The airshow that never was

For a while I was the flight planning Corporal at RAF Lossiemouth. I compiled the daily Navigation Warning summary which was sent to every flying unit and ops/Air traffic on the base.

One sunny day I added a warning that the Hang gliding club would be practice flying from the roof of one of the grass covered hangars. In air traffic one of the american exchange crews was duty pilot until lunchtime, he handed over his duty and then borrowed a portable Storno radio. About 30 minutes later he called up air traffic asking for launch permission from the hangar roof. They could not understand why they could not find anyone on any of the hangar roofs,even looking carefully with binoculars. Only he had bothered to check the date on the nav warnings and understood its significance …..April 1st

The aftermath was that my boss the station navigation officer rushed around all the places which had copies of that particular nav summary and destroyed them.perhaps thats why I never got to be a SGT.

Yes I am the very same Gary Brindle but was part of 2459 Poulton Le Fylde ATC. I was helping until Aug 72 when I joined the RAF.And I do take aerial pics(http://www.scotaviaimages.co.uk)
I will scan the pics asap, got a backlog of airpics to sort out first.

I recall all the women in skirts looking inside the Lanc, they struggled over the main spar climbing the slope to the cockpit but then refused to use the nose ladder and caused chaos by going down slope again to the rear entrance.

Your pics from the ferry flight were welcome and nice to have my memory of the exhaust stubs confirmed.

It was very good moving prog, I had forgot the stock footage but was most surprised to see that some of the bombers were towing gliders !

Certainly Squires Gate , I used to be a volunteer air cadet showing people around NX611 at the time. On the final flight some of the exhaust stubs fell off during a low pass over a Welsh reservoir.

Britmil serials

Landyman the RAF museum hold micro fiche of aircraft record cards by serial. Or try the relevant Air Britain Mil aircraftt serial book which will list unit allocation and is from the same source.

Replica static or flying

For an exhibit to make any impact on the viewer it should make an emotional connection. Get the senses all involved.
We are used to considering our sight as our main method of sense. So we can take for granted that aspect. Next will come sound, if you have the resources then effects can be played to a museum visitor as is the case with the original Lancaster at Canberra. Smell.. a bit trickier but it can be done with a static diorama as in the Jorvik Viking centre,York. Touch…not usually possible however a replica can be of use allowing touching if not a flying exhibit.
Ideally if you can display an original aircraft flying or taxying then you really are making an impact on the viewer. However this may not be possible and this is where a replica really becomes a big asset.
For the proof of my ideas visit Old Warden on a display day and glance at the audience. Look at their reactions.Many will make no distinction between original or replica ,they will be equally moved by both.And because of the intimate small venue you can even smell the aircraft at start up.

You can also understand from the above why I am an advocate for keeping aircraft active both original and replica.

Meanwhile a bit of googling turned up a suggestion from Jim Corbett that the following is the likely ident..
27.09.41
Vickers Wellington II W5557 305 Sqn. Lindholme

Sgt E Buszko pilot (K)
Sgt J S Leyche pilot (Died of Injuries)
Sgt W Wasilenko navigator (Died of Injuries)
Sgt T Korczuk wireless operator/air gunner (Died of Injuries)
P/O Bardzo wireless operator/air gunner (Injured)
Sgt Pisarek air gunner (Injured)

Aircraft crashed short of fuel on its return from operations on Cologne at Hatfield Moor near Lindholme, South Yorkshire 0315hrs

Certainly I believe that the airframe should be displayed with a history of how it came to be preserved and its history. I feel it is only fair to give credit to the stalwarts who put in the hard work behind the scenes. In the case of the RAF Museum this was my main moan when Hendon opened.