I recall being somewhat surprised when cleaning a component recovered from a Defiant MkI crash site, lost April 1941 and finding it clearly stamped “Made in Germany”! Especially as it was lost on a patrol looking for reported raiders and one of the Squadron’s aircraft shot down a Ju88 that night.

I don’t know if any one will read this but this is simply to say a big thank you to Bob Collis and David Wade for making the story below possible.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/photo_gallery_families_of_cawston_plane_crash_victims_pay_their_respects_73_years_on_from_tragedy_1_3634197

Good to hear that you were able to find someone able to help and that you managed to fulfil your wish to visit the site – many on here will always try to assist relatives whenever we can – well done Bob and Dave.

Definitely not Dexion – which have highly distinctive wide slot cross heads as Bruce points out – Also are these not brass? They certainly look it in the photos & would make sense, as steel bolts and aluminium together in a steamy kitchen, could have caused problems! I recall when I worked for an Auction House many years ago being called out to look at one of these kitchens – it was the first I had seen and I was amazed how modern it looked and how many units it comprised at a time when most houses wound have had nothing more than a stove and a plywood “Kitchenette” unit! Sadly there was little market for them at that time and taking it out would have cost more than we estimated it would make – I ended up persuading the householder to keep it and I know that several years later, it had been re-finished and was still in-situ – Suspect they were glad of my advice in the long run! Didn’t know of the aviation connection until recently though.

Not quite correct Xtangomike.

August 12th 1944. Target, V1 site at Mimoyecques. PB4Y-1 (ex USAAF B-24 J 42- 110007). The single US Navy BQ-8 took off from Fersfield, heading towards Southwold. At an altitude of 2000ft it prematurely detonated over Blyth estuary Suffolk, killing LT Joseph P Kennedy Jr and L T Wilford J Willy. Kennedy’s body was never found.

I recall visiting the Mimoyecques several years ago and there being a memorial to Lt Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr there and a quite good information board on Operation Aphrodite – The Mimoyecques site was not a V-1 site, but a huge purpose built undergroud facility to house a battery of experimental multi-chamber high velocity guns, nicknamed the “London Cannon” or later simply “V-3”.

One of the better Wikipedia pages on the site here: Fortress of Mimoyecques

IIRC the complex had apparently proved impervious to conventional bombing and even an earlier attempt using Tallboys had left it appearing pretty much unscathed. So the plan was to fly the explosive laden B-24 directly into the main entrance, which would have required a high degree of accuracy? Perhaps explaining why the equipment on board the B-24 was apparently so sensitive? Ironically, unknown to the allies the Tallboys had in fact done their work and much of the site had been rendered useless for its original purpose anyway.

I have to say I find the whole thing very puzzling – not only the destruction of a largely intact relic, but why they went to so much trouble? I see nothing wrong with producing the sculptures per se – though they are not my cup-of-tea, I admit and I do have my own feelings on selling aircraft wreck relics for commercial gain, which are well known, so I am not going down that route.

I know there are others who have produced this sort of thing in the past, but the instance that comes to mind, I seem to recall the proceeds went to a worthy cause and the aluminium used was from smashed fragments collected from sites and digs, where they had been checked and assessed as not of sufficient merit to be retained or displayed, so would have probably gone for metal recycling in any case, as many groups do with such material.

However, in this case the firm concerned seem to have deliberately selected a relatively intact example of a Merlin with a known provenance, perhaps feeling that the detailed documented complete destruction of this historic artifact in some way adds to the “value” of what they have produced from it?

I have been involved with enough digs to know how rarely Merlins come out of the ground this intact and have seen plenty that have not – surely there were poor / badly smashed examples available with equal BoB provenance?

Or perhaps showing sacks of aluminium cornflakes and smashed lumps of engine casing going into the furnace would not have satisfied their customer’s desire or imagination?

Couple of interesting Grips / Stick tops:

RAF Hawker Hunter Control Column Top Joy Stick Grip Joystick Yoke Fighter Jet

Bristol Control Column Yoke DAP Beaufort Beaufighter Blenheim Stick Grip RAF

Almost tempted myself!