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Re: Manchester bits 'n' pieces ?

Posted by Cees Broere on Thu Oct 11, 2001 04:22:24 AM

In reply top Manchester bits 'n' pieces ? posted by MM on Wed Oct 10, 2001 06:21:07 AM

Mick,

About Manchesters.

In December 1999 we recovered the last remains of Manchester L7518 near Warmenhuizen. We had hoped to find a complete Vulture but the aircraft had come down vertically and both engines were smashed (we even have photographs showing the recovery party hoisting up one of them). We did find many parts of both engines however as well as a piece of cowling with the serial freshly painted on the inside among other things.

Our other Vulture was pulled from the North Sea by fishermen in dreadful condition and only because it is a Vulture prevented us from scrapping it.

I do know the location of a Manchester in the IJsselmeer (fresh water as you know). Some years ago I spoke to someone who used to go fishing over the wrecksite and he told me that over a large area his lines would get entangled with wreckage below. We spent a whole day trawling the site but found nothing (that man was on holiday at the time so gave us only general directions). We havn't forgotten the site though and as we now have underwater sonar we hope to get back to the site and check it out again.

There is also the location where a Manchester crashed on the frozen IJsselmeer and the engines smashed trough 30 cm's of ice and the remainder of the wreckage remaining on the surfac, but to find the engines are remote.

About Whirlwinds,

During the fifties or sixties the wreck of one (I don't recall its serial, and I am in the office at the moment so can't check) was found while deepening the North Sea Canal and the substantial wreckage I was told (because I wasn't even born then) was scrapped. The location was near Beverwijk, Noordholland). I know that in the book The Battle of Britain then and now an article reports about the recovery of a Whirlwind where two engines were recovered.

Anyway the chances of finding a complete wreck in the North Sea and be able to restore it to fly are nill (hens teeth are more common). Let's just start with a static example of any rare aircraft and then look what happens.

By the way, the Messerschmitt fuselage we had hoped to recover wasn't there. We found a nice collection of steel I-beams, old bycycles and rubbish. But the hunt continues.

Cheers

Cees

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