International Lancs…
No-one is in a position to get nationalistic over Lancaster preservation, I’d say.
Canada built them too and is responsible for the majority of survivors.
The BBMF Lancaster survived, in part, due to a mapping requirement in Africa, after being allocated to attack Japan.
The BBMF Lanc’s upper turret came from Argentina.
The AWM’s iconic G-for-George in Canberra is a proud Australian possession, but much credit goes to the builders in the UK.
The French have been responsible for helping several survive, including their own example under restoration at Le Bourget.
The IWM Lancaster at Duxford is a Canadian machine.
The IWM Lambeth nose section was from an RAAF Squadron.
Without a multi-national team, ‘Spirit of Surfer’s Paradise’, NX611, G-ASXX would never have returned to the UK from Australia. Without the Panton’s it wouldn’t be the star ‘Just Jane’ that she is now.
And hats off the 44 Sqn, the BBMF (and the MOD) as well as the CWH for putting them where they belong.
I thought I’d seen annd photographed most of the world’s surviving Lancs until I tried to ‘tick-off’ the remaining Canadian survivors I hadn’t seen – Oops! How many?
Without friends (and some enemies) we’d all be the poorer.
* * * * *
As for e-bay, aircraft bits can be (to others than us) categorised as (specialist interest) junk. Without the buyers out there, the vast majority of whom are not rebuilders but collectors, none of this would have anything but sentimental value. Stuff being kept and then offered for sale is a factor of rarity and thus financial value – thus there are no ‘bargains’ on e-bay, as it’s the proverbial level playing field, but it does help stuff move about.
If you want bargains, you’ve got to be lucky and looking elsewhere that e-bay. Otherwise pay (current) market value on e-bay.
However, Cees, if I saw a Halifax throttle box I’d PM you first, as I know you can offer it a good home… 😀
I know my first reply is too harsh and I apologize to LancasterKB882 for being such an ass. Reason for this is that other sources are drying up and e-bay is the main possibility to obtain hard to find items for projects. In this way we have to compete agains people who see these items jast as collectors items and not as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to be later called a cockpit or otherwise. But that’s life so I will have to accept it don’t I. Also having deep pockes or not (the latter in my case) tends to make a difference. But the persistent ones will always win in the end, so I keep telling me :p
Sign In
