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Re: Easy Elsie

Posted by Richard Woods on Wed Apr 24, 2002 10:51:43 AM

In reply top Re: Easy Elsie posted by Cees on Wed Apr 24, 2002 09:51:24 AM

The thing that gets me is one of the museums told me outright that they "don't want the area to resemble a scrapyard". Thats why I posted this morning(UK), as I read the letter then went out in a foul mood.

There is only one complete Lancaster in the UK with missions to its credit, and one nose section. Of the few Lancasters worldwide, at least two veterans sit in postwar colours, with no mission symbols or recognition of what they and their crews did. It stinks.

W1048 was not recovered for the fact she attacked the Tirpitz, it was because she was a Halifax, when they had none, in one large chunk, in fresh water and had no poor sod still in her.

The only difference is that Elsie is on land, and doesn't look much like a Lanc at the moment. I cannot understand the attitude problem some of these museums have. She's 1.7 miles from a main road! There's a B-29 crash near me on the A57 in Derbyshire, the same kind of distance from a road and that has been picked clean! A recovery would be so easy it would be untrue.

DB hit the nail on the head, they're only interested in freebies. Look in Flypast 10, 15 years ago and see. P-51s dragged up off the East Coast. Lancaster recovered. P61 unearthed. Fisherman snags Anson in nets in Colwyn Bay.

The only people who are doing this kind of thing nowadays are us, and we are constantly stopped by petty beauracrats who think its fun to have a Lancaster fly over an official do, but won't give the crews a campaign medal because of Dresden. Nobody is still slagging off the German crews for Coventry.

The museums who are supposed to care for Brirish aviation histroy whinge and moan about types they haven't got but what do they do when you show them one that's a bit out of the way? They ignore you. And spend the Lottery grant on a different shaped hangar.

Not one of the museums I asked, had a Lanc. All keep going on about them, having reunions, and 'keeping the spirit alive'. But it's not good enough. Many years from now when I'm telling my Grandchildren about the Dambusters, (the real version not the inevitable Hollywood version.)what can we show them? Nothing. And you'll get some old twit from Government saying nobody did anything about it.

Sorry for the rant, but I think it's justified.

Richard

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