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Re: Canadian Beaufighter RD867

Posted by Steve Young on Thu Jun 27, 2002 08:13:22 AM

In reply top Canadian Beaufighter RD867 posted by Cees on Thu Jun 27, 2002 04:40:31 AM

: Hi all,
:
: When reading Steve's message about this Beaufighter being
: still in a ratty condition can I assume that it still hasn
: 't been restored?
:
: I have seen some photo's of it when in outside storage and
: missing engines, cowlings etc. But I had always thought t
: hat it had been fully restored and put on display.
:
: Could someone fill us in about this aicraft. I do know tha
: t it is also from Portugal and was donated by the RAF to C
: anada (it also had something to do with the RAFM example).
:
:
: Cheers
:
: Cees


it's a bit difficult to know exactly what condition she's in, as I've never seen her up close, but my understanding is that she's always been sitting outside. I heard there are plans to move her indoors when the museum finally get their new building up, but I don't know at restoration plans they have.

Her history is that she is an Old Mixon built TFX, and was recovered from the dump at TaQali airfield in Malta some time in the sixties. She was restored by the same team who did RD253 for the RAFM, and exhibited outside at the RAF 50th anniversary display at RAF Abingdon in 1968, before being traded with the Canadians for a Bolingbroke (now resident in the Battle of Britain hall at Hendon).

Then the story gets a bit confusing. One version I've heard is that she had been cobbled together from all the leftover bits from RD253, and wasn't really done to a high standard. The story goes that the Canadians were unhappy about recieving a 'bitsa' in exchange for their Bolingbroke, and so decided to let her sit outside and rot as a protest.

On the other hand, I've heard others say that the Candian Beau was in great condition when she was in the static at Abingdon, and that RD253 is basically just an empty shell which hasn't been restored to much of a standard, so I'm not sure what the real truth is.

Either way, it's a crying shame that RD867 is sitting out there exposed to the elements, but maybe the wait for her to be shelterd could be over soon?

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