Peter Rutter once told me that while he was in service, some character actually looped a Whitley. I’m inclined to take this with a pinch of salt though – we will probably never know

For the sake of history, here’s a quote…

“We also had on the station a couple of Whitley Bombers, very impressive, reputed to have the widest wing span of any other aircraft at the time. No matter how I tried, I could not get on one of these. Although I did see one loop the loop, which was supposed to be impossible!”

…taken from here:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A2243963

An eye witness, apparently!

The stand gives it a great period look.

Pity the vendor hasn’t worked out what “‘WHALEY’ MARKED TO UNDERSIDE” actually means!

Apologies in advance if this is a daft question, Peter, but I always thought Canadian built Lancasters used American Bendix wireless equipment, not the British T1154/R1155. Or have I got it wrong?

I concur, Cees.

We should not automatically assume that the parts are from a Lancaster. They look to be fairly standard items to me, and could be from many different types of aeroplane.

Let’s hope something leading to a positive i.d. will turn up.

The Huson IIIA would have been a popular choice. Here’s one:

any further info on the parts ? especialy the wings ?

Sadly not, I can barely recall the episode at all after all these years.

I will correct my earlier statement, though, by saying the visit was in 1970, not 1968 since I remember every evening being spent in a pub and I was boozing legally!

Probably also explains why I cannot recall the visit to Skylines…

Ahhh, Wigan…

Scottish Aero had a store there until about 1980. Still got the auction catalogue for the final clear out somewhere. Mosquito spares, Merlin spares, a complete Frazer Nash turret…

Then, just down the road was “Kayes”. Surely one of the last genuine “old style” army surplus stores. Chock full of the most useless cr*p imaginable.

EXCEPT, those in the know would buy heaps of said cr*p off the old lady who ran it, in the hope that it would pursuade her to go in the back and produce a Type C flying helmet or two. Some had electrics, some hadn’t and they were all £2 regardless.

The area got re-developed in the early eighties and I heard that because of her intransigence in dealing with the council, the stuff all ended up down the local tip. I can remember flying boots of various types, sidcot suits, etc etc.

Oh yesterday, leave me alone!