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Recovered Warbirds Thread


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This is an interesting one, found out about it in a recent article in Flypast Magazine. This Hawker Hurricane was shot down and apparently destroyed in the Battle of Britain. However in the 1990's a dig was undertaken and significant amounts of wreckage were recovered. Enough to start a restoration project, and recently the aircraft has flown. Apparently 20 to 30 percent of the airframe is made up of components from the original aircraft. Which is probably a lot more than the Dunkirk Spitfire project actually.

 

https://www.hurricane501.co.uk/news-despatches/

 

At a much earlier stage, there has been recovery of substantial amounts of wreckage of a Spitfire PRMkIV from Norway, where it was shot down in 1941 whilst keeping an eye on the Tirpitz. The pilot, Flt Lt Sandy Gunn was captured, and eventually perished in the aftermath of the great escape from Stalag Luft III, from which he had escaped. This aircraft is also planned to return to the air, which on the face of it sounds ridiculous, but they have found substantial amounts, including the pilots blind flying panel.

https://www.spitfireaa810.co.uk/

 

Be nice to see a spitfire of that batch return to the air. Im not sure any still exist.

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This passed me by at the time, Spitfire MkIX MJ789 shot down in June 1944 in the River Orne in Normandy. It was recovered in 2010 and the body of the Australian pilot FL Lt Henry Smith. The aircraft is being pictured being conserved in Australia.

 

https://images.defence.gov.au/assets/archives/5003-All%20Defence%20Imagery/?q=MJ789&sa=yyy

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This was good, a Wellington bomber being moved to a new hangar at Brooklands. It will be remembered this is the aircraft that was recovered out of Loch Ness 33 years ago, and restored by a team that included some of the women that were part of the original production staff.

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I find it interesting that the B-17 didn't use a retractable ball turret as did the B-24. I understand the necessity for its use use on the B-24, because of ground clearance, but there must also have been some streamlining advantage. Evidently that efficiency advantage didn't outweigh the weight penalty the B-17 would experience incorporating the turret retract system.

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I find it interesting that the B-17 didn't use a retractable ball turret as did the B-24. I understand the necessity for its use use on the B-24, because of ground clearance, but there must also have been some streamlining advantage. Evidently that efficiency advantage didn't outweigh the weight penalty the B-17 would experience incorporating the turret retract system.

There would also be the problem of stowing it inside the slim B-17 fuselage. On the other hand, the extended ball on B-24s caused handling issues. In the Pacific, it was often removed and replaced with hand-held guns.

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I find it interesting that the B-17 didn't use a retractable ball turret as did the B-24. I understand the necessity for its use use on the B-24, because of ground clearance, but there must also have been some streamlining advantage. Evidently that efficiency advantage didn't outweigh the weight penalty the B-17 would experience incorporating the turret retract system.

There would also be the problem of stowing it inside the slim B-17 fuselage. On the other hand, the extended ball on B-24s caused handling issues. In the Pacific, it was often removed and replaced with hand-held guns.

 

My thought was that during the great modification from the D model to the E model, would it have been feasible? After all, essentially from the bomb bay reward was an entirely new air frame with the ball turret being introduced with the E model.

 

That huge wing of the B-17 likely mitigated a lot of potential handling problems.

Edited by DKTanker
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Reducing drag was certainly one benefit. There was one raid the B24's did (Ive a feeling it was Ploesti, but I cant swear to it) and they were so low on fuel for the journey, they were instructed to wind in the ball turrets except when they were needed.

 

They also pulled them from USAAF doing agent drops in Europe on behalf of the OSS. In that case its probably at least partly due to the inability to see underneath the aircraft against the dark background below. A pity they didnt have anything like Village Inn strapped to it, but that would have been incredibly bulky.

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Thought this was interesting, a company just down the road from me making components using new technology to restore a Hawker Typhoon. Again, made just down the road from me.

 

https://www.renishaw.com/en/additive-manufacturing-revives-hawker-typhoon-aircraft--39772

 

Meanwhile the RAF Museum get the last surviving complete one back from Canada. Only has 9 hours on the clock....

http://warbirdsnews.com/aviation-museum-news/hawker-typhoon-back-on-display-at-raf-museum-london.html

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Incidentally, if anyone is interested in recovering crashed aircraft, there is a new book out by After the Battle Publications called 'Wreck Recovery in Britain'. Well worth getting, particularly illuminating on the legal disputes over the right to dig crashed aircraft.

 

https://www.afterthebattle.com/store/index.php?id_product=276&controller=product

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Dad was a WAG in the RCAF. He tells of flying out over the sea in Wellingtons with the turret fully rotated and the doors open. Nothing but air between him and the deep blue sea. They were looking for U-boats. Iirc he said the tail gunner didn't wear a parachute. It had to be retrieved and attached if needed.

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311_Wellington-4.jpg​

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