Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Flipside on April 07, 2011, 09:36:49 pm
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12997528
Thought some of the aviation fans might like this, one of the hallmark German bombers, of which it was believed there were none left, found buried under Goodwin sands in such good condition from the look of things, that it may be possible to restore and display it.
Edit: Updated the post slightly, since I'm not quite sure about the wording of the article, and whether they mean 'display' as in on stands or 'display' as in fly. I'm seen the guys at BAe Farnborough take a rust-bucket and get it flying, but it may be pushing it to think that is possible with this find.
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Thanks! I'll pass it around!
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Ah, awesome!
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No way in heck is that thing ever going to be restorted to airworthy condition, it doesn't seem physically possible - or at least it would require such extensive restoration that it would cease to be an original specimen.
It would be better to build a replica instead. I believe the idea is to raise it, conserve it so it doesn't rot more, then put it on display as it is, or with some very limited restorations at most. Depending on its condition, it could get similar treatment as the Brewster B-239 number BW-372 which is similarly the last of its kind, was found from a swamp lake in Russia in remarkably good condition and given a limited restoration, including clean-up, removal of sand, seaweed, mud, possibly searching for any loose debris pieces around the wreckage and displaying them, and of course repairing the damage caused by the raising operation and transportation.
Probably will be displayed similar to said Brewster specimen (http://www.airforcemuseum.fi/flash.asp?file=2). Also, a youtube video of it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmEEOvvB-YI).
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Did anyone actually read the article?????
The salvaged plane will form part of a new Battle of Britain Beacon display which will replace the museum's present gallery devoted to the battle.
But though the wreck will be conserved it will not be restored to its original appearance.
That, says Mr Thirsk, would involve so much work and replacement of damaged parts that the result would be nothing more than a replica.
Sounds to me like they don't intend to fly it, just put it on display!
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I did. I was sort of repeating what the man on the video said on that BBC article...
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Wow, very cool. :)
EDIT: The history behind that bomber type had really slipped my mind, but the small blurb in the news article about the history behind this bomber blew my mind.
So VERY wow! From a historical standpoint, this is an absolute treasure; one of the German's mainstay bombers during the Battle of Britain was the Do-17; according to Wikipedia, the design suffered from a lack of range and carrying capacity - a similar affliction that seriously hampered Germany's main fighter, the (at that time known as) Messerschmidt, or Me-109.
Finding one of these aircraft is quite good fortune - the last of them were scrapped in 1952 - not only because of their rarity, but because of this particular aircraft's history; this particular aircraft was damaged during one of the actual battles.
The reason for this type's rarity is that it is one of the last of the very early aircraft of the war - one of the original aircraft types that carried Germany through the Blitzkrieg. The relatively light payload capacity and short range of this bomber worked fine in the "close quarters" of the continent, but once the ranges began to reach to Britain and beyond, it could not keep up with newer designs.
A similar affliction affected the Me-109, though the type proved to be more expandable; there is a photo of a 109 ditched on a British beach, almost completely intact, the caption reading that the aircraft had run out of fuel (evidence I imagine was gained either by asking the pilot or checking the fuel tank). I imagine the pilot was at some level faced with the rather grim choice of most likely drowning at sea, or surrendering to the mercy of the people he had helped in trying to bomb.
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Awesome. Always nice to find relics like this just sitting around.
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Did anyone actually read the article?????
The article was updated after I went to bed, possibly to cover the fact that I probably wasn't the only one confused by the word 'display', so that it more reflected the comments on the video. I don't frequently post stuff at random, which is more than I can say for some.
And Herra is correct, the craft could be 'reconditioned', but the amount of replacement would make it replica, not a refit, you'd need to measure out the airframe and rebuild it from the floor up.
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I never thought it would become flyable... too rare for that. But a rebuild/replica based on the restored airframe and whatever else they can find would be a great museum piece to have. Well worth the effort to bring something that rare and put it back on display.
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Posted a little history in my previous post about why I consider this aircraft important. :)
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Not really my favorite of Germany's bombers, though there were very few I thought as superb. That said, it IS a rarity, so it's good to find in such an intact condition.