There is a very useful timeline in that link: it shows a 1 April 1944 formation of 1 O&RTU though I’d suggest that should be ‘moved from Thruxton’.

I’m sure there must be markings experts out there who could pin down a unit for those Albemarles either way.

These look like scrappers to me, rather than ‘stored’. And yes, engineless.

I’m not sure of Hampstead Norris’ WW2 history but I’m aware of the place since I used to drive past on my daily commute to/from Benson.

I also did a small bit of research into it in relation to a crash elsewhere; though not mentioned in the ever-dodgy Wiki entry, the airfield was home to the ambiguously-titled “Operational & Refresher Training Unit”, which moved in from Thruxton circa February 1944. This unit was glider-related and later had Albemarles, which may be those seen in your photo, presumably awaiting the cutting torch in post-war years.

For info, a February 1944 return for O&RTU showed this:

Horsa I – LF941

Hotspur II – BT576, BT667, BT671, BT739, BT775, BT780, BT920, HH372, HH705, HH791, HH838

Whitley V – LA790, LA872; Whitley ‘293/P’ is also mentioned.

The return also shows Tiger Moth hours being flown though the aircraft is not listed.

Tongue-in-cheek I hope. The world already has too many daft conspiracy theories.

An educated guess: something like a Fairchild 71 maybe?

Horner’s Tucano was ex-ZF206.

I suspect that new-build/new design amphibian water bombers are under consideration as we speak. Not so long ago there wouldn’t be so much urgency for this type of aircraft but with the escalation in climate-related wildfires (Jasper being just one high-profile example) availability of this type of aircraft must now be a high priority. Imagine what could be done if it were an optimised design, incorporating the latest technology and the best engines and airframe. I’m sure that even the way water is uploaded would benefit from a new set of eyes and some real investment. 

Posted in the Beaufighter Classroom thread a couple down.