Tuesday 29 July 2008

Uttoxeter Crash Site

Brookend,Crakemarsh,Combridge,Crash Site
Brookend
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

We walked the banks of the River Dove near Uttoxeter between Crakemarsh and Combridge, where we had previously heard there was due to be a wreck site excavation around now.

No sign of anything, though the bridges and footpaths in the area were pretty comprehensively blocked, so we couldn't follow our planned search route. This is apparently all too common in Staffs. We will be having a word with their rights of way complaints department.

We do not know the identity of the aircraft. We have found reports of many 'planes crashed in this general area, but none close to the given location.

Alan Clark says he knows the identity of the plane but would rather not say. He tells us that several previous requests to "recover" the wreck have been refused by the landowner, and that none of the usual suspects are admitting involvement in the dig. Even more secrecy than usual. And as ever, a certain amount of ner ner ner ner ner.

Approximate location:SK 100 370

Saturday 26 July 2008

Martin Marauder B-26G 44-68072?

Martin Marauder B-26G 44-68072
Marauder?
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter



It's all question marks this week, as we found artefacts, but cannot definitively say which aircraft they came from.

Our planned route of ascent of Y Garn proved impractical, so we switched to plan B, the nearby Ansons.

As we were about to get back into the car, I noticed this in the window of the warden station. It seems highly likely that this glob of previously molten aluminium comes from a 'plane wreck site, but the warden didn't know where it came from. He didn't know who had made it into a keyring either.

As the path to the wreck of the Marauder passes a few feet from where this was found, we speculate that this wreck is the source of this item.

Location:SH 64923 60329

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?
Anson
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter



This is a shock absorber(known as an oleo strut or just an oleo to enthusiasts)from the undercarriage of one of what may be two Ansons wrecked on Mynydd Perfedd in Snowdonia, over a wreckage field measured by us as 0.4 miles across.

It is claimed that there are three sets of undercarriage mounting brackets at the site. One Anson contained only two such brackets, so it would prove that there are two Ansons in the wreckage spread over the hillside if three such brackets were found.

The condition of what we saw on the day however makes this far from clear. Less convincing yet are the arguments concerning which wreck site is which.

More info

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?


Anson
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter



Two more oleos some distance from the first.

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?
Anson
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter



A illegible home-made plaque in what some claim to be the wreckage field of one of two Ansons crashed in this area .

I wonder if the plaque's writer thought he could identify which wreck was which? This website certainly does, though the plaques were readable back when he visited. Writing something on a plaque does not however make it a fact.

Location:SH 62837 62236

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?

Avro Anson Mk.I LT184 or Avro Anson Mk.I LT116?
AnsonOriginally uploaded by wreckhunter



The remains of a second illegible plaque by what some think to be the centre of an individual wreckage field, seemingly written in Tipp-ex like the one at the Wellington site near to the Lincoln.

Location:SH 62666 62165

More info(shows the plaque in better condition)

Saturday 19 July 2008

Carnedd Dafydd

Carnedd Dafydd
Daffydd
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Back to basics for us this week. It's pretty much all about the walk for us, so Mick persuaded me to climb to the summit of Daffydd, via a rather unstable ascent of the scree and rocks above the lake. He loves a cairn, does Mick.

Oh, and we looked for a few plane wrecks.

Location:SH 66258 63042

More info

Martin Marauder B-26G 44-68072

Martin Marauder B-26G 44-68072 Memorial
Marauder Memorial
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

The weather prevented us taking the longer route originally intended to visit the Marauder crash site, but we visited this memorial to the crew on the Llanberis pass on our way back. It's around two miles from the crash site, which we will visit another time.

Location:SH 62066 57090

More info

Douglas Boston Mk.III Z2186

Douglas Boston Mk.III Z2186
Havoc/Boston
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

A sad remnant of what was one the best wreck sites in Wales, visible for three miles. You will read here that the rest of the remains were removed from this site by a misguided Snowdonia National Park Authority and the solid sounding Boston Havoc Preservation Trust.

The true story of what happened here addresses to some extent a point we have received much garbled, emotional, threatening and spiteful correspondence about in the last week, as a result of our expressed anger at this pointless piece of vandalism. Bear with us a moment(or move to the next post).

The site is not owned by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, but by the National Trust. Far from clearing the wreck site, or even giving permission, they registered it as a site of historical interest with the National Sites and Monuments Register. The confusion seems to have arisen because the stripping of Snowdonia's wreck sites happened under the leadership of the SNP's head warden, under pressure from "wreckologists".

We understand from here that the truth is that the entire wreck was taken by the now-defunct BHPT. The outer wing sections, inner wing sections with undercarriage legs, wing center section, both engines, fuselage center section and numerous smaller parts were taken by the BHPT, who immediately sold one of the outer wing sections for scrap,and later broke up both engines. In 2006, what remained of Z2186 was sold to persons unknown.

The BHPT were a member of the BAAC, whose "wreckologist" members keep telling us they are the best custodians for aircraft relics. I am sure the BHPT were well-meaning (as of course everyone is) but the end result of their intervention was that a memorial and interesting walker's landmark was reduced to scrap metal, and someone's private collection. Whilst it may be argued that a licensed recovery would not make the same mistakes, one need only look over the hill at the Lincoln wreck, whose most interesting bits are apparently at best in private hands in unknown locations. We can give many other examples, and we are sure that our detractors know even more than we do.

These wreck sites should be left where they are. That you might be licensed to "recover" this material by landowners or the MOD is irrelevant. Recovery groups, research groups, investigative groups, whatever they call themselves, seem not to realise that history shows that such groups always fold. Their precious little collections of bits nearly always end up broken up for scrap, or in someone's private collection. You can read in these groups' own published material that they know this, but human nature being what it is, they think they are different.

The so called "research" which come out of these recovery activities is worthless. A report may go in to the county archaeologist(who one of those responsible tells us has not the slightest interest in these activities), and moulder away on a shelf. The bits may go in some "museum" where a very small number of the public can pay to see an amateurish exhibition of what they could formerly see in context for nothing, but science has not been served. Nothing appears in a learned journal, at most there is just an article in some magazine for sad anoraks.

A grave site has been disturbed, all too often, and for what? To make some social inadequates feel important, judging by much of the correspondence I have received in the last week.

Location: SH 66647 62932


More info

Lockheed Ventura AE699

Lockheed Ventura AE699 Exhaust Manifold
Ventura?
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

This looks like an exhaust manifold to me, though we understand the engines from this site were "recovered" a while back. We see with a spot of research that "The engines were removed in 1984 for the "Snowdonia Historic Aviation Group",without the landowners permission. The last large-ish piece of skinning was removed in 1996 by a collector/wreckologist from Cheshire."link.

There are still however fair sized bits scattered all the way down the Cwm from SH 65979 62473. It's rough ground for a 100% recovery.

Location: SH 66000 62282

More info

Lockheed Ventura AE699

Lockheed Ventura AE699
Ventura?
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Serial numbers and inspection stamps from the wreckage, which confirm the aircraft's identity as shown here.

Lockheed Ventura AE699

Lockheed Ventura AE699
Ventura
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

We are now reasonably certain that this wreckage comes from the Ventura which crashed on the slopes of Daffydd. It was so close to the Pen yr Oeu Wen Anson wreckage that we felt we needed to be sure from inspection stamps that it was a separate site.

Location: SH 65993 62288

More info(Nothing on the 'net on this crash site)

Saturday 12 July 2008

Carnedd Llwellyn, Foel Fras, Foel Grach

Weather was a bit marginal, but we went ahead with Friday's visit to Snowdonia. Visibility down to 25m, horizontal rain, and 3 degrees C on top, just the way we like it for a late summer walk!

We found the easy sites, but the more challenging (some say impossible) sites eluded us.

We think we probably found the rock that Anson N5371 hit, which features in many books and websites. We aren't however so short of pics this week that we need a picture of a rock. We like to show genuine physical evidence. We are wreckhunters, not rockhunters.

We'll be back for the others after a bit more research.

Avro Anson Mk.I EF909 coded J3 or Avro Anson EG110?

Avro Anson Mk.I EF909 coded J3 or Avro Anson EG110?
Anson
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

These definitely look like Anson bits on Foel Grach, but there is some controversy about which of the two Ansons which crashed near this location they come from. It might even be a consolidation pile of two wreck sites, as we have seen elsewhere. The engines described by others seem to have been removed by the local grave-robbers.

It is hard to know how to resolve the issue now, unless we can find a second site with identifiable bits nearby. The bits are too corroded to even carry any markings.

Since our visit, Alan and Mark from PDAAR claim to have found another site 1km distant which they believe is the crash site of EG110. There is a link to their report of the new site below. They have given us information which will probably to allow us to investigate their claim, which we will do in due course, probably when we have better information about the second "impossible" Anson wreck site location and N5371, to facilitate a twofer, or even a threefer.

Location: SH 69068 66625

More info(EF909)
More info(EG110)

Avro Anson Mk.I MG804

Avro Anson Mk.I MG804
Anson
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

The usual undercarriage components at the crash site of this Anson on Foel Fras.

Location: SH 69617 67586

More info

English Electric Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129

English Electric Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129
Canberra
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Informal memorial (you may have to zoom in to read the writing scratched into the panel) at this Avro built Canberra crash site by the highest lake in Wales, Ffynnon Llyffant above Cwm Eigiau towards the summit of Carnedd Llwellyn.

We have been informed since our visit that the description given in the scratched text contains errors, but we do not propose to go back and correct a memorial's typos.

Location: SH 68839 64580

More info

English Electric Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129


Canberra
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

One of the wheels from the crash site, illustrating the poor visibility (and also just how wet it is possible for a person to be).

Location: SH 68899 64602

English Electric Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129


Canberra
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Parts from the less complete turbojet engine, recovered from the stream.

Location: SH 68924 64521

English Electric Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129


English Electric (Avro built) Canberra B.Mk.2 WK129
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

A more complete example of the Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7 Mk.109 turbojet engine fitted in the Canberra B.

Location:SH 68831 64621

Saturday 5 July 2008

Peak District Wrecks

A bit of a run around this week, clearing up some minor sites in the Peak District. We think we have definitely got to the 100 best sites in the Peak now, and will probably produce a summary sheet-coming soonish.

Back to Wales next week for some more impressive wrecks, unless the weather is really rubbish, in which case, another buzz around the last few sites in the peak with physical evidence to be expected, or a revisit of some sites where we have blanked in the past.

We are never going to get round to visiting fields in which there were forced landings, grave sites of aircrews, or that sort of thing. Life is too short.

Friday 4 July 2008

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV T1884

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV T1884
Blenheim
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2



Other visitors to this site have reported a number of items which allowed clear identification of this as a Blenheim crash site. Perhaps they took them away with them, as this old and none-too- convincing bolt was as good as it got for us, though there was a cluster of strong signals about 10m from this location which we didn't investigate.

Location: SJ 98118 96493

More info

British Midland Canadair C-4 Argonaut G-ALHG

British Midland Canadair C-4 Argonaut G-ALHG
Argonaut
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2



In 1967, an Argonaut passenger 'plane on its way back from Palma crashed on approach to Manchester Airport, due to engine problems. 72 people died, though amazingly 12 survived, despite the aircraft being spread all over the area in pieces.

Memorials to those who lost their lives, and the emergency crews who saved those who survived were respectively raised here in 1998 and 1992.

Location: SJ 89880 90071

More info

North American P-51D Mustang 44-64084

North American P-51D Mustang 44-64084
Mustang
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2



Bits of this Mustang which was part of the same ill-fated flight of twelve 'planes as Mustang 44-72181, which we visited earlier.

Others have reported no visible wreckage at the location, but a close search showed quite a bit of small surface wreckage like this.

Location: SK 02617 91379

More info(PDAAR)
More info(SLA)

Wednesday 2 July 2008

Twitter

I have set up a Twitter account, and will post brief updates on there when we are out and about. It will feature at the bottom of this page. Any assistance on the day greatly appreciated....