Fluttering and dancing with the (nuclear) breeze? 😉

Well if I remember correctly, there were plenty of scenarios which would have triggered an exchange. One involved an assault by the Warsaw Pact forces which, with Nato losing, would trigger battlefield nukes. USSR responds with medium range weapons widening the battlefield and taking out most of Europe. USA and USSR look at what they’ve done and stop. Not much good for us but that was one of the scenarios used to justify the UK having its own independent Nuclear weapons.

I think the difference between then and now is that there “might” be a possible threat of a dirty bomb in a European capital, a Middle East exchange or Pakistan/India’s dispute getting very hot but which of those would lead to Mutually Assured Destruction?

You say “it could be anywhere” but it is very unlikely to be everywhere.

Allan

I heard about that Cumbrian quarry years ago – nothing specific just a rumour that there were a number of aircraft pushed in there. I didn’t even have the location. Other info from that source turned out to be unreliable so I dismissed it. Strange that it turns out to be true. What else has come out of there?

And, since it is traditional with this type of thread, what about the dozen or so Albemarle’s that went to Russia? Anything left of them other than rumours and speculation?

Allan

Apart from the Stirling Project, nobody is ever willing to undertake such a project. With talking a project doesn’t start, it needs blood sweat tears and a lot of money!

And it is great credit to the project that they are prepared to give it a go.

Cees, just to go back to your original question about the Egyptian Stirlings and what is possible to go and look for them. I did speak to a friend yesterday who knows about fund raising and it is not straightforward to raise money in the UK from eg Heritage Lottery Fund if that money is then spent in Eygpt. What would be needed is to design a project to, for example, research potential survivors with the majority of the research work being in the UK – and then tack on a trip to Egypt to investigate the site on the ground as a small part of the overall project. That might get money.

It strikes me that what the Stirling Project needs is more time (people with time) and money. But there are ways that, even from a distance, we can support it.

Allan

Mhuxt – that’s the one. Wasn’t working too well last night but the bit you want is pages 660 and 661 of the Operations Record Book.

The text is a bit feint and fuzzy but (subject to me having transcribed it correctly) it lists the crew of C – ML748 as

F/O K N Davenport
F/O A N Crompton
F/O T J N Mitchell
F/O W G Done
Sgt J Naylor
Sgt N Taylor
W/O H N Morgan
W/O H L Webster
F/Sgt R J Brown
F/Sgt F G Hyland
S/Ldr R D J Baird
F/Sgt W G Dann

Sgt Naylor’s service number is 573499. He did deserve his Goldfish badge.

The mistake with the aircraft serial number is not that uncommon. I’ve seen errors in crew log books (confirmed by comparing with the rest of the crew) and even occasionally in the ORB and aircraft movement cards. Most likely explanation is often poor handwriting at some stage in the transciption.

Allan

The RAF Museum have wreckage from LK488.

See: http://navigator.rafmuseum.org/results.do?view=detail&db=object&pageSize=1&id=20285

They also have a few other parts listed on that website, including the undercarriage.

What – are the Olympics being held in Egypt? :confused:

Welcome Crabfat. Might be worth a quick search for previous threads on the Stirling here, then at least you will be able to keep up with all the in-jokes.

The Stirling is the most obvious gap in our aviation heritage, but since the Halifax gap has been plugged rather sucessfully, there is hope. Extremely difficult is not impossible.

What surprises me are the distinct lack of Short aircraft prior to WWII. The world’s first aircraft company, first twin engined aircraft, the Navy’s first aircraft and developed our first transatlantic airliners. Yet, apart from a partial Short 184 and a handful of 1930’s Scions, there is nothing left of that heritage. So yes, I’ll support anybody who wants to do anything to recreate any Short Brothers aircraft.

Allan