I once knew a person who worked for Fairey and was involved with the manufacture of the rotor blade tip jets for the Rotodyne, these were the source of the very high pitched noise levels generated in the vertical takeoff/landing phase, once transitioned to foreward flight the rotor was unpowered. In desperation numerous different designs of tip jets were built and tried but the result was always the same, noise so loud it made your ears hurt.
The ingenuity and complexity of the rotor hub has always amazed me as it had to take ducted compressed air, bled from the engines, fuel and ignition out to each blade tip.

Richard

It looks like it is VX770-the lack of a bomb-aimer’s blister under the nose is a give-away. If so it would have to predate 14/09/1957 when VX770 was lost during an air display…

Just a small point but I think the crash happened on the 20th of September 1958.

Richard

RT
Sorry I didnt read your original text properly. The picture certainly looks to me like the Ca.331 with some rather temporary alterations made to the canopy.

Richard

LAHarve
I am sure the Lincoln is pictured at Aston Down and was one of several that were given a protective cacoon for external storage on the airfield, late 50’s early 60’s. It was one of several Lincolns along with Hastings and smaller airframes. At one time I had pictures of the aircraft stored in this way but cannot find them now, does anyone have anything.

Richard

A similar dredging project is planned for the Solent, to make deeper water for the new carriers when the enter service at Portsmouth and bigger container ships going into Southampton. I wonder what might be found there.

Richard

The Met Research Flight WJ582 did hit the sea and the pilot ejected underwater according to the description of the incident in this MRF report. I wonder what actually happened during the ejection process, how far would a MB seat of that time send you underwater.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/r/d/Canberra_Crash.pdf
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/5/a/70_years_of_ARF_271112.pdf

Richard

Mike
FPT, now part of GKN, of Portsmouth are able to repair and manufacture flexible fuel tanks, I think they are doing the one for the Vulcan.

http://www.gkn.com/aerospace/products-and-capabilities/flexible-protection-systems/Pages/default.aspx

Richard

It looks to me as if they were not painted at all originally, just left as a bare composite construction in the colour of the resin, cloth and honeycombe that was used to make them, painting them would have had a small effect on the performance of the radar which presumably was accepted later on when they went hemp.

Richard