Bout time Cees!

Its interesting what you say there, when I was growing up, I was solely interested in modern military aircraft, especially the USAF.
When many of the USAFE bases closed and there were fewer airshows, I branched out as it were.
Now I love WWI aviation, WWII aviation especially the BoB and the activities of the USAAF’s 8th Air Force, Vietnam…….the list goes on.
The only area of aviation holding zilch interest is the airliner world.

Someone mentioned Alexandra Churchill, its very refreshing to see a young aviation historian perpetuating the memory of the World War pilots.

It was fascinating to see the original notes for Flying Fury, can anyone book an appointment with ‘DoRIS’ at Hendon, or do you have to be an historian researching for a book to view the archives?

Anybody can use the research / archive facility at Hendon, just phone to make an appointment; thankfully the pseudo academic snobbery that predominates this forum, does not apply there, and the staff are very helpfull.

No, “I didn’t clean it”…….and no, an archaeologist wouldn’t be able to establish the exact cause of the detonation,that would be the job of a mechanical engineer, as would be the almost impossible task of stripping a seized Merlin without any damage resulting.

There are several predisposing factors, that are associated with this phenomenon, what they could tell you, is that the Russians did use low grade fuel, and out of the 3 main causes of detonation, that would be the favorite, (given that the whole point of high octane fuel is to resist detonation); however they wouldn’t be using their skills as an archaeologist, to do this, as this is a documented fact, written, not by an archaeologist, but an engineer.

What should be understood here, is that wreckology or battle field detective work, although not an exact science, is an amalgam of skills, the more skilled people on board the better the result; as regards to how many cases do we know the causes, how many crashes were put down to pilot error, when in fact the real cause of the crash lies at the bottom of a very deep hole?

Recently a forum member has sold (on ebay) the seat attachment bracket for the hand crank handle,(I seem to remember it was for the mkI; perhaps he can shed some light on the subject.

The pilot on the left is wearing the “detachable uppers” flying boots; what period were they from?

The thing that caught my eye was the cannon blister, much flatter than the late types, and 2 piece construction.

No! I regret to say that aircraft enthusiasts should only be allowed to possibly pin-point the precise spot where an a/c may have impacted the ground. They should NOT, under any circumstances, be allowed to take part in the possible excavation unless they have had archaeological training AND are under the direction of qualified supervisors. There is nothing worse than an enthusiastic amateur!
As to there being human remains in a single-crewed a/c that impacted the ground at very high speed then there might be a case – on intellectual grounds – for recovering “the bits” and re-uniting the Pilot with his mates in any Sqn, or National, Cemetery – subject, always, to the wishes of the NoK.
Where the a/c was multi-crewed you must realise that they were all volunteers and my thoughts – on intellectual grounds – are to leave ’em where they lie, undisturbed, with their mates, but to mark the spot in some specific way.
During my archaeological training it became apparent that after the Roman invasion of Britain there were several Iron Age hill-forts that had been ‘done over’ by the Romans. There were Iron Age burials on the site of the battle-field – War Graves. On some occasions it was obvious that The Fallen had been buried (albeit in makeshift graves) but in accordance with their “religious rites” – a small offering for whatever ‘afterlife’ they believed in. This ‘clearing up of the battlefield’ was done by our equivalent of their Warrant Officers (assuming any on the losing side survived!). It also happened at Goose Green in the Falklands!
What I’m trying to say is that if I’d been shot in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, or trodden on an anti-personnel mine on Stanley Airfield, then I think that my wishes would have been “Just leave me here (possibly with any of my mates), and don’t disturb me – not even in the pursuit of technical accuracy”.
It all depends upon which end of the intellectual telescope you are looking though when you make pronouncements on this subject! War Graves are a very difficult subject, and depend on the intellectual mood at the time – and in the future.
How, for example, should the graves of The Fallen in the recent “troubles” in N Ireland be treated. Pause, I would think for some considerable thought! Not an easy subject.
Just one KOS’s thoughts.
HTH
Resmoroh

But what if you didn’t want to be in Port Stanley, absolutely hated it in fact, and you weren’t with your mates, but you wanted to be near your family, so that they may visit you , mourn you, and eventually come to terms with your loss?

Looking at the the back of the chateau, it’s hard to believe (given the complexity of the scaffolding) that it wouldn’t have been easier, to have fabricated a fourth wall instead (obviously without the stone effect).

The point I was making, r.e the model club, is that Maldon council served them with a notice, causing them to make the application for the certificate; had they failed to do so, or else the application had been rejected, they would have been served with an enforcement notice.

The access road is subject to a covenant (in the contract of sale) resticting the weight of vehicles, presumably because there are 2 other farm business’s that are adjacent to the airfield, both using the road.

The footpath, however is a far bigger obstacle, any member of the public, can complain/object to A/C movements, and there are a lot of ramblers in Esssex (take it from me!)

I do however wish them well, if indeed they intend to restore the buildings, and bring some life back to the place; my biggest concern when I tendered for lot 2, was for the future of lot1, as the dividing line ran right through the middle of the site, (along the access road).