It is a seat from a Spitfire/Seafire. Potentially airworthy or not it is very definitely worth many times more than scrap metal value as a historical artifact that restorers and collectors would die for. Stick it on ebay and watch what happens!

In my garage I have a tail wheel from a Lancaster, which is probably worth a fiver in scrap metal value (if that). It is a tail wheel from a Lancaster so it is worth a lot more than £5 to somebody who values it’s history (at least, I hope so because I paid a lot more than that).

Sad loss of history if it goes but if it’s a purely economic decision, the potential real estate value of this piece of land must be enormous.

Does anyone know if any of the Harriers with ‘kills’ have made it into or are earmarked for preservation?

Thanks for the suggestions guys – we’ll see how I get on!

The part numbers in question are: Serial No JV94278,SM502B, AHM225, DRG No AH8013/2, ASM586.

Does that gobbledigook mean anything to anyone?

Either that or the mother of all cup holders

Speaking of tailwheels seen this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/avro-lancaster-airplane-wheel-/330632136827?pt=UK_CPV_Aviation_SM&hash=item4cfb36087b

I saw that and in a moment of madness, bought it. I’m pretty sure it’s the real deal but can any part number afficionados confirm?

Also, it’ll be quite hard to hide once I get it home so does anybody have any suggestions as to what I should tell the wife?:o

Interesting, this is the second time in a few months that this question has been asked – the book must be selling a few copies!

Anyway, here’s the answer to the original question:

Just looking at my copy of the book, no serials are ever mentionned, only the aircraft numbers 030 and 021. Although there is a photo in the book with the aircrew standing in front of a buccaneer with the clearly visible serial XN977. A bit of research on the web reveals that 030 was XN977 and 021 was XV154. Both were sadly scrapped in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Shame.

Hope that helps

According to Neil McCart’s ‘HMS Eagle 1942 – 1978’, Eagle left Devonport at 11am on the 1st September 1953 bound for northern waters via the Irish Sea. The squadrons landed on the carrier on 2nd September in the Irish Sea before Eagle joined up with Vanguard and other ships off the North East coast of Scotland on the 6th September. Exercise ‘Mariner’ began in the Denmark Strait on the 22nd September. The Hornet incident is not mentioned in th book as far as I can tell.

Hope that helps

Back to the subject of the thread……………

If you look really closely on google maps, Damascus Mezze airfield has some very interesting shapes in a dump like square enclosure on the southern perimeter of the base. It’s more a case of looking for the shadows rather than the objects themselves. There are maybe 5 or 6 objects there that could, if you squint hard enough (and pray even harder), be roughly the right size and shape to be single seat, straight winged, piston engined aircraft. There is a similar enclosure in the far south western corner of the airfield, which possibly has another 2 of these objects sitting in it.

It’s probably just my imagination and they’re completely innocuous objects like some old oil drums and planks leaning up against a brick outhouse!

While I was searching ‘in the desert north of damascus’ as per the comments in an earlier reply, I accidently crossed the border on google maps into Lebanon. Rayak air base in Lebanon also has some interesting aircraft to be seen:

Apart from the usual Russian stuff, there is a Hunter on the pan – would this be one of the aircraft that has recently been brought back into service to shoot at terrorists?

On a dispersal to the north of the runway, there is also a single piston engined aircraft that looks like it could be something interesting…….. any ideas?

As soon as I can grow a beard, I’m heading out there for a poke around!:D

Any idea what the penalty is for a westerner snooping around military airfields in this part of the world?