Tag: october

The award winning Michael Beetham Conservation Centre (MBCC) at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be opening its doors to visitors in November for one special week. From Monday 15th to Saturday 20th November 2010 a range of aircraft and other artefacts in various states of restoration will be on display, including the Centre’s latest arrival, the Wellington Bomber. 

The Vickers Wellington was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of WWII. It is famous for its geodetic fuselage structure designed by Barnes Wallis. The fabric covering to this structure is in desperate need of replacement and following extensive conservation work on the structure, this will take place at the Museum’s Conservation Centre over the next four to five years.

Other conservation projects on view will include on-going refurbishments such as the Handley Page Hampden TB1, Farman F.141 and Range Safety Launch. This may also be the last opportunity to view the conservation efforts on the Mk1 Sopwith Dolphin which is progressing well. 

Manager of the Conservation Centre, Tim Wallis says:

“The Open Weeks have become a mutually beneficial event for aircraft enthusiasts and interested members of the public alike and we are always delighted at the interest shown. Most are surprised by our work when they enter the hangar and hopefully all are delighted by the experience. We look forward to the exchange of information and hope that many accept our invitation to this brief, but rare insight into the preservation of aviation heritage. We are also ready to show-off the new MBCC Training Centre to our supportive public”.

Opened in May 2002 by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham, the MBCC is regarded as one of the world’s foremost centres of excellence in aircraft conservation and restoration. Its skilled technicians undertake careful, extensive work to prepare aircraft and other projects for display at both of the Museum’s sites in Cosford and London with the MBCC team responsible for the conservation and routine maintenance of some 300 aircraft. Earlier this year the Museum won ‘Small Employer of the Year Award 2010′ at The National Apprenticeship Awards 2010, which recognised the success of the forward thinking apprentice initiative and wider conservation training programme offered by the Museum’s Conservation Centre, which now successfully employs seven apprentices.

Admission to the Conservation Centre is FREE and from 10.15am to 1.00pm each day during Open Week. Cosford’s main Museum will open daily from 10am – 6pm (last admission 5pm). Admission is FREE of charge. For further information, please contact the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on 01902 376200 or visit www.rafmuseum.org

On Monday 11th of October the Royal Air Force Museum will honour those members of the Polish Air Force who fought as part of the RAF in the Battle of Britain with the launch of its latest podcast : ‘ “Repeat Please!”: Poles in the Battle of Britain’.

This date has been specifically selected to commemorate 70th anniversary of the withdrawal of 303 (Polish) Squadron from the front line after a successful tour of duty which recorded the destruction of 126 enemy aircraft in 42 days. This made ‘303′, the most successful of all the RAF Squadrons that defended Great Britain and its peoples during the Battle of Britain.

To enable a wider audience to understand the contribution that Polish airmen made to the RAF during this aerial campaign, a Polish language version of the podcast will also be available from the Museum’s website enabling those Poles who do not have English as a second language to learn about the debt that the British people owe to Poland and its brave airmen.

Peter Dye, Director General of the Royal Air Force Museum, states:

‘The freedoms that we enjoy today were fought for in the skies above Britain during the summer of 1940. The largest of the overseas contingents serving in Fighter Command came from Poland. These airmen had seen their country over-run but were determined to fight on. Some served with the French Air Force only to experience defeat again. Some reached England after a long and perilous journey. All had a burning passion to defeat the enemy. They offered their lives for an ideal, for a land from which they were exiled and for a country that was not their own. Their sacrifice and willingness to defend our nation provides an enduring example of selflessness that resonates down the years. In this podcast we describe a time when the peoples of Europe came to our aid at the time of our greatest peril. We express our gratitude for the bravery and dedication of those many Polish Veterans who served in the Royal Air Force to defend our freedom and to secure the future that we now all enjoy.’ 

‘”Repeat Please!”: Poles in the Battle of Britain’ forms part of a year long series of podcasts which examines the forgotten history of the Battle of Britain from the contribution that women made to the campaign to the strategic importance of Bomber and Coastal Commands to the RAF’s success; and addresses many of the myths and misconceptions that have grown around The Few, Churchill and the Spitfire. Future highlights in this series will include Sunday Times best selling historians Patrick Moorhouse and Roger Bishop examining ‘The Battle of Britain from Both Sides’, plus a podcast on the Blitz whilst past highlights include Sir Richard Branson narrating the biography of disabled Battle of Britain Veteran Douglas Bader and the BBC providing a selection of interviews from its archives from pilots who fought in the Battle.

To listen to this podcast series, please go to http://www.rafmuseum.org/podcasts.

For further details about the Museum’s Battle of Britain Hall and its collection of aircraft please visit http://www.battleofbritainbeacon.org or ring 020 8205 2266. The Royal Air Force Museum London is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission to the Museum is free of charge.

w/nr 3615 (PARTS ONLY) MUSEUM ACCESSION NUMBER X005-0836

Twin-engined fighter aircraft allotted to Luftwaffe unit 4 /ZG76 with fuselage code M8+MM and ‘shark’s mouth’ nose artwork. The Bf110 C-series was introduced in January 1939.

30 Aug 40 Shot down on this Friday afternoon by RAF fighters during escort mission – a daylight raid on the Vauxhall Motors factory at Luton, Beds and crashed into the corner of a field bordering Claggybottom Lane at Barley Beans Farm, Kimpton, near Hitchin, Herts at 4.30pm; totally destroyed in the ensuing crash having hit the ground vertically at high speed.

The Bf110 was escorting He111 bombers of KG 53 which had intended to bomb the Handley Page aerodrome at Radlett, Herts; they became detached from the rest of the formation and found the Vauxhall plant at Luton, releasing 59 bombs onto the factory and its surrounding area. The engineering section of the works was badly hit and one direct hit killed seven people sheltering beneath a stairway. In Luton 20 people were killed and 174 injured – 49 seriously. The factory was back in production within six days.

Jointly shot down by two Hawker Hurricane Mk Is, flown by Flying Officer Ludwik W. Paszkiewicz of Northolt-based No. 303 (Polish) Squadron’s B Flight and Pilot Officer B J Wicks of North Weald based No 56 Squadron. Claimed as the first Polish victory during the Battle of Britain (though initially mis-identified as a Do 17); 303 (Polish) Squadron, not at that time operational, were actually on a training flight. Their chance interception of the Heinkels inspired a well-known scene in the 1969 ‘Battle of Britain’ feature film, and led to the Squadron being declared operational the following day, to the great joy of the Polish pilots. Sadly, Paszkiewicz, having gained six kills and the DFC, was killed In Action shortly afterwards in the crash of Hurricane L1696/RF-M at Crowhurst Farm, Borough Green, Kent on 27 September 1940; he is buried in Northwood Cemetery.

The Bf110’s crew were both seasoned veterans of the French campaign. After a desperate effort to evade the Hurricanes, Paskiewicz’s guns knocked out the Bf110s starboard engine; when PO Wicks joined in the attack Nordmeir baled out as the aircraft rolled over inverted, breaking up as it went into a vertical dive, the tailplane breaking off as it went down. The aircraft hit a row of mature elm trees, which sheared off the wings outboard of each engine and shattered the cockpit and fuselage, with large sections of wing structure and fuselage fragments scattered around the crater. Larger portions of wreckage were removed on an RAF Queen Mary trailer some days after the crash.

The pilot, 27-year old Oberfw. Georg Anthony was killed in the resulting crash; Bordfunker (radio operator/rear gunner) Uffz. Heinrich Nordmeyer/Nordmeir (alternative spellings recorded) captured paralysed having baled out at low level and suffered a broken back; after hospital treatment he became a Prisoner of War.

Anthony was buried with full military honours in Hitchin, where his grave still remains today.

1982 Large pieces of wreckage excavated by the donor’s father from a depth of some eight feet into stony clay at the crash site, now known as Ramridge Farm, using a JCB. Recognisable components included both DB601A engines (X005-0837/38) and their separated propeller hubs, two 20mm cannon in their blast tubes, both undercarriage legs, a badly compressed radiator, and a NMW enamel engine badge together with several boxes of severely damaged smaller components, which were all then stored at the farm until acquired by the RAF Museum. The starboard engine still bore evidence of bullet strikes and fire damage.

2009 Parts donated to RAFM by the current farmer, Mr David Manning.

13 Oct 2009 Parts collected from farm by RAFM and taken to RAFM MBCC Cosford for initial assessment and storage.

http://www.rafmuseum.org/