A curious (and regretable) thing about this crash is the way it has been overlooked in most histories of the Sunderland. It doesn’t get listed in the Sunderland Crash log and I haven’t seen photos of it or a description in the major Sunderland books.

Thanks to Newforest for finding that website.

Allan

Odd thing for that website to imply.

From the 1914 Flight: “Mr. Louch, therefore, holds the handsome Wakefield Cup for one year, and wins the gold medal, both presented by Alderman Sir Charles Wakefield, D.L., J.P.”

http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/1914/1914%20-%200890.html

One could spent a lot of time tracing further but everytime I look at Flight I get distracted by lots of other interesting things.

Allan

Hi,

You’ve probably already found this one as well:
http://www.fai.org/aeromodelling/f1/wakefield/LordWakefield

Lord Wakefield of Hythe (formerly Sir Charles Wakefield) is not to be confused with Edward, Lord Wakefield whose experiments in the Lake District resulted in the first aircraft to fly from water in the UK in November 1911. Edward’s nephew was Wavell, also later Lord Wakefield, who was in charge of the ATC during World War II. It seems to be the name to have to get ahead in aviation.

Allan

If they did, it might look something like this….

I doubt it – they would be accused of copying.

The point is, artists are invited to suggest what should go on the vacant plinth and then the some are selected. With the current trends in contemporary art (particularly the dreadful remoteness of art from us normal people) we are unlikely to see a Spitfire, BoB or similar being the themes. But trends change.

Superb photos Robbo.

Unless anyone can beat this monster of an aircraft it looks like I’ve won.

See here http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread198736/pg1

Well, if we are into flights of fantasy, I see your P.192 and raise you a Be-2500 – max take-off weight 5,500,000lb. Quite heavy for a paper plane [/irony]
http://www.beriev.com/eng/Be-2500_e/Be-2500_e.html

However, I think a Beriev A-40 would suffice as a modern jet flying boat. And it should be available to buy. 🙂
http://www.beriev.com/eng/A-40_e/A-40_e.html

But for a historic aircraft, I’d settle for a Short Solent.

He was, of course, a New Zealander, and a great man.

I didn’t know he served in Catalinas – thanks for that. Channel 4 News today described him as an explorer, which I thought was right.

He was also, IIRC, the first man to the South Pole (in 1958) after Amundsen and Scott. He was supposed to wait for a rendevous with the Sir Vivian Fuchs’ Trans-Anarctic expedition but he wasn’t the sort to sit and wait so he made a dash for the pole and met the main expedition there.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=19831&cid=15&cname=Politics

Great loss.

Hi Cees,

Question: If the airframe is in similar corroded condition, will it be recovered anyway

I’ve seen one of cylinders from that engine. It looked badly corroded but once the sea growth and other things had been gently scraped off (apparently with dental tools, must’ve taken days) it looked amazing. So yes, if it is in the same state as the bits I’ve seen, it will be recovered. However, as I understand it (and I’m not directly involved) the money they got recently is to pay for a survey which will determine what state it is in and what can be recovered.

Or would it be better to look for the remains of the prototype Shetland which sunk at it’s moorings?

Now that would be something. Unfortunately it is not to be. The fire that broke out in the APU during the night spread through the whole aircraft and it burned down to the waterline. The remains sank but were recovered very soon after. I’ve seen at photo (at the National Archives) of the recovered hull section broken into two pieces. Presumably they were scrapped. The Shetland II (civil version) languished at the back of the hangar at Belfast until it was scrapped.

I know it’s the only remaining Mk I Sunderland.

Yep and in wartime condition – and you know that I’m as biased about the Sunderland as others are about, oh I don’t know, the Halifax 😉

I wonder what will happen if this project winds up and the Sunderland stays down there. The money they will have to apply for is not in a bank account marked “only for aircraft recovery/restoration”. It is likely to be money for heritage generally, for economic regeneration, for other non-aviation projects and I think I’d be happy to see it attracted to aviation by a group of fellow enthusiasts.

I don’t know if the Sunderland can be recovered – I hope it can.

Allan