Monday, 2 November 2020

Gloster Meteors WA971 and VZ518









I've been up to Sliddens Moss twice in recent weeks with Pat, and Matt. Last week's outing turned up this engine, which I hadn't seen on previous outings. 

Location: TBA

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Sunday, 4 October 2020

Cessna 310 F G-ARMK: The Magpies Strike Again!

 











Had a day out in Wales with Matt ZX last Friday. Weather report was filthy, but as it turned out, overly pessimistic. Weather was pretty much standard autumn mountain weather. 

After visiting the mixed Anson and Ventura wreckage over the other side of Fynnon Lloer, we went up the stream to see the usually impossible to miss Cessna engine. No sign of it. 

The one other walker we met all day on top said he'd seen it about a year ago. Got out my old high-accuracy coordinates. My sticks are very close to where it used to be. Definitely no sign of it. 

It's probably in some saddo's garage then, though there's a small chance it has merely been moved, as comments on previous posts suggest it has been before. 

Wednesday, 9 September 2020

Consolidated B-24J Liberator 42-100322

 














A day out in Bowland with IanDB in low cloud yesterday yielded this Burn Fell B-24 site I've missed in the past.

Location:  SD 67123 53127

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Sunday, 30 August 2020

Airspeed Oxford Mk.II X7064



A quick outing with Matt ZX in nice walking weather to various hills outside Llangollen yielded 3/3 target sites in fairly short order. First of the day was the Oxford site on Moel y Gamelin. 

Fragments of wreckage are scattered throughout the scree. The pic is a closeup of a bit with inspection stamp and markings which I'd like to say prove it's an Airspeed Oxford, but it looked slightly questionable at first. A part number starting with 10 is good, but the inspection stamp should ideally be  AS for Airspeed. Mat however tells me that the RECL stamp is from Royston Engineering, who made spares for a number of manufacturers including Airspeed and DeHaviland.

Location: SJ 17470 46623

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Douglas C-47A Dakota 41-7803

 


















This site on Moel Y Gaer is unique in my experience in having more bits of clothing related debris like this US great seal embossed brass button than bits of aircraft, by virtue of its cargo. Which is surprising considering these buttons go for £3.50 each on eBay. 

Location: SJ 16779 46393

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Boeing B-29A-50-BN Washington B.1 WF502 Memorial

 


The memorial to the Washington crash in the nearby village 

Location: SJ 19027 56172

Boeing B-29A-50-BN Washington B.1 WF502

 





























Though debris was reportedly scattered over five acres (or five miles depending on who you ask) , there are many surface scraps quite close to the impact site such as these. This looks to be a long way from the Moel Y Gaer location given by some ( though probably less than five miles), I prefer the  Llanarmon-yn-Iâl given in the link below. Sources also differ on how many of the crew survived.

Location:  SJ 17944 54203 

Saturday, 25 July 2020

Avro Anson Mk 1 N9617

























A day out with Matt ZX yesterday in the Berwyns yielded a few bits of site-proving skinning like the bit pictured at this site on Moel Sych. 

Those tussocks make for heavy going off path! Still, there's a good chance that one of the magpies will have these bits in their garage "museum" before the weekend is out now that I've published the coordinates. For "safe keeping" you understand......

Location: SK 28634 53596

Bristol Blenheim Mk. 1 L1476 Revisited

Sykes Moor Crash Site Memorial
























I went out with Ian DB last Wednesday for a cluster of sites I've been to many times before. Wellington, Botha, Defiant, Blenheim. It's a nice walk over the tops, and an easy walk back on the Transpennine. 

Noticed a couple of things I hadn't before, including this "new" plaque on the Blenheim memorial. (New to me, its apparently been there since 2018). I've never seen it before, or indeed the scatter of wreckage a little way away with a sign saying "main wreckage this way" which Ian had been frustrated by on a previous visit, as it appeared to have been turned in an unhelpful direction.

Friday, 26 June 2020

Short Stirling Mk.III EE975


Air Crash Site Old Cote Moor Yorkshire Dales
























Last one of the day, the 15th August 1944 crash site of Stirling EE975 on Old Cote Moor. There's scraps in the scree at the foot of the cliff that this site is on top of as well.

Location: SD 92766 72654

Vickers Wellington Mk.X HE226




















A day out in the Yorkshire Dales with "MT Skull" (pictured) last Wednesday took in this 28th May 1945 crash site (with a surprising amount of unlooted wreckage for such an accessible site) on Bycliffe Moor above Conistone (In Wharfedale) first. 

The one pictured is just the one with the biggest pile of scrap of a number in bell pits at the site. There's even bits in the fence! As discussed with MT on the day, this is recorded in Smith's "High Ground Wrecks" as only having "small pieces". Nowadays such an amount of unlooted metal makes this arguably at least a "medium remains" by comparison with other sites in their present state. There's sizeable shattered engine bits in this pile

I've used LAIT's anorak site as the "more info" below. Love how their logo is a JCB now!

Location: SE 01128 68821 

Friday, 19 June 2020

North American P51 Mustang AP171
























A .50 cal. bullet found yesterday at the site of this 11th June 1943 crash on Brown Clee Hill

Location: SO 59343 83529

Junkers Ju-88-A5 (6245) V4 + BS III/KG 1
























The rough cross made out of a steel fencepost erected at (or near, depending who you ask) the crash site of this Junkers Bomber, which went down with a full bomb load on April 1st, 1941, killing all on board. The bright bolt at the top of the cross is reportedly part of the aircraft. 

Location : SO 60363 85848 (approx - it's in the woods) 

WAR: What Is It Good For?




















Memorial to the various air crashes on Brown Clee Hill, Shropshire, erected (I am told) by someone who ran a stall on the local market selling bits from them for many years, seen on a day out with Matt and Rich in a new area for me.

WAR, (as the local magpies call themselves) have looted most of these sites, so not much to see at most of them. Found a scrap or two they missed at two of them.

Location : SO 59607 85496  

Saturday, 13 June 2020

Still In Business

We are still going out, though as we haven't done any new sites for a while, I don't bother posting anything. All any pictures would show is the gradual erosion of wreckage at the sites, and its replacement with a proliferation of signs, crosses and poppies, even at sites where there were no deaths. Some of the outings can be seen at MatZX's site here.  I'm planning on starting to visit some new sites soon, lockdown permitting...