Sunderland Mk II

Here is the movement card of a Sunderland that was scuttled in Lough Erne in N Ireland.

Ali

i can remember reading that the last flying sunderland was sold to the good old usa, does anybody know how many have survived in an un-flying condition ? and where they are ?
many thanks in advance

I have the movement card of a Mk II that was scuttled in Lough Erne in N Ireland. It quite clearly says “Scuttled” on it. If the scuttled bit is faked then the microfiche at Hendon has been tampered with. Anyone interested in going over there to try and look for it? I’m a diver and have access to a sonar unit.

Ali 😎

Yes- the following number has been handpainted in white numerals on the lower stem: 128314/6

and then 25/4/69

attached to it is a blue tag with the numbers 5CX/5136
Chartboard Lamp R H
1oz. 8314
QTY 1

Bearing in mind the date of manufacture I wondered if it could have come from something like a Trident- but I’m not sure if that ever had what could be described as a chart table anywhere on board. Looking at the black colour -maybe it was made for something like a Vulcan or a Victor.Obviously as I previously stated the box is Hawker Siddeley- did they subcontract parts for other aircraft?

Anyone suggest or know where it came from?

I have recently been in the cockpit of the Vulcan which is at the NE Aviaiton Museum and took lots of piccies and it’s definately not from a Vulcan.

Ali

Hello everyone

I bought this DF loop base a while ago for the Whitley. While the base is applicable to the old girl, the folded ali mount is not. It bears an EEP inspection stamp (English Electric Preston). The other part numbers start with SK and GR – very odd.

Anyone have any ideas as the mount is surplus.

Cheers

I have no idea but would like to know how the Whitley is going on. You have been collecting bits for quite some time and was wondering how long are we going to wait before we see a Whitley.

Ali

There is no such thing as a ‘stupid’ question 🙂

Oh????? Dunno about that one 🙂

Pretty much (as far as ‘simple’ Permit to Fly aircraft are concerned anyway), most of the historic aircraft we enjoy today (the Spitfire , Hurricane, Mustang etc) do not have a finite airframe life, but their status as airworthy machines is maintained by a series of detailed inspections of various levels of complexity throughout the year coupled with (flying) time related prop and engine overhauls.

If this is the case and taking into account the age of the aircraft, how much of the original airframe exists on flying historic aircraft?

Yes it is a very big job but the Lanc as an airframe is made from a number of different ‘sub-assemblies’ and the main spar is a large part of the central fuselage/inner wing sub-assembly so it is possible to break the spar down and replace the sheet metal components and fixings. And yes, it does deserve it!

I was speaking to a B17 junkie who told me that the B17 was only built for 25 missions. If this is true, will the Lanc take more punishment and be easier to field repair due to the seeminly modular construction of the whole?

The spar is more of a built-up assembly than an individual part, so it can be replaced so long as the raw material, bults and rivets are still available.

I think that the rate that fuel is going up the raw materials are the last of our problems.

Ali

G-AOJC Viscount cockpit section is indeed a submerged diving attraction at Stoney Cove, near Hinckley, Leics. I’ll try get some piccies next time I go.

Here is a nice picture.

http://www.divetheworld.com/images/stoney/aircraft.jpg

Ali

there was at least one lanc with a bomb bay mounted jet engine in a necelle, it was flown by the Swedes, i’ll see if i can find reference to it.
that B2 in the pic, wasn’t it the one that had either a Python or Dart turboprop mounted in the nose at a later date?.
Greg

I would have thought that a bomb bay jet engine would have scorched the tail a bit or would they have only started it up once it was in the air.

Ali

Lovely to see the Lancaster back at Old Warden, espesialy after the reported trouble at Biggen Hill.

I heard somewhere that it only has a limited amount of flight hours left on that aircraft and then it will be grounded. Any truth in that?

Ali