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30 hrs to build a Halifax


robin craig

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Thanks for the link, but it's a Wellington. The Bomber actually survived the war and was scrapped in 1948. There was a TV programme recently, and some of the surviving factory workers were interviewed, giving some interesting stories.

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Saw this either last week or the week before... A most impressive job and it was something else to listen to the tales of the workers who actually built it - and the tributes paid to the design by the aircrew.... Such a shame none are left that are airworthy...

 

Wonder how much it would cost to build one now....

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Now at home and just watched this. Great stuff - that geodesic structure was amazing and looked very strong once assembled. Not surpising the Wimpey had a reputation for taking lots of punishment.. Going to see if I can find the documentary now..

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An uncle (my dads bother to be precise) was an air gunner in WW2 with Bomber Command - he spent a little time on Wellingtons before being posted to a Lancaster equipped unit for the rest of his war. As is usual with veterans he never spoke much about his time but when I was a young lad building a Airfix Wellington he came visiting and, having watched me for a while, told one of his very rare accounts - about Wellingtons. On one of his last flights before being transferred the aircraft was hit heavily by flack and they had to struggle back to base. On landing they found most of the rudder and tail fin gone, the tail planes more holes than surface and one wing a few feet shorter than the other - and this in addition to the gaping hole in the fuselage that was causing them concern...

Miraculously no one in the crew was even scratched.

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Didn't they pull one out of a lake relatively recently?

 

Andy

 

You maybe thinking about the one at Brooklands and was a fair few years ago now, mid 80'?,

This was fished out of Loch Ness.

 

Rumour has it was rediscovered during a search for the famous monster by some Americans who did not want it. IIRC the conversation was something along the lines of "Wow we have found a Wellington" to which the reply was "Typical you go fishing and all you get is an old boot".

Ptobably just an urban myth, but the Loch Ness bit is true.

 

Mike

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An uncle (my dads bother to be precise) was an air gunner in WW2 with Bomber Command - he spent a little time on Wellingtons before being posted to a Lancaster equipped unit for the rest of his war. As is usual with veterans he never spoke much about his time but when I was a young lad building a Airfix Wellington he came visiting and, having watched me for a while, told one of his very rare accounts - about Wellingtons. On one of his last flights before being transferred the aircraft was hit heavily by flack and they had to struggle back to base. On landing they found most of the rudder and tail fin gone, the tail planes more holes than surface and one wing a few feet shorter than the other - and this in addition to the gaping hole in the fuselage that was causing them concern...

Miraculously no one in the crew was even scratched.

 

What a story.

Most modern fighter planes probably can't withstand that much damage.

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