Is this the same “war gaming” that is based in Belarus, and who’s 2012 revenue was 217 million euros?

Although unlike “Burma” this one will feature an aeroplane………

“The RAF Museum regrets to inform that because terms could not be reached with a corporate sponsor an attempt to recover a rare Short Stirling bomber from beneath the North Sea has had to be permanently abandoned.

Due to current austerity measures the Government has refused to fund the project.

The Russian deep-sea oil-company that found the bomber, thought to be the last complete example in existence, say it has now no option but to destroy the bomber as it interferes with the laying of an undersea pipeline.”

Well, that showed them, eh!

Got to be honest here CD, but when I saw that old crawler crane on the barge with those light weight girders flapping in the breeze, I did suggest loaning them my teleporter forklift with a long pipe fitted for the exhaust……..I don’t know what the overall budget was for recovery (and really I don’t need to know) but whomever it was that devised the plan of sliding a lifting cradle under the DO17 without bothering to check to see if that was do-able (that solid chalk bank didn’t wash in overnight) needs to make up the short fall out of their pocket!

When I heard plan “b” was to slide a spine down the fuselage, I didn’t realise it was only about 8ft of fuselage, (forgot that it was inverted and the bomb bay doors were open) and that the “spine” was no more than a lightweight RSJ!
lets face it this was a very low tech recovery, but I’m glad it’s out, what ever the condition.

As and when your scenario for the Stirling comes about, I’m sure someone will shuffle forward with a cheque book; and maybe not just at the eleventh hour.

I’m sure the character in the third picture is thinking; ….. “harsh”

Well there is an atmosphere of negativity on this thread, and indeed many others that concern the RAFM, I think this is in part due to it being funded (in roundabout way) by the tax payer; a “we have a right to say how our money is being spent” attitude.

Also the internet phenomenon, where it is dead easy to have a pop at someone or something; hiding behind “user names” offers anonimity, and if the persons or parties have no way of knowing what has been said about them, they will be unable to defend their actions.

Knifeedgeturn (not my real name obviously!)

Perhaps your right, I’m trying to remember details from the original thread which was pulled over a year ago.

From the shock load on the airframe, the distortion of the aluminium seat back, the early images with the cockpit shut and glazing intact, the seat belt cut through, the missing clock, the missing very cartridges, the very pistol found under the seat deep in sand.

I would suggest the logical scenario was seen to be that the pilot did not survive or was totally incapacitated by the landing and at some time later, possibly years, was cut loose.

This would not be in accord with bones and parachute material found by accident some 8 kms from the crash site in very rugged terrain.

There are a number of reasons why this might be. Some worrying.

Mark

As discussed before, within a very short time you would be dealing with bones not a body, so why cut the harness at the very bottom, when you could cut it at the top (if in fact you would need to cut it at all) to remove the remains?

the missing items were probably removed when discovered last year; time pieces are always a favorite, as is weaponary; (of any sort) why didn’t sgt Copping take the pistol and the flares? (if he survived and left the crash site) he may have reasoned that as they were retreating at that time, there would be more hostiles out there, (to see his signals) than friendlies.

The crash looks survivable to me; (I’m not saying he wouldn’t have been injured, even quite badly) but who shut the canopy, and why?

I’m not saying that the bones found are sgt Copping either, but a simple test could say conclusively; the fact is (unless I’m mistaken) no one has undertaken a proper search of the area, to do so undoubtably would take many people, (most probably military personel) and obviously there are ramifications regarding foreign soldiers on Egyptian soil etc, etc, and the Egyptians currently have other things on their mind.