lancaster bomber

[6shot]

since mr h,s post about the bunker ive been meaning to post this. its not quite as gripping but here goes

 

a few years ago i had a call from a gent asking if i wanted a intresting days work. we run a small plant hire firm and the chap wanted a jcb on hire for a day.

 

the job was to excavate a world war 2 lancaster bomber that had crashed just after the war.

 

and heres some pics

 

the first pic shows 5 people standing on the 4 engines and fuselage.they used a metal detector to find this position and they where bang on.

 

 

 

next starting to strip the site

 

 

we soon came across the tip of a propeller. it was a miracle it was still intact as it was only 12 inchs down and the field had been worked by the farmer for the last 60 years.

 

 

i think we dug out 2 complete propellers.

 

 

here s a few more bits.

 

 

 

 

they were after 2 of the merlin engines but sadly alot of the engine had rotted away. but there was pistons and stuff.

 

the best find of the day was a browning machine gun with bullets still in the chamber. but d--k head here didnt get photos of that.

[pyr8]

was it carrying jeeps by any chance.

the isle of arran of the west coast of scotland has quite a few wreck sites on the hills.during the war they were experimenting with converting ships to aircraft carriers.the ships were anchored at lamlash by the holy island.a fair few aircraft got lost in the low clouds and crashed into the hills.the heritage centre have some photos of the sights and the wreckage.brave men when you see some of the tubs they were taking of from.

[6shot]

apparently is was on a training exercise when it crashed

[2bangs]

That looks brilliant, just like being on time team.

[6shot]

That looks brilliant, just like being on time team.

 

it was a good day. i just wished i had taken some more pics

[TonySmith]

Lincolnshire Aviation Preservation Society.....?

[6shot]

no they came from london me thinks.

[Imperfection]

Fantastic find.

 

I watched Time Team once where they uncovered a B17.

[bruno22rf]

I've got bits of a B17 on one of my fields-flown by a guy called Kett who went on to fly more hours in combat than any other USAAF pilot-got a bloody nose in Bucks for his efforts.

[new to the flock]

My brother and I both worked on the Lanc that flys out of the Hamilton War plane Heritage. I lost count of how many 1000's of rivets we hand drifted in the frame. Steve was also resonsable for a big portion of the engine work on it aswell.

 

I can remember uncrating the replacement rear turret, there were 5 bullet holes in the remaining glass, and still dried blood in the interiour. Made for a very somber moment.

 

Was very interesting when she was finally flight ready as the first boys to take her up were in their eightys, and had flown one in the war. They did a fabulous job though and have taught several others to fly her since.

 

NTTF

[SHOOTEMUP]

My brother and I both worked on the Lanc that flys out of the Hamilton War plane Heritage. I lost count of how many 1000's of rivets we hand drifted in the frame. Steve was also resonsable for a big portion of the engine work on it aswell.

 

I can remember uncrating the replacement rear turret, there were 5 bullet holes in the remaining glass, and still dried blood in the interiour. Made for a very somber moment.

 

Was very interesting when she was finally flight ready as the first boys to take her up were in their eightys, and had flown one in the war. They did a fabulous job though and have taught several others to fly her since.

 

NTTF

 

 

Thats great but I feel in this country you would not be allowed to fly a Lancaster if you were in your eighties?

Where did the rear turret come from??

[AIRARMSTX200]

great pics love that kind of stuff old finds and all time team is a must for me to.

 

[tomhw100]

i would've like to see the browning! looks like an excellent day tho!

[Anni]

My brother and I both worked on the Lanc that flys out of the Hamilton War plane Heritage. I lost count of how many 1000's of rivets we hand drifted in the frame. Steve was also resonsable for a big portion of the engine work on it aswell.

 

I can remember uncrating the replacement rear turret, there were 5 bullet holes in the remaining glass, and still dried blood in the interiour. Made for a very somber moment.

 

Was very interesting when she was finally flight ready as the first boys to take her up were in their eightys, and had flown one in the war. They did a fabulous job though and have taught several others to fly her since.

 

NTTF

 

My Grandad who was a Joiner and Cabinet maker worked on building Lancasters during the war. He actually worked on the planes used on the Dam busting raids, and Met Barns wallace. I think he speacialised on the fuesalage

I think he also mentioned he met Guy Gibson

 

There's a Factory around the corner from where I work that used to have all the wreckage brought back to salvage parts, and sometimes they had to Hose out the remains of the poor blokes who had gone down with the plane.

[pyr8]

my aunt did the same job,she told my mam about some of the terrible mess and gore they had to deal with.