Thanks Wojtek and Hugh.
And now to the star feature, and the main reason for our visit to Brooklands - the 'Loch Ness' Wellington.
Vickers Wellington Mk1a, N2980, was built at Brooklands, and had it's maiden flight on 16th November, 1939, with 'Mutt' Summers at the controls.
This is one of only two surviving complete Wellingtons, and the only one to see combat operations. (the other is the RAFM Wellington T.Mk10, currently under refurbishment at Cosford).
The aircraft was first assigned to 149 Squadron, at Mildenhall, and carried the code letter 'R', taking part in a number of operations, including the infamous daylight attack on Heligoland Bight, on 18th December 1939, when over half of the 22 aircraft deployed were shot down.
It then served with 37 Squadron, based at Feltwell, when it completed a further 14 day and night operations, before being transferred to 20 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at Lossiemouth, in the north of Scotland.
During a training flight on the night of 31st December, 1940, N2980 developed engine trouble, and ditched in Loch Ness. All of the crew escaped, some by parachute, but the rear gunner was killed when his canopy failed to deploy.
In 1976, a team of American Loch Ness Monster hunters discovered the Wellington on the bed of the Loch, and by 1985, after much publicity and fund raising, a local team recovered the aircraft, in remarkably good condition, on 21st September, 1985. When connected to a battery, the tail lights still worked, and there were still personal effects on board.
The aircraft was moved to Brooklands, and gradually restored to its present condition, leaving much of the geodetic structure on view.
There was only one location in the hangar where it was possible to get a shot of the complete aircraft at ground level, which was just inside the hangar entrance. Unfortunately, there was a small crowd of people obstructing the view, and as I became so engrossed in taking a shed load of detail pics, I completely forgot to take a shot at the entrance later !
This, and the next post, show some general views of the aircraft, both at ground level, and from the gallery above.