Adrian Gray spotted something strange in an image posted on the Spitfire Lambeth thread.

Here is a view showing slightly more and also a more distant rear view.

Anybody any idea what it is/was?

Mark

Definitely appears to be a former Wellington “dustbin turret” converted for use as a Leigh Light-the searchlight itself can be seen through the perspex window-it was used in costal command Wellingtons to illuminate U-boats (that were on the surface) at night in order to press home an attack.

A nose mounted version of the same light was fitted into Douglas Bostons for the same purpose.

What does intrigue me is the object on the left hand side of the second picture- the one with the two vertical brackets-it looks very much like a Wellesley bomb carrier to me!!!

The section pictured was recovered by myself and some collegues from Nostell priory nr. wakefield where it had been displayed, We became “involved ” with YAM and subsequently the then “Halifax Project” I donated the section of fuselage after displaying it at several airshows over the years,the then commitee decided that it was of no use to the project and i believe it was scrapped without any thought( it certainly wasnt used )and without consulting me,at the time this piece of fuselage was the third largest piece of surviving halifax and we had spent some time doing cosmetic work on it to tidy it up for display,i dont think its around now as previously stated.:cool:

Dammit!!!! I wish we still had it at S.Y.A.M. 😡 However we do have a section of wing leading edge that came from Elvington I believe,we were also instumental in assisting Blyth Parish Council in errecting a memorial to a 425 Sqn Halifax,parts of which are on display at Doncaster.The memorial also commemerates Wellington HE616 (from R.A.F.Worksop) which came down less than 200 mtrs from the memorial.

The Halifax in question was B.III NA581 KW-U,which was on a daytime test flight from Tholthorpe N.Yorks 2/8/1944 when the aircraft began having engine problems(one of which had caught fire) & despite its predicament the crew were refused permission to land at nearby airfields.Compounding the tragedy,the aircraft was less than 3 miles from R.A.F.Worksop when it crashed.

Eyewitness accounts from the time suggest that the Halifax was extremely low(one account recalls the crew could be seen waving frantically) & the pilot made every effort to avoid crashing on houses in the village,coming down in a field 3/4 of a mile from Blyth on the Hodsock estate,sadly none of the crew survived.

However the saddest part of the episode was that all the crew members had only 1 more mission to do to complete their tour(many of them had written home,no doubt looking forward to going back to Canada) & the pilot was not aware at the time that he had been awarded a D.F.C.

The village of Blyth is on the Nottinghamshire/S.Yorkshire border just off the A1 trunk road,so if you’re passing that way you will find the memorial(in the form of a granite cairn) on the village green,adjacent to the road junction for Worksop.

A very sad post Creaking Door, as a former hobby diver I am astonished at how deep hobby divers operate these days.
Its even sadder when a suitable U Boat is already on the surface,unwanted. Redevelopment progress has resulted in the closure of a museum in Liverpool and a U boat is just waiting for a new home.

Ok so why don’t we petiton IWM to take it on Manchester or Duxford (I know Cambridgeshire is about as far from the Atlantic as a big museum gets, but it would look superb next to the Sunderland)

this engine was seen in its large crate at the above location circa 1984 complete and in as new condition,it was part of the air museum which was housed there along with a Bristol Sycamore in reasonable condition,the museum was being moved from this site at the time, does anyone know what became of these two exhibits ? I think there was a disposal auction there .:cool: 😎 😎

I am not sure what happed to the Centaurus,alas the last I heard of the Sycamore was it ended up in a scrapyard in Scotland-there was a mention of it being there in W&R 9 or 10.

As for the museum,by the generosity of member Carl Spedding 🙂 some of what was left of its exhibits were put ” into storage” at a farm in Firbeck,South Yorks on a “temporary basis” and the group became the S.Yorkshire Aviation Society. In the event it transpires that the building it was housed in was part of the former Officers Mess at what was RAF Firbeck-a former 1930’s aerodrome designed by Tom Campbell-Black & commandeered for the duration.

Eventually, the society re-invented itself & became the S.Yorks Aircraft Museum (S.Y.A.M.)in 1986,becoming very established & in the same year was the smallest museum to host a B.A.P.C. meeting.
S.Y.A.M. remained at Firbeck until 2000 when it moved to Doncaster & now operates under the umberella of Doncaster Aeroventure/S.Y.A.M.

Two threads, one discussing whether to display a wrecked aircraft or a restored mostly-replica, the other mentioning that some museum lighting makes it difficult to take photographs there have prompted me to ask..

Just what do people want from an aviation museum?

I like to see two different types, luckily I am within easy reach of many.

The flying collection where we see these lovely shapes with air under their wings and a growl in their throat.

The historic collection where history is preserved and presented informatively.

Two of the most poignant UK historic displays I know are the Hurricane wreckage at Hendon, and the half and half 109 diorama at Duxford.

I like the moody lighting at Hendon too. Am I really alone in this?

Moggy

Moody lighting is good,(unless you take photo’s)as it reduces the cost (of electricity) to a museum esspecially if you do it with skylights.:diablo:

Seriously, many of our museums do not seem to realise that we are both lucky & unlucky in having such a great number of them,lucky because there is almost one on everybodies doorstep,but unlucky in that they get some stick for preserving too many of one type, never enough literature with exhibits,taking too long to restore an aircraft & sadly having a “its mine & your not having it” attitude to another group etc.

In an ideal world what I would like from all museums is to share exhibits where possible-lets face it we cannot always afford get to every museum in the country & there are many out there that have certain aircraft/artifacts currently in storage that are other museums would love to display but are denied the opportunity.

Ok I accept it is impossible to move a Vulcan sized aircraft without doing some serious damage:eek: & some(not me!!!) would argue that all Spitfires are too valuable to go to Fred Bloggs’ Aviation emporium,:rolleyes: but if a Museum has a decent reputation and is willing and able to display a type on another groups terms then why the heck not? (I know a few such as the odd Meteor & other less attractive types already are on loan, but a Spitfire-its enough to make a trustee splutter on his G&T:D 😀 ) After all, many of the big boys out there started out no bigger than their first exhibit,plus it can have a major positive affect in that the good publicity of the loan can potentially increase.

So in a nutshell, what I want from a museum is to see all of its exhibits whether it is on its own site or that of another museum.

I am surprised this thread has not had many replies,so to feed a little life into it, I will add a couple more that impressed me.

Bearing in mind,I feel that all the recepiants of th V.C. equally deserve a mention.

Flt lt J.B.Nicholson V.C.- Bof B pilot who having his Hurricane literally shot from beneath him,got back into the inferno that was his cockpit & shot down the Me 110 that had attacked his aircraft.

Sgt Ward V.C.-after being attacked crawled out through the astrodome opening & across the wing of his Wellington bomber to attempt to extinguish an engine fire.

P/O Mynarski V.C.- (I may be wrong on this one)on going to exit his balzeing Lancaster noticed the rear gunner was stuck in his turret & was unable to escape,on passing through flames in an endeavour to help,his clothing caught fire but he still tried to help the gunner without regard to his own position.

Only after the gunner motioned Mynaraski to abandon the a/c did he stand up,salute the gunner & walk back through the flames,this was the last time he was seen alive,the gunner eventually escaping and able to re-itterate the story.

I appologise for any inaccuracy for any of these stories as I am at work & nowhere near a reference book.

Here we go again! Can anyone dig out the paint specs for a late scheme Canberra TT18?

Were the colours:
Medium sea Grey? (If so, then we have the spec)
Dark Earth Green? (If so, then we have the spec too)
Black (Got the spec for this one…)
Yellow – This is the one we are unsure about. Even a name for the correct shade would be beneficial.

Might have to re-name NEAM as the ‘Flypast Forum Museum’ at this rate……
Thanks in advance, as per usual….:D

Have you tried BAe? back in the 1980’s they had the contract to service Cranberries until 2012!! so the may still have some record- long shot I know.

As for the yellow I was told by a RAF painter/finisher that it is called SAR wing yellow.