Circa 1957 I was cycling toward St Albans past Radlett airfield and happened on this very strange looking aircraft with central fin and tri u/c.

I could not identify it in any of the recognition books I had.

Later I was able to get up closer to it when the airfield was opened for a model aircraft display and competition. I was able to creep round the inside of the perimeter of the airfield without getting stopped…quite a hike.

Mark

The mystery aircraft is basically a Halifax (propped up horizontally) and fitted with a Herald fin. It was used, I believe, for testing aerial installations

C H Barnes reports in ‘Handley Page Aircraft since 1907’ that one of the survivors – a Mr Eric Studd – ws initially reported missing because he wandered away from the crash site and was only located the next day after he had made his way semi-concussed to Paris by boat train.

RAF Halton

I remember going to Battle of Britain days at RAF Halton several times in the late fifties / very early sixties. On the first occasion it was possible to wander among – and climb into – the various dumped instructional airframes lying about behind the hangars. I remember the lingering smells of oil, leather, crushed grass and rust (does rust smell?) as I sat in the cockpit of what I think was a Brigand or Buckmaster. Sadly, on the following visit, the hulks had RAF policemen stationed to stop us climbing aboard. Such were the beginnings of “elfin safety”, I suppose.

This thread and the LAP one are very evocative for many of us. I lived near Heathrow and spent many hours watching from the top of the Queens building as well as from the older ground-level spectators’ enclosure. The most lasting memories of LAP though are first-time spotting of oddities like the Breguet Deux Ponts observed on final approach over Hounslow or the El Al Curtiss Commando (in camouflage finish?) parked near the Pan Am hangars by the Great South-West Road.

Stop me now … I feel a monologue coming on!

For anyone who isn’t already sold on James Hamilton-Paterson’s excellent book there’s a good review on

http://londongrip.co.uk/2011/09/book-review-lost-empire/

Less glamorous …

I remember the first (and probably only) time I saw a Breguet Deux Ponts lumbering in to land on one of its infrequent appearances at Heathrow. Late 1950s I suppose and – for its day – a big aircraft. Pretty small alongside a 747 I suppose?

How about the Gloster Javelin? Having read the book ‘Empire Of The Clouds’ by James Hamilton-Patterson, it seems that the Javelin was a bit of a dog…

Although the Hamilton-Paterson book has been around for a couple of years now it might be worth mentioning that there’s a fairly recent review on
http://londongrip.co.uk/2011/09/book-review-lost-empire/ which might be an encouragement to anyone who hasn’t yet had a look at this sad but fascinating look at British aviation in the 1940s and 50s.

I’ve had the book in my hands in bookshops and read some extracts which certainly change my view from the unqualified admiration I had for the UK industry’s products in the 50s and 60s when I was a mere lad! But the test pilots who were my heroes still come out of it well…

I’m hoping someone will buy it for me for Christmas…