Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I've just come across some old notes that prompted me to ask the question, mainly from our British members, about a Wellington that 'appeared' in the Cheviot hills, between Northumberland and Scotland, in the 1960's.
I think it was around 1966, following a very dry and warm summer. A virtually intact Wellington was 'released' from a peat-bog on the top of one of the hills. It was complete, with the exception of the fabric covering, and had belly-landed I think in 1942 or '43, following a training flight.
Because of the exceptional weather, the wreck had risen from the depths of the peat, and sat there for all to see. There was a picture in the regional newspaper at the time, which prompted me, as a boy of 14 or so, to get a lift to the area and climb the hills to see it. By the time I got there, probably a day or so after the picture and news article appered, the site was cordoned-off, and only the tail-fin was visible, as the aircraft had begun to sink back into the bog.
As far as I know, efforts to recover it were hampered by the treacherous bog. That is, if any serious efforts at recovery were attempted, as this was long before the 'preservation movement' as we know it today.
It would be interesting to find out what happened, or if anybody has any details to add.
I think it was around 1966, following a very dry and warm summer. A virtually intact Wellington was 'released' from a peat-bog on the top of one of the hills. It was complete, with the exception of the fabric covering, and had belly-landed I think in 1942 or '43, following a training flight.
Because of the exceptional weather, the wreck had risen from the depths of the peat, and sat there for all to see. There was a picture in the regional newspaper at the time, which prompted me, as a boy of 14 or so, to get a lift to the area and climb the hills to see it. By the time I got there, probably a day or so after the picture and news article appered, the site was cordoned-off, and only the tail-fin was visible, as the aircraft had begun to sink back into the bog.
As far as I know, efforts to recover it were hampered by the treacherous bog. That is, if any serious efforts at recovery were attempted, as this was long before the 'preservation movement' as we know it today.
It would be interesting to find out what happened, or if anybody has any details to add.
