The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent.

Old Buckenham continued 2.

More of the collection, with most items having been donated by 453rd BG veterans or their families.
Still more to come ................

Old Buckenham - final set.

The last few photos show more of the museum collection, and a general view of the museum hut, looking east, with the clubhouse and cafe at the left, and modern blister hangars. The cafe was originally named "Jimmy's", in honour of James Stewart, but following recent new management, it is now called "The Liberator Restaurant", with the final two pics showing part of the interior overlooking the airfield, where Karl and I enjoyed a nice lunch, with freshly prepared food at reasonable prices.
Not shown here is the control "tower", which is a former RAF runway control truck, although the original, two-storey WW2 tower still exists, and I believe is either a residence or offices.
(Note that the parachute harness shown in one of the pics is a British, chest-pack type, which may be either late war, or post war, due to the "flat" edge on the quick release box disc. This was designed to allow a better grip, with cold, wet hands, if the wearer landed in the sea.)

Back tomorrow with more of the "Travels", this time The Muckleburgh Collection, with tanks, armoured vehicles and more ............

Great shots Terry

Thanks Geo.

Great info pics Terry, I liked the bit about the hat stiffener removal.

Very cool Terry!

Thanks chaps, glad you like the "tour" around Old Buckenham. I'm just sorting the first batches of pics for the next instalment, and should have the first set posted very soon.
Meanwhile, the pic below shows Le Chef in action.
Now you may think he's using his amazing culinary skills on the BBQ, but he's actually looking for a colour pic for a model he's building ..................

Airframes said:

Thanks chaps, glad you like the "tour" around Old Buckenham. I'm just sorting the first batches of pics for the next instalment, and should have the first set posted very soon.
Meanwhile, the pic below shows Le Chef in action.
Now you may think he's using his amazing culinary skills on the BBQ, but he's actually looking for a colour pic for a model he's building ..................


View attachment 738753

Click to expand...

Well he ain't going to find it on this thread!..........................

The Muckleburgh Collection.

Ther next trip on the latest "Travels" saw Karl and I driving to the north Norfolk coast, to visit The Muckleburgh Collection, the largest private collection of tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery pieces and more in the UK.
The Collection was opened in 1988, by Sqn.Ldr. Berry Savory and his son, Michael, and has since grown to a vast collection of vehicles, weapons and other interesting articles, including a Harrier GR3.
The vast majority of the armoured vehicles and trucks are in fully working order, and the public can book to drive a tracked vehicle (normally a FV432 APC) most days of the year, and there are also special display days when the Collections tanks and other vehicles are displayed in action. along with re-enactment groups.

The Collection is located on the site of the former Weybourne Camp which, during WW2 was used as an Army Co-operation anti-aircraft site, operating the DH "Queen Bee" (target drone R/C derivative of the Tiger Moth) on the cliffs above Weybourne beach, not far from the small town of Holt.
On the west side of the camp there was a grass airstrip operated by the RAF, part of which can still be used today for visitors arriving by light aircraft.
Post war, the camp operated as an AA training unit, before being taken over for use as a radar site, eventually closing in the early 1980's, when the radar section was re-located to Trimmingham, another WW2 radar and signals site, used for transmitting "Oboe" signals and other work.

On the day we visited (Sunday, 17th September) the weather was reasonable at the "Tin Tent" but, being on the North sea coast, it was rather dull and cool at the former camp, with a breeze bringing in a sea "fret", and it wasn't hard to imagine what it must have been like to have been posted there during the winter in WW2.

The first selection of pics show the location on the coast in relation to the campsite where the "Tin Tent" is located, the camp area and camp itself where the Muckleburgh Collection is housed, along with a general view of some of the original camp buildings.
The final well-known photo shows Prime Minister Winston Churchill visiting Weybourne Camp, with a D.H. "Queen Bee" on its launching catapult in the background (IWM photo).

Back soon with the Collection itself ..............

.The Muckleburgh Collection continued.

Inside the Collection, and the first room has a large 1/72nd scale diorama of part of the camp as it looked during WW2.
The detail and accuracy of this diorama was quite something, including the nicely done "Queen Bee" model and its launch catapult, but I'm afraid the photos don't do it justice - available light was used, as the use of flash only reflected greatly from the glass cabinet.
(more of this diorama later, with a reconstruction of an incident involving a Ju-88.)
The final two photos were taken from the wall displays, and show an oblique shot of the camp in 1941, and a Luftwaffe recce photo with appropriate German notations.

Much more to come .................

The Muckleburgh Collection continued - 2.

More of the large diorama of the camp, and the "Ju-88 incident".

This Ju-88A5, Wk. Nr. 8180, code 4D+BH, from I/KG30, force-landed on the beach directly below Weybourne Camp at 03.30 hrs on 3rd May, 1941.
It had departed from its base at Eindhoven, Holland, at 01.30 hrs, leading a formation of other Ju-88s from the Gruppe, tasked with bombing Liverpool docks., with this particular crew (as shown in the photo caption below) required to report weather conditions, over the target, to the rest of the formation.
At 23,000 feet, having made landfall north of the Wash, and whilst over Skegness, the aircraft came under heavy AA fire, and the port engine started to fail, and the compass was U/S.
The aircraft jettisoned its load and turned for home, and has been reported as shot down by a Defiant of 151 Sqn, flown by P/O G. Edmison with Air Gunner Sgt. A.G. Beale.
The starboard engine began to fail when over Norfolk, and the pilot made a successful belly landing on Weybourne beach, directly below the cliff-top site of Weybourne Camp, as replicated in the diorama.

More following ...............

The Muckleburgh Collection continued - 3.

Still in the first room in the main complex, and another detailed diorama, this time a WW 1 scene, which I think depicts the railway goods yard at Holt station, but I admit I forgot to make a note of the details !
Also shown here are two of the many displays of small arms, and the impressive, life-size wood carving of the Duke of Wellington's horse, "Copenhagen".
Turning the corner into the first main display hall, with various artillery pieces, and this WW2 British 4.5 inch howitzer can't fail to be noticed !

Lots more still to come, later today and tomorrow .......................

Very nice collection

The Muckleburgh Collection continued - 4.

More big guns, with Karl giving an idea of their size, some large R/C model aircraft, and artillery tractors, before moving into the next hall.

The Muckleburgh Collection continued - 5.

The next hall had a very closely-packed display of heavy trucks, including a White "Diamond T" tank transporter, loaded with a French AMX-13, a Praga heavy mobile crane, and a WW2 era Scammel heavy tractor unit.
Also shown here are two British SAMs, in service from the early 1960s to the 1990s, the English Electric "Thunderbird", and the Bristol "Bloodhound".

Back tomorrow with the tanks and much more ....................