As regards the F5/Halifax photo above,after looking at it again,I thought hmmm … possible to fly with that damage ??
So I did a bit of googling and there has been some discussion on at least one website as to whether it might have been a ground collision at Speke !!
Anybody know anything about it ??

Wouldn’t surprise me!

About the only place I can think of Halifaxes (churned out of Rootes) and P38’s (being assembled in the Hangars on the other side of the field) operating in close proximity in daytime.

Also the picture has been retouched to remove any background detail, so the location is clearly sensitive – I wonder if it had something like Garston gasworks in the background!

One other thought then, can anyone tie it up with a Halifax loss in December 1943? The date coming from some reserach on the internet.

Jon

I thought the Britannia had gone, to be replaced by one of those green monsters. I haven’t seen its fuselage at Luton in the last year or two.

Laurence

It has in terms of location, however look to the south of it on google maps 😀

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=luton&sll=53.304211,-2.942834&sspn=0.005719,0.013754&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Luton,+Bedfordshire,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.879942,-0.360918&spn=0.002954,0.006877&t=h&z=17

A few years back it was moved up the embankment to better represent a crashed aircraft for training exercises. The tracks you can see trailing behind it were dug out to simulate were engines etc had plouged through the ground on impact. When I went they were overgrown and found them the hard way 😀

Chatting with the guys in the Fire Department afterwards they said it was going nowhere anytime soon as was perfect for what they needed.

I have some pictures somewhere if anyone is interested.

Jon

I believe that Newark might have made enquiries about the Argonaut but it was around the time that both the Gannet and Vulcan acquisitions were in the pipeline so I understand that sadly it went by the wayside.

I guess it might also come under the thread “What has slipped through your fingers” 🙁

Looking at the picture of it taken in 1977 (link posted earlier) its fate had long been sealed with the nose smashed off and extensive fire damage to the lower part of the fuselage. What a shame…..

Jon

To answer the original post, the colours are Signal Red and Light Aircraft Grey (and white) The wings are grey.

BS nos are BS381C no 541 Signal Red and BS381C no 627 Ligh Aircraft Grey

BS381C No 541 is maroon, BS381C No 537 is signal red.

http://www.nspcoatings.co.uk/bs381c-colour-charts.php

Jon

http://home.comcast.net/~aero51/html/exhibits/martinet_restoration.htm

This is the one, they turned it into a Martinet instead. Not that I object though, it’s a magnificent project.
Cees

Reading their website that is not the implication. It reads as always being a Martinet project (TT.1 MS902) that along the way has incorporated some Master components.

Jon

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8419948.stm

Jon

To me they look like transport struts for when the Hurricat is not being used/or needed – rolling around in high seas or when in port for example.

I struggle with the heating theory for two reasons –
Firstly the construction is surely too heavy and cumbersome for the supposed purpose? Why make it like that when there are other lighter and quicker options?
Secondly the ship is clearly in port so why have it primed and ready to go?

Jon