RB-29 'over-exposed' crash site.

[dr_gn]

Ayahuasca said:

Here is part of the Dakota.

Looks like the remains of a leading edge section perhaps?

[Ayahuasca]

This part of the Dak is more recognisable...

[Ian D B]

dr_gn said:

Looks like the remains of a leading edge section perhaps?

It's a bit of fuselage.

[Ian D B]

tonyvid said:

I had the unusual chance to visit this crashed Lanc site in Porjus, just north of the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland when I was working there a couple of months ago. I thought I would share a few pics.

Fascinating crash site, great photos.

Always good to read of crews walking away from a wreck.

[Ayahuasca]

The ground crewman who put the stainless steel retaining wire onto some B29 engine bolts would have been amazed to know that his work would outlast the engine. Pristine condition after some 65 years on the mountain.

Edited by Ayahuasca on Wednesday 8th January 22:19

[dr_gn]

Ian D B said:

dr_gn said:

Looks like the remains of a leading edge section perhaps?

It's a bit of fuselage.

I don't think any part of a DC3 fuselage is that shape?

[dr_gn]

Ayahuasca said:

The ground crewman who put the stainless steel retaining wire onto some B29 engine bolts would have been amazed to know that his work outlasted the engine. Pristine condition after some 65 years on the mountain.

Or the person who countersunk the rivet holes on this bit of stainless steel:

[Ian D B]

dr_gn said:

I don't think any part of a DC3 fuselage is that shape?

It's the rear end, just very crumpled now so looks too small to be part of the fuselage. There's a photo in Collier (Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks) taken by the first person on the scene which shows it. Cunningham says something about ramblers using it as a rain shelter up till the late 50's? As well as the undercarriage in the photo above there's also a wheel, an engine and reduction gear further down the clough.

[dr_gn]

Ian D B said:

dr_gn said:

I don't think any part of a DC3 fuselage is that shape?

It's the rear end, just very crumpled now so looks too small to be part of the fuselage. There's a photo in Collier (Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks) taken by the first person on the scene which shows it. Cunningham says something about ramblers using it as a rain shelter up till the late 50's? As well as the undercarriage in the photo above there's also a wheel, an engine and reduction gear further down the clough.

I'd put money on it being the D-box section of a wing leading edge. The corrugations just aren't consistent with a rear fuselage section, and the bit that looks suspiciously like a leading edge rib in Ayahuasca's image doesn't appear to be too deformed...

[Ian D B]

dr_gn said:

I'd put money on it being the D-box section of a wing leading edge. The corrugations just aren't consistent with a rear fuselage section, and the bit that looks suspiciously like a leading edge rib in Ayahuasca's image doesn't appear to be too deformed...

Yes, see what you mean about the leading edge.

I still may have it wrong but these photos may show the aft section better, at least with the corrugated bit. One here for scale too.

Edited by Ian D B on Thursday 9th January 00:00

[richw_82]

Ian D B said:

It's a bit of fuselage.

Its port wing. The green facing you is upper surface. Closest to the camera you can see the joint strip that attaches outer wing to the centre section, and along the top where it disappears into the banking is the landing light aparture.

[richw_82]

tonyvid said:

I was lucky enough to visit this Lanc site in 2012 http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=118...

Amazing to see, really.

Yeah... NF920 "Easy Elsie" reamins there despite my best efforts, as the local government wouldn't let me carry out the recovery, despite the MOD, RAF, Swedish AF, and their National government all giving their consent. So, the last 617 Sqn Lancaster corrodes in a swamp... and I seethe every time I open the folder in my desk drawer with all the permits in.

Do you know the local government wouldn't even let it be recovered into Porjus itself to stop looting or souveneir hunters selling it piecemeal on eBay?

[tonyvid]

Fascinating! It is all a bit odd considering they went to the effort to get all the heavy bits out not long after the crash landing.

[richw_82]

She was in post crash condition well into the late 1950's. The scrap dealer didn't chop her up until a lot later.

The spares recovery went beyond just engines. Fuel tanks, landing gear, rear turret and a number of other parts all went. The rear fuselage was later (1985) taken to the Swedish Air Force Museum but was returned a few years later as they didn't consider it interesting!

NF920 still carries some unique parts in her bomb bay... she has all the carraige assembly for 'Tallboy' in there.

[Hooli]

It's crazy to not let anyone recover that.

[tonyvid]

Amazing, thanks for the extra info

[mybrainhurts]

So, local government is the same the world over, full of its own self importance and expert in the field of incompetence.

[Ian D B]

richw_82 said:

Its port wing. The green facing you is upper surface. Closest to the camera you can see the joint strip that attaches outer wing to the centre section, and along the top where it disappears into the banking is the landing light aparture.

Interesting as it means every book and website detailing the remains of Dakota 42-108982 has got it wrong.

[dr_gn]

Ian D B said:

dr_gn said:

I'd put money on it being the D-box section of a wing leading edge. The corrugations just aren't consistent with a rear fuselage section, and the bit that looks suspiciously like a leading edge rib in Ayahuasca's image doesn't appear to be too deformed...

Yes, see what you mean about the leading edge.

I still may have it wrong but these photos may show the aft section better, at least with the corrugated bit. One here for scale too.

Surprisingly I can't find any images of that area of a DC3/C-47, but I did find this cutaway that shows some very similar bits of what's in your photograph of the wreck:



It's definitely not any part of the fuselage, so if the books are wrong, they are wrong. Then again, it's not like these aircraft wreck books are perfect - far from it, andsome information is bound to get repeated wihout being checked.

[Ian D B]

Yeah that's the bit I was looking at when you said it yesterday;




Admittedly memory is the least reliable source of information but detail like this (quoting a Glossop man in Cunningham here) "in 1957 or so that aft fuselage section, just before the tail, provided a good shelter from the rain, and would just hold three lads" and the 1945 photo in Collier are very strong.

But it is possible the records are wrong of course. Totally agree re; the wrong details being passed from one place to another, especially on websites when people copy n paste and create history.

But this bit of debris being a bit of wing has had me wondering if I am going mad. I am not yet convinced and won't be changing my write up on my pages (just yet) but if the records are wrong then they need to be put right.

Edited by Ian D B on Thursday 9th January 19:44