Abandoned Airframes

A great set of photos, lots of stories to be told.

OK, so let’s start telling ’em!

First picture – captioned “West Sahara” is the easy one: its SAAF Shackleton 1716 which is still where it crashed on 13 July 1994 (see http://www.flyafrica.info/forums/showthread.php?12783-SAAF-Shackleton-Accident-(1716)-13-July-1994-Sahara-Desert for the background story)

Second picture – captioned “Canada” is Douglas C-47 45-1037 (or “51037” as it appears on the fin) which crashed at Haines Junction in the Yukon on Feb 7, 1950 during a search for a C-54 that went missing Jan 26, 1950. All 10 on board survived and were rescued. (background story here: http://www.ruudleeuw.com/dc3_mystery.htm

Third picture – captioned “Canada” is very obviously a Bristol Freighter. I presume this it is this one: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740531-0 That is CF-QWJ which crashed on May 31 1974 at Rankin Inlet

Fourth picture – very obviously a Curtiss C-46 Commando (but which one – and where and when did it crash?)

Fifth picture – captioned “Mexico” is, I’d agree, probably a Catalina; the layout of the engines makes the wreckage look like one (high wing, 2 x radial engines close together)

Comments in the sixth and seventh pictures would be welcome. It’s hard to see what the aircraft is in the seventh picture, captioned “USA” due to the density of the trees! (Perhaps a Fairchild C-123?)

Eighth picture – is another shot of the same Bristol Freighter referred to above, albeit taken from a different angle

Hawker Hunter XL603 was constructed by Hawker Aircraft Ltd at it Kingston-upon-Thames factory. It was flown on its first flight by David Lockspeiser on 6th December 1958, and was handed over to the Fleet Air Arm at RNAS Lossiemouth the following month. Following preparation for service, it was issued to RNAS Yeovilton’s Heron Flight on 12th February 1959 and coded ‘950’ with a VL shore code applied on the tail fin. It remained at Somerset for the next three years, until it was moved to RNAS Belfast for extensive maintenance in March 1962. Re-introduced to service in May 1963 with 764 NAS (Navy Air Squadron) at RNAS Lossiemouth, XL603 was soon on the move to 759 NAS at Brawdy, where it was assigned the fleet number ‘659’. In November 1964, it was moved to RAF Kemble for storage with 5 MU (Maintenance Unit), but its stay was brief, as it was returned to Heron Flight at Yeovilton in May 1965 as ‘949’ originally but was later re-coded ‘738’. Four years of service with the Unit, interrupted by the occasional re-finish or downtime for maintenance was ended in August 1969 when it was re-issued to 764 NAS as ‘677’.

On 21st July 1972, XL603 was moved back to Kemble for maintenance and subsequent long-term store.

XL603 was transferred to MoD(PE) (Ministry of Defence Procurement Executive) charge at British Aerospace’s (BAe) Brough plant on 30th June 1975. It was to be converted to T.8M specification for the Fleet Air Arm, where it was fitted with the Blue Fox radar as used in the Sea Harrier FRS.1, and also had half of its cockpit modified to that of a Sea Harrier. The aeroplane was operated on radar trials at RAE (Royal Aircraft Establishment) Bedford between October 1978 and April 1981, moving on to BAe’s Holme-upon-Spalding Moor airfield the following month.

Its trials work complete, XL603 was issued to 899 NAS at Yeovilton, the Sea Harrier training squadron on 8th March 1983. Assigned the fleet number ‘718’, the aeroplane received the 899 NAS winged fist emblem on the tail fin by the end of the following summer. It was re-coded during 1984 as ‘720’ and then again during 1988 as ‘724’, and continued in 899 NAS service until it was ferried to Hurn for a comprehensive overhaul in 1990. It subsequently retired to Yeovilton in the new dark sea grey colour scheme. It flew for the last time with 899NAS on 25th June 1993, and was placed in open store shortly after, acting as a spares ship for the active FRADU aeroplanes. It was offered for disposal at the November 1994 Sothebys auction

The aeroplane was hammered down for £2,600 to Clive Forshaw, and it was moved by road to Bruntingthorpe airfield in Leicestershire. The aeroplane was placed on static display and was a popular attraction at the airfield’s regular open days given its unusual appearance.

During 1999, XL603 was sold to Global Aviation Inc, based at Tulsa in the USA and was dismantled at Bruntingthorpe and shipped over to its new home by sea during March 2000. A restoration programme was begun to bring the aeroplane back to flying condition, but little progress was heard and the aeroplane was placed in open store, alongside Hunter GA.11 WV267.

During 2010, ownership of XL603 passed to Jaime Pinto and the aeroplane is currently for sale. Although not in flying condition, the airframe is complete and has an engine fitted. It is registered on the FAA registry as N419ZS.

Source Mark Russell at http://www.fradu-hunters.co.uk/fraduhnt/724xl603.html

By the way, the highly regarded UK serials website at http://ukserials.com/ gives the c/no of XL603 as “41H/694514”

but http://www.airfighters.com/photo/26310/L/UK-Navy/Hawker-Hunter-T8C/XL603/ gives the c/no as “41H-695926” (!)

My point beintg that XL603 has been rebuilt extensively – and more than once – over the past 54 years; due to the “modular” construction of the aircraft, then, as described above, this aircraft has more than a touch of “my grandma’s broom” – which is totally original (except that it has had four new broom heads, and two replacement handles…).

In other words, the various quoted c/nos are correct for that wing or fuselage section, but not a lot of XL603 today is what was there when it left the factory in 1958…

Sea King Programme

Sea King ZA298 got mentionted “by name” (well, OK, serial number) several times, so I hope that it does eventually get preserved one day – the FAA Historic Flight perhaps?

After being shot down more than once, and still getting up to live and fight another day, ZA298 deserves to be spared, not reduced TO spares…

(Royal Navy Sea King ZA298 at Yeovilton Air Day 2012 – sourced from Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/20998733@N04/7430266716/)

Oh, and the incident referred to in the programme was this one http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084998/Royal-Navy-Sea-King-ZA298-war-downed-Taliban.html

ZA298 is up there with Chinook “Bravo November” as a long serving, long surviving chopper, and has earned a place in a Museum (FAAM perhaps?)

Viscount…

Just a Suggestion, but could “Hullavington” possibly refer to 10 MU, which was based at Hullavington from March 1939 until disbanded on 31/12/1959?

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10_Maintenance_Unit_RAF and http://www.controltowers.co.uk/H-K/Hullavington.htm

Post #4 suggested “It was with the A&AEE in 1964 and was coded “3””, so

18/3/1957 – allocated to C(A) MoA
mid-1957 – 10 MU Hullavington (stored)
c.31/12/1959 – A&AEE Boscombe Down (certainly by 1964)

None of the above is definite, just a suggestion (in the light of any other ideas…)

Chipmunk G-AOTM (Bristol aero conversion)

Well, to get things going, THIS is a picture of the Aircraft in question

G-AOTM: DHC-1 Chipmunk 22A, To N65312 1976), taken at Wisley 15-9-57, Tony Clarke Collection (source http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwhitworth/7090618951/in/set-72157626917257590)

Built for the RAF as c/no C1/0862. Delivered as WP988 on 7/4/1953. Became G-AOTM 11/7/1956 (see http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AOTM-1.pdf for history 1956-1969)

To N65312 on 26/4/1976 (see http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AOTM-2.pdf for history 1969-1976)

Later became N122DH. This is what she looked like at Oshkosh, Wisconsin on 24/7/2012: http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1359935/. Oddly wearing incorrect RAF makings as “WD288” (c/no C1/0227) and still currently registered as such to a private owner in Cloquet, Minnesota with a C of A to 31/5/2015

jan leeming and ian reed filming at air museum

Last line of the report reads “Searching for Rene will be screened on BBC1 on February 28”

Would it be correct to presume that it will be part of the BBC “Inside Out” series, that presents three short items of local interest?

(Previous such reports have been on the Thor ICBM sites – and one about digging up a P-51 Mustang in Lancashire)

If so, then please do post a link to the BBC iPlayer when it gets shown.

Spitfire MK297

OK, presumably you mean BEFORE the fire. In which case, a sensible answer is this one:

MK297: Spitfire LFIX C/no CBAF.IX.1514. Built at Castle Bromwich. To 6 MU 30-1-44, 411 Squadron 12-2-44, 66 Squadron 17-2-44, Air Service Training Hamble 12-2-45. Sold to Royal Netherlands Air Force 27-9-46 as ‘H-55’ later ‘H-116’. To Belgian Air Force 16-6-52 as ‘B-15’ later ‘SM-43’. To COGEA and civil registered as OO-ARB in May 1956. As such, appeared in the 1962 movie “The Longest Day”

To UK on 28-4-64 with civil registration G-ASSD. Registered to Film Aviation services Ltd Horley, Surrey. Re-registered 11-3-65 to Reginald Wale, Cambridge. Registration G-ASSD cancelled 1-9-65 as “to USA”, but restored 20-5-66 to John Crewsden of Cambridge. Re-registered 29-9-66 to Graham Rich, Fakenham, Norfolk.

UK civil registration canceled 18-4-69: to USA as N1882 later NX9BL then with Confederate AF Breckenridge Texas as N11RS. Destroyed in hangar fire, Hamilton Ontario (Canada). Airworthy prior to its destruction in hangar fire, 15 February 1993

Source: http://www.spitfires.ukf.net/p069.htm
and http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ASSD.pdf
and http://www.strijdbewijs.nl/birds/spitfire/registraties.htm
and http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Preserved/Spitfire.html

Never went anywhere near Douglas Bader, as he was a “guest” of the Third Reich at the time (August 1941 to April 1945). The confusion stems from the code letters applied when with 411 Squadron – it was coded “DB-S”, and Douglas Bader’s Spitfire had the “personal” code “D-B”

And here’s some footage of MK297 in the 1988 TV series “Piece of Cake” http://youtu.be/6R7pDoBSrKg