Handley-Page Halifax HR727

Great weather last Saturday for an outing with Matt ZX on Kinder.

We only saw two of the wreckage piles we found back when we were looking for this and the nearby Wellington on the day, but we didn't search at all of the old coordinates. Feel free to look for yourself and get back to me...

This is the largest of the three Halifax wreckage piles we found back then. All looked pretty much as before.

Location: SK 13102 87633

Armstrong Vickers Wellington Mk.III X3348 coded ZL-Z

Less wreckage and more scattered than before, but this Wellington crash site is still recognisable by the geodetic. If you recognise geodetic that is.

Location: SK 12807 87554

Armstrong Vickers Wellington W5719

Maybe a bit less here than last time, but hard to tell. Even Matt couldn't find much recognisable.

Location: SK 11062 87549

Avro Anson Mk.XI NL185

Still two engines and lots of skinning at this crash site, which seems just as last time other than the homemade cross being absent.

Mat found some interesting bits, which you can see on his blog. I've put his pic of the most complete engine up, without the sepia filter Mick used last time.

Location: SK 08874 86578

De Havilland Dragon Rapide G-ALBC

There seemed to be about as much stuff at the site as last time, though it had all moved around as usual.

Matt found a few interesting bits....

Location: SK 10160 88245.

Handley Page Heyford Mk.III K6875

There has been lots of moving stuff around at this site, and there's a bit less than there was last time, but there wasn't that much to being with, at least during the time I've been going to it.

Matt found a few buckles....

Location: SK 11093 86013

Handley Page Hampden Mk.I AE381

Out on a training walk yesterday on Kinder, I dropped in on this site very close to the path. Both of the wreckage piles and their associated cross and plaque were disturbed, and one of those new stainless steel crosses I've been seeing has appeared, but the metal looks mostly still to be there, compared with my last visit in 2007.

The Kinder perimeter path was really busy, and there were already no parking spaces left in Edale at 7AM. I don't normally go there on a Sunday morning. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you like a crowd.

Location: SK 07802 87492.

Bell 206B Jet Ranger Helicopter G-ODIL

Contrary to the assurances Pat received in the past from anoraks, there is in fact still authentic helicopter wreckage in William Clough. It wasn't even that hard to find.

Location: SK 06655 89697

Bell 206B Jet Ranger Helicopter G-ODIL

Yorkshire Helicopters 24 October 1997
Pilot: uninjured (and anonymous)

Newspapers, both local and national, asked not to divulge the pilot’s identity, chose to honour the request; neither is it Air Accident Investigation Branch policy to publish names. Helicopters have been widely employed in conservation and restoration work in the Peak District, one of their major tasks being to airlift stone slabs from redundant mills to be laid as paving in the style of the medieval ‘causey paths’ over the most boot-eroded sections of the area’s peaty tracks. Among other tasks have been the airlifting of fencing materials; of heather tops from lower moors for reseeding denuded moorland; and of water for fighting fires.

Hiring helicopters, although expensive, has proved to make economic sense, one of the many advantages being that the moors do not suffer the damage caused by surface vehicles. Indeed the ground was barely marked when Jet Ranger G-ODIL suffered a dynamic-rollover upset – effectively, tipping itself over – in the course of lifting stone from the shoulder of Ashop Head, at the summit of Kinder’s William Clough.

A first load, at an estimated weight of one thousand pounds, had been successfully lifted. However, the steep and restricted nature of the 1,750-feet-above-sea-level site had made it difficult to turn into wind, so that, without the assistance of the full wind speed, the helicopter had required its maximum torque to lift off, and then move forwards from the hover. Notwithstanding this, the second load proffered was even heavier; only then the pilot was quite unable to accomplish the transition to forward flight. He tried to set the load down again, but as a skid made contact with the ground a rolling motion was imparted and the helicopter, with its ability to respond to corrective lateral control now diminished, tipped onto its side.

The pilot was unhurt, but the machine sustained extensive damage and was eventually airlifted to the A57 at Doctor’s Gate. Although the aircraft was severely damaged it was not that badly fragmented and in 2006 Pat reported that nothing remained, certainly on the surface of the site, the few scraps of debris left behind after the clear-up operation having been taken to the Hayfield Ranger’s station near Bowden Bridge, where they were still to be seen.

North American F-86 Sabre F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730: Kinder Scout Crash Site Vandalism

I've had time to a bit of wreck hunting again. For anyone who doesn't know, this blog is the site that published accurate coordinates for the crash sites on Kinder Scout, amongst other places. We are going to be doing this again, now that I have rebooted the site.

We went to the Sabre wreck sites on Kinder Scout yesterday. The more exposed of the two jet engines has acquired a number of saw cuts since I last photographed it.

It looks like people wanted to take some bits home. All illegal of course. People died at this site.

Location:

SK 07348 90256

North American F-86 Sabre F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730

The cockpit from one of the Kinder Sabres is in someone's house, along with a great deal of stuff from other crash sites, and assorted ordnance....

Avro Anson Mk.XI NL185

 

A nip out onto Kinder with Pat today, to look at a number of sites. We found that the engine from this Anson has been moved a fair distance, and fallen into a hole. It looks from stream-bed damage like it has been rolled to this new position to me, but it isn't definitive. Unless someone wants to own up? 

Location: SK 08869 86573

Kinder Six

Handley Page Heyford Mk.III K6875
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Out onto Kinder yesterday to look at a few wrecks as a map and compass navex with Moustache Steve.

Over ten muddy miles, we revisited the Halifax and Wellington by Ringing Roger, the Wellington above Grindsbrook Clough, the Anson and Dragon Rapide on Edale Moor, and the Heyford on Broadlee Bank Tor. A little digging was evident at this last site, and the memorial cross had disappeared (illustrated above) .

There was also a bit of of artistic rearrangement at the Dragon Rapide (below).


De Havilland Dragon Rapide G-ALBC
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Other than that, all was well with the sites we visited.

An interesting thing happened out on Edale Moor-both GPS units started reading consistently about 1km out. This was the first time I have been convinced that GPS units were wrong based on my map and compass navigation. Might have been something to do with the thick hail clouds above us.

It's a scary thing being out there in the middle of Kinder if you are not 100% sure where you are!

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV Z5870

Crowden Brook
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Further to some recent correspondence, we decided to search up from Crowden Brook towards what is believed by some to be the terminal site of this still unlocated Blenheim Bomber crash.

Like all others we are aware of, we failed to find any trace of the 'plane on the mountain.

On the other hand, we did get to be overtaken by little old ladies (amongst many others) on what seemed to be the most well-trafficked route up Kinder we have yet been on.

Location:TBC

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Reims Cessna F.150M G-BFRP

Cessna: Kinder
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

After the Wellington Memorial we started the day's job of revisiting sites where we had received enough additional information since our last visit to be fairly confident of clearing them.

This is a view down the gully where the Cessna crashed on Broadlee Bank Tor, above Edale.

Whilst we are happy we have found the site ( a fair bit up the gully from the photo location) by photo-matching, metal detection showed there to be not a scrap of tin left at the site.

We don't want our site to degenerate to the state of some others on the 'net where we take a picture from half a mile away of a field and claim to have identified the site, but this pic will help you find the site if you are looking, and we really cannot find any physical evidence at this site.

This was the last remaining site on Kinder which we considered to have a good chance of definitively locating without in-depth research.

Location:SK 11375 86122

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Avro Tutor K3308

Tutor: Mill Cottages
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Here's the alleged touchdown area for the Avro Tutor which went on to crash into the trees in the background of the shot. Or be deliberately and skilfully arrested by them, depending on whether you believe the pilot's account or not.

We found no definitive sign of the event, but we did bump into some present day occupants of the mill where the road-mender witness quoted in Peakland Air Crashes lived. This mill can be glimpsed behind the trees. It seems unlikely that any road-menders (other than perhaps Sir Robert McAlpine) live there now. Gentrification, eh?

Location: TBA when we find evidence

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North American Sabre F-86 F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730

Ashop Clough: Sabres
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

The elusive second jet engine, finally located, half a mile from the impact point on top of Kinder. Amazing that it was thrown so far. Turns out this was the very first thing we found on our first visit, we just didn't know what we were looking at at the time...

Location:SK 07546 90391

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North American F-86 Sabre F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730

Sabres: Kinder
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

This jet engine on Ashop Moor has been dropped onto its side by someone since our last visit. Or maybe it's the elusive second engine? We are investigating. See 24th Jan 2008 post for results of the investigation.

Location: SK 07348 90256

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North American F-86 Sabre F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730

Sabres: Kinder
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

A detail from a collection on Ashop Moor with many electrical components at SK 07327 90072

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North American F-86 Sabre F.Mk 4s XD707 + XD730

Sabres: Kinder
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Other than scraps, this was the only collection of fragments we found on the descent to Ashop Moor.

Location: SK 07015 89912

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