RAF Elvington - A Pictorial Tour.

[Airframes]

And here they are Andy !
More rain!
PIC 1. The Dutch Hunter FGA78, framed with rain drops on the camera lens!
PIC 2. A wet and sorry, engine-less Harrier GR3.
PIC 3. Like its' namesake, the Gannet seems to be using its' folded wings to shelter from the downpour!
PIC 4. Tornado GR4, a type still in RAF service, with Canberra T4 in the background.
PICS 5 and 6. Canadair CL-30 (CT-133) Silver Star outside the wartime 'T2' hangar.
PICS 7 to 12 The Airborne Forces Display, opened on 25th June, 2000, the 60th anniversary of the creation of British Airborne Forces. Shown here are parts of the huge terrain model covering the airborne landings around Caen in June 1944, along with some of the models and uniforms on display. Apologies for the reflections on the case covering the terrain model !
Thanks again for your interest, and I'll post more tomorrow, including those shots I was able to get of the impressive HP Halifax.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff Terry!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Great stuff Terry, and oh what an ugly duckling that Gannet is when viewed nose on.

 

[A4K]

Great photos and info Terry! Love that shot of the Spitty through the rainy window...

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Hugh, Vic and Evan - more coming later.

 

[evangilder]

Nice shots, Terry. It looks like you had some of that great English liquid sunshine that I grew so fond of.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Eric, and yes, it was rather .. er... damp! Just hoping we have that unusual bright light in the sky when I go back there on May 23.

 

[Airframes]

A few more to be going on with, inside the Canadian Memorial Hangar (an original WW2 'T2' hangar), and the star of the show, the Halifax.
Unfortunately, due to the conference in the hangar the previous day, the normal exhibits not moved outside were clustered around and under the Halifax, but I hope to get better shots on my next visit in three weeks time.
This Halifax is a reconstruction, using a fuselage section from Halifax II, HR792, which made an emergency landing on the Isle of Lewis in 1945, and was used by a crofter as a chicken coop! Over many years, the Museum reconstructed a composite, with the wings from a Hastings, and the interior is fully fitted out authentically. (tours of the aircraft are available, pre-booked, but cost £60.).
The port side of the nose carries the 'nose art' of 'Friday the 13th', probably the most famous Halifax, a MkIII, serial LV907, of 158 Squadron, which carried out 128 ops. The starboard 'nose art' represents the two Free French Halifax squadrons based at Elvington during WW2.
The Standard 'Tilly' vehicle, under the wing, gives some idea of the size of the main landing gear, and the three of us (Me, Jan and Karl) under the nose provide some scale to the bulk and height of this impressive exhibit.

 

[A4K]

Great shots Terry, even with original Gremlins under the nose!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Evan ! Just noticed the pics aren't that sharp, compared to how they look in my computer photo files. Seem to have lost quality in the upload !

 

[Crimea_River]

Great to see a restored Halifax. Someday I'll get over to Trenton Ontario to see another.

I wonder if this one counts as a 13 for Jan?

 

[Gnomey]

Nice shots Terry!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy and Hugh. A few more to be going on with, and again, I hope to get better shots of all of these on My 25th.
PIC 1. A nice cross-section replica of a Halifax forward fuselage, showing, from L to R, Flight Engineer's compartment, Pilot's position with, beneath it, the Radio Operator's cubicle, and forward, the Navigator's desk. The Bomb Aimer's position was just forward of this. The Perspex 'display cabinet' unfortunately reflected a lot of light.
PIC 2. Starboard nose of the Halifax, showing the markings of the two Free French squadrons based at Elvington between May 1944 and October 1945. These were 346 (Guyenne) Sqn, and 347 (Tunisie) Sqn.
PIC 3. DH Vampire T11, sheltering under the wing of the Halifax.
PICS 4 and 5. The tiny Saro Skeeter helicopter. How this thing flew on Army operations is beyond me! When acting as Fire Crew at an airshow, I once saw the AAC Museum's example flying at about five feet altitude, at walking pace, with ground crew members holding onto the landing gear to stop the thing blowing away in the wind !!
PIC 6. Up in the rafters of the 'T2' hangar, a Slingsby T7 (Kirby Cadet TX1) training glider, used during WW2 and up until the late 1970s.
Thanks again for your continued interest, and I'll post some more pics soon.

 

[Crimea_River]

That radio man's position is not for the claustrophic. Good ones Terry.

 

[Gnomey]

Indeed. Good stuff Terry!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy and Hugh - more soon.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Great shots Terry, particularly like the one of the 3 stooges!! You all look as though you could have done with a hot toddy as well.

 

[T Bolt]

Nice shots Terry. Didn't realize the Halifax stood so tall.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much chaps, and yes Glenn, the Halifax is a big blighter! The Lanc is large and impressive, but the 'Halibag' makes an even bigger impression.
I'm having some intermittent connection problems at the moment, so I'll post more pics as soon as possible.

 

[Airframes]

Connection problem seems to be solved, so on with the 'tour'.
I've been following the progress of this next one for virtually 40 years !
This is DH Mosquito NFII, serial number HJ711, and what a superb restoration it is !
Tony Agar started work on this project all those years ago, with just a few bits and pieces, and a nose section which, if memory serves, was obtained from the dump at Pinewood Studios. A main fuselage section was eventually located, and mated to the nose section, and this resided in Tony's front garden in York for some time!
The wing I believe came from Israel, and other parts were sourced and collected as the years passed. Now, the Mosquito is virtually complete, although in a stripped-down state during my visit. It is due to have further live engine runs in June, so there's a chance that it might be at least partly 'back together' again when I next visit, in just over two weeks' time.
Meanwhile, the 'stripped' condition allowed for some rare detail shots, which are self-explanatory. The last pic shows the Mossie's cannons on a bomb trolley - the silver 'cylinders' are the Belt Feed Mechanisms over the breeches.