Sunday 27 September 2009

Bristol Blenheim Mk.1F L1449

Bristol Blenheim Mk.1F L1449

A few scraps which were missed by the multiple waves of looters who have visited the site of this Blenheim crash, found by an attractive waterfall in the pine wood planted since the crash.

Engines used to lie in the stream bed nearby, but we all know how those magpies love an engine.

As ever, no-one seem to know where the stolen parts are now, or exactly who it was who took them away.

Location: SE 60416 99817

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4 comments:

Mantog said...

My dad grew up in this part of the world, and has always had an interest in crash sites. He believes one of the engines ended up in a now defunct museum. Interestingly, wreckage found on the hillside near the waterfall has included a small part of an external bomb-rack. These bomb under-fuselage racks couldn't be carried by the Mk1f because of the additional gun pack it carried. So it's possible the wreckage at Bransdale waterfall is not L1449. There is also (anecdotal) mention of a 'local gamekeeper' being first on scene at one of these Bransdale crash sites finding an airman sat upright in the heather, but upon closer inspection had a large piece of his head missing.

Mantog said...

My dad grew up in this part of the world, and has always had an interest in crash sites. He believes one of the engines ended up in a now defunct museum. Interestingly, wreckage found on the hillside near the waterfall has included a small part of an external bomb-rack. These bomb under-fuselage racks couldn't be carried by the Mk1f because of the additional gun pack it carried. So it's possible the wreckage at Bransdale waterfall is not L1449. There is also (anecdotal) mention of a 'local gamekeeper' being first on scene at one of these Bransdale crash sites finding an airman sat upright in the heather, but upon closer inspection had a large piece of his head missing.

fool on the hill said...

In the hot summer of 1976 I walked up the left fork of Bransdale beck on a family outing and saw that engine lying at the edge of the stream. That was before the wood had been planted and there was wreckage strewn all over the moor. In 2005 in a fit of nostalgia I returned to see if I could still find it but it was gone and indeed there was practically no sign left of what had happened there. I had thought at the time that it must have disappeared under the heather or been washed downstream and weathered away to nothing, but your report suggests otherwise. Still, thanks to a recent storm I did manage to pick up two fragments of wreckage in the stream bed, enough to reassure me I was looking in the right place. Back at Cockayne Cottage where we were staying we found a hand-written log book with details of the crash. I always had a vague memory that it had said the aircraft involved was an American plane, but I’m quite prepared to be convinced otherwise. Nothing in there though about dead airmen sitting up in the heather.

fool on the hill said...

In the hot summer of 1976 I walked up the left fork of Bransdale beck on a family outing and saw that engine lying at the edge of the stream. That was before the wood had been planted and there was wreckage strewn all over the moor. In 2005 in a fit of nostalgia I returned to see if I could still find it but it was gone and indeed there was practically no sign left of what had happened there. I had thought at the time that it must have disappeared under the heather or been washed downstream and weathered away to nothing, but your report suggests otherwise. Still, thanks to a recent storm I did manage to pick up two fragments of wreckage in the stream bed, enough to reassure me I was looking in the right place. Back at Cockayne Cottage where we were staying we found a hand-written log book with details of the crash. I always had a vague memory that it had said the aircraft involved was an American plane, but I’m quite prepared to be convinced otherwise. Nothing in there though about dead airmen sitting up in the heather.