!.

I may take a trip down to Solent Sky over the weekend and get a shot of her.
Apparently she’s there and not in the SS storage area?
I would presume something will have to move out to allow her to move in?

Success.
Recovered, scanned, and patched together…

A 1200 pixels wide image can be downloaded here – 288Kb!

Must have a lot of trash! Took 23 hours! But worth it, thanks a lot 😀