Lancaster or ????

[coloradocowboy]

Ive been offered this piece supposedly from a Lancaster. The materials it is painted on seems different than what I would expect. opinions?

 

[Airframes]

The material looks like fabric, in other words, the 'canvas' (actually linen) used to 'skin' earlier aircraft. If this is the case, then it's possible that this piece is from a Wellington, rather than a Lancaster, the latter being all metal construction and 'skin'.
The space between the taped seams might give more of a clue, as no dimensions are given, but that would still not postively identify if it is from a Wellington, or any other aircraft, or even if it's genuine.
It does have 'the look' of being a section of aircraft covering, but 'cut from' a crashed aircraft is slightly dubious - this, in normal circumstances, would be a chargeable offence, unless it was to preserve the art work for whatver reason.

 

[stona]

It does have 'the look' of being a section of aircraft covering, but 'cut from' a crashed aircraft is slightly dubious - this, in normal circumstances, would be a chargeable offence, unless it was to preserve the art work for whatver reason.

Quite correct,it was,but it still happened a lot. Not just sections of skin or fabric (the now much faked swastika was a favourite from German aircraft) but instruments and dials.

I have a plea somewhere,published in no less a paper than The Times,asking people to refrain from "lootting" crashed aircraft on patriotic grounds as,at least in the case of enemy aircraft, they might destroy valuable intelligence.

It is no accident that in all those crashed enemy aircraft photos there is an armed guard. I suspect the same would apply to one of "ours".

I have no idea from those photos what that artefact might be.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Greyman]

I thought the piece looked like a blackout covering for a Wellington's port nose window, so I went to my Vickers Wellington books to get a good picture of one.

And what do I find?

EDIT: 466 Squadron RAAF - Vickers-Armstrongs Wellington Mk.X - Leconfield, Yorkshire - June 1943

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Excellent! I thought the ribbing and stitching looked like a Wellington, and the diamond shape in the middle is where the window was blanked out. Great fins, on both counts.