Wreckage Of Lancaster ED908 (60-Z)

Hi guys, just letting you all know Bob passed away last year….

Terry, that’s very helpful and interesting. Thank you very much for your help.

Drywick, 

The Rotary Transformer Type 31 was used in the Power Unit Type 35 and 35A part of the Wireless Receiver Type 1155 and Transmitter T1154. See also AP 2548A for details of the receiver R1155. 

Hi, this is a very interesting thread! I have just come into possession of a Type 31 rotary transformer from the dusty corner of a friend’s garage. I saw the post from TerryP giving information. TerryP, is there any more to the document that may help me to investigate what I have?

Hello Bob, it’s been while since we posted on here. Thanks for bringing this back to the front of the forum again. Hopefully they find some more wreckage during site work as it has been a long but very interesting time helping ID parts.

Thank you all for the incredible work you have carried out over the past decade, true dedication and I have really looked forward to your posts even if I was unable to help with replies.

I wonder if more parts will turn up with the new planting, if so I do hope they pass them on with a note of location.

Deep regards

TA

It is now just over ten years since this thread started. I have been in touch with Laurent and it seems that preparations are under way for new planting in the forest making it difficult to conduct further searches. In addition, there are apparently new laws on the use of metal detectors.

We have therefore concluded that further searches for wreckage are impractical, unless something is found by chance..

All the work to date has enabled us to determine how the aircraft broke up and fell to earth, and a big thank-you is due to Laurent for all his efforts over many years.to achieve this result.

The memorial erected in the Freulleville churchyard will be a lasting testimony to the bravery of the crew.

I thought about cabling run but  not sure

Yes Peter, I agree that the piece appears to have (at least) two holes in the metal plate, one complete (on the right) and the other fractured (in the equivalent position on the left). The Mk.III Parts List makes reference to a Fairlead at rib no.16 (89F 3714) and at rib no. 19 (5F 4362) on the Outer Wing Trailing Edge. Before Modification 518, the Outer Wing assembly has the references F4687 and F4688 for the port and starboard wings respectively, but nothing that matches 20F 4644.

I wonder whether the piece we have was subsequently replaced with a different part, and whether the holes in the plate are for guiding some small cabling, possibly electrical for the formation-keeping and navigation lamps?

Hard to say what that might be Bob. I do see the remnants of another hole to the left as well.

Laurent has cleaned the piece and straightened it. It shows the number R3 940 for Avro with the AM number 20F 4644.

Frustratingly, this number does not appear in either the Mk.III or Mk.X Parts Lists, but its ‘F’ designation shows it is part of the wing structure – possibly from the outer wing.

The hole in the plate, which is now apparent in the picture below and which may be one of several in the fractured piece, does not seem to be robust enough to be a guide for the flying controls, but it would appear to be a conduit for something.

Any ideas, Peter?

Thanks Peter. I’ll ask Laurent. He may need to clean it up  a bit.

Bob, there should be some part numbers  on that last piece.. check the smaller bracket with rivets

After several months, Laurent has been continuing his searches in the forest and has found three more items, photos of which are attached.

The first, item 127, is the Fairlead inspection panel from the underside of the tailplane. It was found near to a similar piece (number 3 – also pictured) which is the Rudder Trimmer Cable Connections panel, so providing further evidence that one side of the tailplane came to earth at this point.

Secondly, item 128, is a piece of the aircraft skin from the leading edge of the rudder. It was found in a crumpled and bent state (left) but Laurent has carefully unfolded it and although it is still distorted, probably from the heat of the flames streaming back to the tailplane, the shape and rivet patterns have become visible (right) sufficiently clearly to enable its identification. It was found a short distance from other pieces from the rudder which had separated from the fuselage.

The Lancaster Manual describes the leading edge of the rudder as being of laminated mahogany with the skin attached by countersunk screws. This seems to have been subject to later modification to strengthen the fin, but there is no evidence of modification on the piece found which has its rivets seemingly more widely spaced than on later versions. The left-hand edge of the piece found appears to follow the curve of the fin in its upper segment as arrowed in the diagram.

Item 129 is the mystery piece. It appears to consist of a square or rectangular plate attached to an angle bracket or possibly a stringer. It is not clear whether the plate was originally flat or if it has been bent at right-angles in the crash. It was found close to a piece identified as being from the rear gun turret. Any ideas anyone?

Photo-gallery:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=BCF75E8AD40ADF0D!164&authkey=!AJrxfdmdr6MXSdw&ithint=folder%2cjpg

Index to parts found and annotated illustrations:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=bcf75e8ad40adf0d!1426&authkey=!AAJOZyTYrN-x0CQ&ithint=folder%2cjpg

Pretty  amazing work there Bob!

That is incredible work .Such a sad story may they all RIP .

I have spent some time looking through the pattern of wreckage found, and I have prepared new plans showing the pieces from various different parts of the aircraft. These are in the photo-gallery which has also been updated for the latest finds. An extract from the plan for the probable fall of the tail unit is shown below with my conclusions as to the probable sequence of events as the aircraft fell to earth. Any comments would be welcome.

PROBABLE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE LOSS OF 582 SQN LANCASTER ED908 (60-Z)

1. On 20 July 1944 Lancaster ED908 of 582 Sqn takes off from Little Staughton airfield with Sqn/Ldr Ben Weightman DFC at the controls [Evidence: 109/582 Sqn Operations Record Books];
2. At 1550hrs the Oboe beam transmission starts. Shortly afterwards, the aircraft now piloted by Sqn/Ldr James Foulsham, DFC, AFC, of Mosquito Pathfinder 109 Sqn with his Oboe navigator Flt/Lt John Swarbrick, DFC, locates the Oboe beam and commences the bombing run [Evidence: Beachy Head Releasing Station and Hawkshill Down Tracking Station Operations Record Books];
3. Approximately one mile before the bomb release point the aircraft is hit by flak from the battery at Calmont, near Arques-la-Bataille and the port inner engine catches fire, but the leader presses on regardless [Evidence: eye-witness reports from aircraft flying in the formation and 582 Sqn Operations Record Book];
4. At 1617hrs the aircraft bombs successfully [Evidence: Hawkshill Down Tracking Station Operations Record Book];
5. On the simultaneous release of all of its bombs the aircraft would have lurched upwards after which “the whole of the port wing folded upwards at a right angle and completely broke off. The aircraft turned over on its back and went into a crazy downward gyration”. [Evidence: eye-witness account from second aircraft in formation, 60-G];
6. The aerodynamics would result in the aircraft veering to the left and the port wing falling to the right of the main fuselage [Evidence: wing and engine parts from the port wing along the eastern edge of the forest];
7. The port tail fin and rudder, weakened by the flames streaming from the port engine, breaks off [Evidence: items 38, 68, 69, 70 and 113 grouped together];
8. The stress as the aircraft gyrates then causes the tail unit to separate from the rear fuselage [Evidence:  scattered pieces grouped together – items 32, 33, 65, 120, 121 and 122 at the northern edge of the forest, pieces along the path of the falling tail unit – items 1,3, 4, 26, 27, 29, 77, 115, 120, 123, and fallen crew members in the field to the east of the forest, A1 and A2];
9. The starboard outer wing breaks away from the main plane as the falling aircraft nears the ground [Evidence: items 125 and 126];
10. The remaining rear fuselage breaks away to fall separately from the forward fuselage [Evidence: items 19, 20 and 36 in the field to the north of the forest];
11. What happened to the two undercarriages is a little more problematic. It is known that the port undercarriage was found suspended in a tree and that the wheel was retrieved by the local residents and hidden at the corner of the forest. [Evidence: eye-witness reports and brake shoes, item 12]. Brake shoes with different wear marks, and therefore from the starboard undercarriage, were also found near the corner of the forest and must be presumed to be from the wheel also taken there by the local residents – the rubber from the wheels was used to make soles for shoes. [Evidence: eye-witness reports and items 53 and 54]. It would appear that the starboard main plane did not separate from the fuselage as two brake shoes were also found where the forward fuselage came to rest. [Evidence: item 1]. This would be consistent with the port wing breaking off at the wing root, probably leaving a hole in the fuselage through which some items may have been ejected (see paragraph 5 above) [Evidence: item 72], and with the starboard wing breaking off at the joint between the main plane and the outer wing (see paragraph 9 above);
12. The forward fuselage comes to earth separated from the rest of the aircraft {Evidence: eye-witness reports of the remains of the cockpit area and the large number of items found at location 1].

Photo-gallery:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=BCF75E8AD40ADF0D!164&authkey=!AJrxfdmdr6MXSdw&ithint=folder%2cjpg

Index to parts found and annotated illustrations:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=bcf75e8ad40adf0d!1426&authkey=!AAJOZyTYrN-x0CQ&ithint=folder%2cjpg

that clears up a bit of  the mystery surrounding that outer wing then…

You are right, Peter. With over 200 pieces of wreckage now identified, a picture of how the aircraft came to earth has built up. What happened to the tail plane and the rear fuselage, and how two of the crew came to be found in the field beyond the wreckage, is becoming clearer, but I am having a further look at this.

Laurent has told me that he has now had the opportunity to investigate all the areas where the ground has recently been churned up by the logging activities, and that he has recovered all pieces immediately apparent. He has found one more item numbered 126 (pictured below) which is quite significant. It is one of the attachment brackets for rib no.22 where the outer wing is joined to the main plane. It has fragmented pieces of the vertical and diagonal struts still attached. It was found next to item 125, the piece from the outer wing trailing edge. These two pieces must both be from the starboard wing and would indicate that the outer wing must have broken away from the main plane as the aircraft neared the ground. This is the first evidence we have of this and it would explain why nothing from the starboard wing has been found close to where the fuselage came to earth. With every piece found, the picture becomes a little clearer.

Photo-gallery:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=BCF75E8AD40ADF0D!164&authkey=!AJrxfdmdr6MXSdw&ithint=folder%2cjpg

Index to parts found and annotated illustrations:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=bcf75e8ad40adf0d!1426&authkey=!AAJOZyTYrN-x0CQ&ithint=folder%2cjpg

Excellent detective work.. amazing how we can ID parts from such a small and remote peice eh?