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Re: Manchester bits 'n' pieces ?

Posted by MM on Fri Oct 12, 2001 06:34:58 AM

In reply top Re: Manchester bits 'n' pieces ? posted by Cees Broere on Thu Oct 11, 2001 04:22:24 AM

Thanks Cees.

If you ever find that Manchester, then do a deal with the RAFM, I'm quite sure they would give you a Spitfire for it if they gave one to Jeet Mahal for that rusty Hampden.....and quite right too!!!

Let us know which Whirlwind it was that got dredged up, I've been looking in my Whirlwind book but I can't find any mention of one going down in that area.......yet...still looking though!

I agree that we should concentrate for now on just actually rescuing a Whirlwind......plenty of time to think of a flyer when we have two or three or four to choose from!

Good luck with the 109 fuselage....I hope no-one has already "recovered" it, but not bothered to tell anyone?

Cheers
Mick






: Mick,
:
: About Manchesters.
:
: In December 1999 we recovered the last remains of Manchest
: er L7518 near Warmenhuizen. We had hoped to find a complet
: e Vulture but the aircraft had come down vertically and bo
: th engines were smashed (we even have photographs showing
: the recovery party hoisting up one of them). We did find m
: any parts of both engines however as well as a piece of co
: wling with the serial freshly painted on the inside among
: other things.
:
: Our other Vulture was pulled from the North Sea by fisherm
: en 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 someon
: e 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 bu
: t found nothing (that man was on holiday at the time so ga
: ve us only general directions). We havn't forgotten the si
: te though and as we now have underwater sonar we hope to g
: et back to the site and check it out again.
:
: There is also the location where a Manchester crashed on t
: he frozen IJsselmeer and the engines smashed trough 30 cm'
: s of ice and the remainder of the wreckage remaining on th
: e surfac, but to find the engines are remote.
:
: About Whirlwinds,
:
: During the fifties or sixties the wreck of one (I don't re
: call its serial, and I am in the office at the moment so c
: an'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 Beverw
: ijk, 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 Nort
: h Sea and be able to restore it to fly are nill (hens teet
: h 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 rec
: over wasn't there. We found a nice collection of steel I-b
: eams, old bycycles and rubbish. But the hunt continues.
:
: Cheers
:
: Cees

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