WW2 Plane Crash Wreck Hunting
Discussion
I know there are quite a few plane spotters here (Eric Mc being the top dog ?!- I am a bit of an enthusiast too, but like cars better !
Thought there might however be some mild interest in this site which has been going for a while outlining the exploits of my cousin and his mate who "collect" mainly WW2 plane wrecks - I have only seen one myself, the remains of the Wellington that came down on Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran.
It is a very poignant subject, and don't worry they treat these remains, many of which are war graves, with the due respect they demand.
Aircraft Crash Sites of Scotland
Thought there might however be some mild interest in this site which has been going for a while outlining the exploits of my cousin and his mate who "collect" mainly WW2 plane wrecks - I have only seen one myself, the remains of the Wellington that came down on Goat Fell on the Isle of Arran.
It is a very poignant subject, and don't worry they treat these remains, many of which are war graves, with the due respect they demand.
Aircraft Crash Sites of Scotland
All that old stuff is interesting, I found the 'bits of crashed WW2 aircraft' section at Duxford strangely fascinating.
Posted this a while back, but seems little interest on here, they all seem to get excited about rusty cars in old sheds though!
WW2 Wreck
Posted this a while back, but seems little interest on here, they all seem to get excited about rusty cars in old sheds though!
WW2 Wreck
Edited by THX138 on Tuesday 10th February 08:23
Even amongst aircraft enthusiasts (like me), aircraft wreck archaeology is very much a minority interest. I am quite happy to look at recovered pieces - or even whole airframes - recoverd from crash sites but I'm not up to tramping around the Cairngorms or Snowdonia to find bits of rusted metal.
Eric Mc said:
Even amongst aircraft enthusiasts (like me), aircraft wreck archaeology is very much a minority interest. I am quite happy to look at recovered pieces - or even whole airframes - recoverd from crash sites but I'm not up to tramping around the Cairngorms or Snowdonia to find bits of rusted metal.
About sums up my interest in the subject as well. Although i wouldn't mind trying to find the crash site of a Dakota in which my great uncle died just before the end of the war.On the A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire, the Pennine Way crosses it at the it's highest point. A mile to the north along the path, puts some big rocks to the west of you known as "Higher Shelf Stones". Up on the top of there is what's left of a Boeing B29 Superfortress. There's engines, landing gear, wings, and a memorial cairn.
The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
richw_82 said:
On the A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire, the Pennine Way crosses it at the it's highest point. A mile to the north along the path, puts some big rocks to the west of you known as "Higher Shelf Stones". Up on the top of there is what's left of a Boeing B29 Superfortress. There's engines, landing gear, wings, and a memorial cairn.
The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
Yep, been to that one, It's quite an experience to think you are walking around a crash site that took the lives of many people. Also if they had been about abother 20feet or so higher, they would have missed the hill.The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
Jasandjules said:
I have to admit one of my dream dives is Truk Lagoon. To see the wrecks there must be awe inspiring.
Lookie here
richw_82 said:
On the A57 Snake Pass in Derbyshire, the Pennine Way crosses it at the it's highest point. A mile to the north along the path, puts some big rocks to the west of you known as "Higher Shelf Stones". Up on the top of there is what's left of a Boeing B29 Superfortress. There's engines, landing gear, wings, and a memorial cairn.
The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
Thanks for that. I wouldn't mind having a look around there.The hills up here are that bad that there were over 140 aircarft hit them during WW2. Within the sighting distance of the B-29 are the remains of an Avro Lancaster, and a Douglas C-47.
Regards
Ric
It depends on when it crashed there. Immediately after the end of the war in Europe (May 1945), the vast fleets of B-17s and B-24s that had been based in Britain returned home - mostly for scrapping.
The war in Asia ended in August 1945 and the B-29s stationed out in the Pacific flew back to the US. The B-29s were still fairly new and they were not scrapped. Indeed, production continued into the 1950s together with the improved derivative, the B-50.
In 1947 the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was disbanded and reformed as the United States Air Force (USAF). A division of this new force, Strategic Air Command, was established to act as the USA's nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union. It's boss was Curtis Le May, who had been in charge of the USAAF 8th Air Force based in Britain during the war. He immdediately set aboput deploying a large chunk of his strategic bomber force in the UK, re-activating some of the WW2 airfields and taking over a few from the RAF. As a result, from 1947 onwards, B-29s began to be ac common sight in the UK.
In the early 1950s, the RAF received asmall number of B-29s of their own (called Washingtons) pending the delivery of the first Canberras.
The war in Asia ended in August 1945 and the B-29s stationed out in the Pacific flew back to the US. The B-29s were still fairly new and they were not scrapped. Indeed, production continued into the 1950s together with the improved derivative, the B-50.
In 1947 the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) was disbanded and reformed as the United States Air Force (USAF). A division of this new force, Strategic Air Command, was established to act as the USA's nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union. It's boss was Curtis Le May, who had been in charge of the USAAF 8th Air Force based in Britain during the war. He immdediately set aboput deploying a large chunk of his strategic bomber force in the UK, re-activating some of the WW2 airfields and taking over a few from the RAF. As a result, from 1947 onwards, B-29s began to be ac common sight in the UK.
In the early 1950s, the RAF received asmall number of B-29s of their own (called Washingtons) pending the delivery of the first Canberras.
Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 10th February 10:27
Captain Cadillac said:
There were a handful of B-29s in Europe at the end of WW2 but they never saw combat to my knowledge. After the war there were a few based in England.
He's right: http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1068298/Eric, you might be able to help here.....
When I was a kid, (i'd guess this was about 1975 or so) I remember watching a news report about the finding of two buried bombers on the moors. My brain has turned them into Lancasters over the years, but they may not have been.
They were found buried, wrapped in oilskins with the wings off and put at the sides down the side of the fusilage.
I seem to remember something about them being stored during the war in case of invasion or some such.
Do you know anything about this or is it so vague I have no hope of finding out what it was?
Or perhaps I just dreamed it
When I was a kid, (i'd guess this was about 1975 or so) I remember watching a news report about the finding of two buried bombers on the moors. My brain has turned them into Lancasters over the years, but they may not have been.
They were found buried, wrapped in oilskins with the wings off and put at the sides down the side of the fusilage.
I seem to remember something about them being stored during the war in case of invasion or some such.
Do you know anything about this or is it so vague I have no hope of finding out what it was?
Or perhaps I just dreamed it
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff