Fairey Fulmar N4074

Matt ZX and Sean by the tiny remains of Fulmar N4074 on Minera Mountain. A grand day out with Pat Cunningham and Matt, wish we still had the time to go out most weeks, but too much work on.

Location: SJ 26358 51060
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Fairey Barracuda Mk.II DR306

What appear to be wing/ hardpoint components from this Barracuda torpedo bomber which crashed into Whernside on 15th December 1945.

There apparently used to be a big chunk of wing here, but it was probably stolen by the "York Aircraft Preservation Society".

What a fantastic name for an organisation which destroys wreck sites, it's worthy of George Orwell's 1984.

Of course like all of these loose associations of saddoes it has disbanded in time, and its stolen "treasures" have gone missing, who knows where.

Those imagined museums never come to fruition quite as you hoped, do they lads? Maybe a few pointless bits of tangled metal are collected in some unvisited Nissen hut somewhere, but more usually items (all too often stolen from war graves) are collected simply to be thrown out by your parents for those few of you who go on to get a life.

Don't imagine I'm implying that all involved are of school age, just that they probably live with their parents. And need to get a life.

Location SD 74201 80331

Fairey Barracuda Mk.II DR306

A drystone wall "repaired" with bits of torpedo bomber. Click on pic to zoom in if you can't see it.

I'm not sure I agree with the suggestion that this is supposed to be a wall repair.

It just looks like the standard farmer's trick of throwing bits of aircraft wreckage to the edge of the field to me.

Two reasons why I don't think it is a repair-there's no hole in the wall, and in the National Park farmers get paid to repair dry stone walls properly.

In National Parks farmers are more like caretakers, really.

Location:SD 74246 80387

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Fairey Firefly?

IMG_0029
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

A bit of fairly convincing-looking aluminium skinning from the area where the Snowdonia list says a Fairey Firefly crashed. We can find no further details on this crash.

Three complicating factors:

1. This is directly below the well-documented Meteor crash site.

2. The area has become a scrap repository. What would be very convincing on open moorland is less so here.

3. The Snowdonia list's greatest weakness is in accurate 'plane identification.

Helpful comments are invited.

Location: SH 36265 46077

World's End

World's End
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Went up to a place called World's End above Minera (near Wrexham)on Monday in a fair bit of snow looking for some of the wrecks up there. Four are given in High Ground Wrecks: Beaufighter NE203, Spitfire TE210, Fulmar N4074, and Master N7442.

As with last week in Yorkshire, we found nothing anywhere near the HGW coordinates for the ones we got to.

A great day out though, and we had the added excitement of very nearly losing the Landy over a steep bank. Excitement is not quite the right word though, we were a few inches from a 30m drop sideways.

The road is basically impassable in any amount of snow, as even locals were finding out the hard way. Quite a few people went past points of no return, and we had to take a couple of carfuls back down to safety as dark closed in. I should imagine this has been world's end for a few drivers over the years, as well as all those pilots.

Fairey Barracuda MD963

Barracuda Wreck
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

There seems to be less wreckage at this site than previous reports led us to believe, but it has gained a wooden cross.

Location: SE 02368 10450.

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