Monday 13 April 2009

Fi-103 (V-1) Cruise Missile: Langsett

On Featherbed Top on Howden Moor, there is a bare patch which many including Alan Clark and Pat Cunningham have claimed is the site of a V1 crash. We have visited the site a couple of times previously, and gone with the consensus identification up to now, but we no longer think that the consensus is correct.

Following information received, we have looked into claims from "Tomsk" that this site is not in fact a V1 crater, but that the true crater lies 3/4 km away. After visiting the alternative location today, we are happy that this is the case, for the following reasons:

Fi-103 (V-1) Cruise Missile: Langsett

1. The new crater (illustrated) is very similar in appearance to the one on Black Edge, known to be a V1 site.

Howden Moor Fi-103 (V-1) Cruise Missile: Langsett

2. We found twisted, rusty heavy gauge steel components (illustrated) around the crater identical in appearance to those we found at the Black Edge site. Mick's doing his Big Vern face in this shot.

3. The aluminium parts we found previously (now removed by persons unknown) at the supposed V1 crater correspond to nothing we have seen at V1 sites elsewhere.

4. We have seen no other V1 sites which are a flat black scar on the peat like the supposed V1 site on Howden Moor. All other sites are sharp-sided craters like the new candidate.

5. We have evidence from Tomsk that scraps found at the supposed V1 crater come instead from a Luftmine B parachute mine. Here's a Luftmine B:

Luftmine B

Note the distinctive cross section of the fins, and their five rivets. Here's a bit recovered from the old site with that cross section and five rivets:

Luftmine B

Luftmine B

6. Tomsk also identifies parts found at the new site as belonging to a V1. Here's the bolt which holds the warhead on on a museum piece:

V1: bolt which holds the warhead on

Here's something which looks very similar recovered from the site:

V1: bolt which holds the warhead on

Here's the guillotine mechanism which cuts the cables to send the V1 into a dive:

guillotine mechanism which cuts the cables to send the V1 into a dive

So our initial scepticism has been greatly tempered. The new location seems far more likely to be correct than the commonly held one. The sixth comment on this post also contains seemingly confirmatory information from the Imperial War Museum including these pics. Thanks Dave.

It'll be interesting if others modify their opinions and websites to suit. More interesting still will be who they credit-Mick tells me that Alan Clark for one is simply following us around the sites we have visited in Wales nowadays without crediting us, judging by the updates to his site.

New Location: SK 18224 97083

8 comments:

Dave said...

Hi Sean, the links to the documents dont work. "The webpage cannot be found" tryed it at home and at work same on both :(

Sean said...

Gave up on the word docs. Pics in the post now...

Dave said...

Cheers Sean, and can I just say well done tomsk good work that man, just one question to tomsk if he reads this what was it that first made you look-in to this??

Sean if I can be cheeky, if i email you at wreckhunter@r########l.com can you forward the document on to me please. thanks

Sean said...

sure

tomsk said...

Dave, was never convinced the large crater was a V1 i found the real crater whilst looking for the Oxford (no GPS in the 70s)then there was rusty bits all around the edge as the years have gone by more information has become available and so identification has been possible the LMB identified via the Russians regards Tomsk

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone,

This one is for Tomsk and everyone else. I’ve done a little research of my own on the “Luftmine B” and there’s not a lot in the way of information or images out there, the only ones I could find were from the same Russian web site as tomsk, That didn’t stop me though so here’s what I found.

The Imperial War Museum in London have an original deactivated “ Luftmine B” on display which matches the images from the Russian website , I contacted them for more information about the fins and also sent him copies of Tomsk’s pictures (hope that’s ok with you Tomsk) here is there reply.

“I can confirm that we have a Luftmine B (LMB) Non-Contact, Parachute Ground (Land) Mine on display. The German Parachute Mine was a thin wall cylinder 25in in diameter, 86in long, with a hemispherical nose. Fully filled, it would have weighed about 2176lb, of which 1536lb was explosive. At the tail end is a fitting to which the shrouds of a 27ft diameter parachute were attached.

The fins themselves are about 18.5in long, and as you can see from the attached images, only secured to the casing by welds at the centre and the outer edge, on to the end part of the bomb casing. They have wedge shaped outer edges welded to a plate section fin."

Here is a link to the images that he sent me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31272080@N07/sets/72157617175964605/show/with/3470893893/

So finally let me just say well done again to tomsk in my opinion hes right on the money ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Sean

If Possible could you put me in contact with "tomsk". (email or phone)

I'll email my contact details to you at wreckhunter@r########l.com if you could pass them on to "tomsk". if he's not interested then that's fine, but i do need to contact him.

Thanks

Sean said...

will do...