Fair enough, Mike, it was just a suggestion. Another trackside relic to the east of Swindon!
101 Sqn as per number painted on wreck. The attached was taken near Leuchars – possible connection although different serial?
Will they be at Leg-ends? Sorry!
Looks like they are on that improvised salt pan airfield which I investigated some years ago. A good surface but the salt would not have done the airframes a lot of good!
No need to apologise – some great stuff in there!
More Wellesley info here:
http://crashsiteorkney.com/the-mystery-of-wellesley-k7734.html#/
I wonder what happened to the tailwheel that was found floating off the Norwegian coast and was identified from part numbers as coming from a Wellesley?
I’m not so sure about the Arrow but there is a resemblance. The Gnat too, except that the tailplane would be visible in a head-on view.
I wasn’t aware of Napier Jewelery – an American company, hence the spelling – but it’s a strange coincidence that it has the same name as the UK engine company for which this chap worked. Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be any connection.
Thanks for the suggestions, chaps. Yes, it could be a Harrier but the fin is too tall. I’m not so sure it’s a unit emblem. I thought it could be a project which never materialised but I’ve yet to find a match for it.
It’s a Contact Light fitting. These were used primarily in connection with radio landing aids in poor visibility. Their function was to indicate to pilots the limits of the runway, once the aircraft had been guided by radio to the point where the aircraft could be let down onto the runway. They were normally fitted only on the main runway as in fog there is usually little or no wind. (Not in places like Cornwall, though!) The airfield memorial at Cheddington has one of these fittings as part of the design.
Reputedly, the standard left-hand circuit was derived from the fact that Sopwith Camels turned more easily to the left because of the rotary engine,
I believe the engine from Hector K8096 was amongst the wreckage on Red Pike in the Lake District. That was in the 1960s. It may still be there!
Warbird Information Exchange (WIX) forum would be a better bet.