Discussion
Eric Mc said:
The latest restored Spitfire ( a very early pre Battle of Britain MkI was restored from a wreck that lay beneath the sand at Dunkirk.
I think that was the one that was scraped up from a beach and was so badly damaged the only parts used in the rebuild IIRC were the coaming around the cockpit and the rudder pedals. Everything else was new build.Gate Guards are a subject that seems to go round in circles with monotonous regularity in the RAF.
As Eric pointed out, back in the mid '80s the RAF took the decision that it was too difficult and expensive to maintain wartime aircraft sitting out in the elements. To this end the various Spitfires and Hurricanes were replaced with plastic replicas and either absorbed into the BBMF, put in museums, or sold off.
The replicas had originally been developed at 71 MU at RAF Abingdon for use as recruiting aids (indeed BAe Hawk and Tornado replicas were also produced by the same team).
The general ruling was that a/c would be replaced by replicas if and when they became available, however more modern a/c (such as the Harrier at RAF Wittering) would not be replaced. Additionally, new Gate Guards would have to be non Service owned and non Service maintained. An example of this would be the Gloster Meteor FMk8 that was loaned to RAF Finningley in the late 1980s by the 616 Sqn Association (I believe this a/c is now in the museum at Elvington).
Airframes that were not replaced with a replica, but sold off, include the RAF Scampton gate guard that is now 'Just Jane' at East Kirkby.
In the last 10-15 years however, there has been a sea change in attitude to gate guards and retired a/c are being refurbished as such; witness the Tornado GR, Victor K2 and Canberra PR9 at RAF Marham, the Canberra PR9 at RAF Wyton, the Lightning F6 at RAF Coningsby, and the JP5A and Dominie TMk1 at RAFC Cranwell. (amongst others). However, such 'Guardians' are still subject to deterioration, the F4 Phantom at Mount Pleasant Airport (MPA) in the Falklands was so badly corroded that it had become dangerous. Accordingly it was broken up fairly recently such that only the cockpit section survives.
With regards to the Grand Slam and Tallboy that were displayed on the gate at RAF Scampton, the Tallboy went to East Kirkby and the Grand Slam to the RAF Museum at Hendon. Reports of the latter having been 'live' while on the gate at Scampton are (fortunately) an oft repeated Internet Myth.
As Eric pointed out, back in the mid '80s the RAF took the decision that it was too difficult and expensive to maintain wartime aircraft sitting out in the elements. To this end the various Spitfires and Hurricanes were replaced with plastic replicas and either absorbed into the BBMF, put in museums, or sold off.
The replicas had originally been developed at 71 MU at RAF Abingdon for use as recruiting aids (indeed BAe Hawk and Tornado replicas were also produced by the same team).
The general ruling was that a/c would be replaced by replicas if and when they became available, however more modern a/c (such as the Harrier at RAF Wittering) would not be replaced. Additionally, new Gate Guards would have to be non Service owned and non Service maintained. An example of this would be the Gloster Meteor FMk8 that was loaned to RAF Finningley in the late 1980s by the 616 Sqn Association (I believe this a/c is now in the museum at Elvington).
Airframes that were not replaced with a replica, but sold off, include the RAF Scampton gate guard that is now 'Just Jane' at East Kirkby.
In the last 10-15 years however, there has been a sea change in attitude to gate guards and retired a/c are being refurbished as such; witness the Tornado GR, Victor K2 and Canberra PR9 at RAF Marham, the Canberra PR9 at RAF Wyton, the Lightning F6 at RAF Coningsby, and the JP5A and Dominie TMk1 at RAFC Cranwell. (amongst others). However, such 'Guardians' are still subject to deterioration, the F4 Phantom at Mount Pleasant Airport (MPA) in the Falklands was so badly corroded that it had become dangerous. Accordingly it was broken up fairly recently such that only the cockpit section survives.
With regards to the Grand Slam and Tallboy that were displayed on the gate at RAF Scampton, the Tallboy went to East Kirkby and the Grand Slam to the RAF Museum at Hendon. Reports of the latter having been 'live' while on the gate at Scampton are (fortunately) an oft repeated Internet Myth.
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
ecsrobin said:
TE311 of BBMF was a gate guardian at Tangmere for around 15 years
TE311 is in my late Father's Logbook. 
The chinook at Odiham was a gift from Boeing in the states that then had to be made to look like a UK aircraft. I also remember going to shawbury and a MaCr always mentioning how he remembers flying the Wessex gate guard years before.
ecsrobin said:
Possibly one of my favourite spits.
The chinook at Odiham was a gift from Boeing in the states that then had to be made to look like a UK aircraft. I also remember going to shawbury and a MaCr always mentioning how he remembers flying the Wessex gate guard years before.
MaCr?The chinook at Odiham was a gift from Boeing in the states that then had to be made to look like a UK aircraft. I also remember going to shawbury and a MaCr always mentioning how he remembers flying the Wessex gate guard years before.
Eric Mc said:
ecsrobin said:
Possibly one of my favourite spits.
The chinook at Odiham was a gift from Boeing in the states that then had to be made to look like a UK aircraft. I also remember going to shawbury and a MaCr always mentioning how he remembers flying the Wessex gate guard years before.
MaCr?The chinook at Odiham was a gift from Boeing in the states that then had to be made to look like a UK aircraft. I also remember going to shawbury and a MaCr always mentioning how he remembers flying the Wessex gate guard years before.
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