Do-17 salvage starts today
What I heard about the Hendon halifax was that the original intention was to restore it, but it was decided that so much of the structure would have to be replaced that this would effectively create a replica.
My memory of the Hendon Halifax is that full restoration was originally planned, until they realised it would take their entire restoration staff 10 years of full time work leaving no time for any other jobs.
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According to Sky News, the lift is in about an hours time. However the risk of damage/failure is greater due to recent bad weather, time and financial aspects. Hope it goes well for if compromised due to money, it will be a massive shame.
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Abandoned again:
High winds delay WWII bomber bid
BBC News
An attempt to raise a unique World War II German aircraft from the bottom of the English Channel has been abandoned for the night because of high winds. Divers had hoped to begin lifting the only surviving Dornier 17 at 21:00 BST but have decided to delay the bid. A spar, attached to lifting cables and struts in the wings, is to be inserted through the bomber's fuselage, which lies in 50ft of water off Kent. The plan, devised by the RAF Museum, has been repeatedly hit by bad weather.
The Dornier 17 was a mainstay of the German bomber fleets during the Battle of Britain. The salvage attempt at Goodwin Sands was scheduled to take place at midday on Monday but the weather - bright sunshine and calm waters during Sunday afternoon - is expected to deteriorate over the next 24 hours and it was brought forward. But organisers made a decision to call off the attempt because of the weather and the salvage barge is now returning to Ramsgate. Since the salvage barge - GPS Apollo - dropped anchor over the wreck on 3 May, a total of 16 days of diving have been lost and the barge has had to take refuge in Ramsgate harbour four times.
Shot down
The original plan to build an aluminium frame or cradle around the fragile wreck was abandoned after it became clear it would take too long and send the £600,000 project way over budget. Instead, divers are to insert a spar along the inside of the fuselage and attach lifting cables to that and to a pair of struts, part of the original airframe, running the length of both wings. This method is riskier because it depends to a much greater degree on the structural integrity of an aircraft which has spent more than 70 years buried in sand.
The Dornier 17 was a mainstay of the German bomber fleets during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The plane on the Goodwin Sands is believed to be aircraft call-sign 5K-AR, shot down on 26 August that year at the height of the battle by RAF Boulton-Paul Defiant fighters. There were four crew members on board; two - including the pilot - survived to become prisoners of war. The bodies of the other two washed ashore and were buried elsewhere.
If the wreck is successfully raised, the RAF Museum plans to undertake work to preserve it before exhibiting at the museum's main base at Hendon in north London.
BBC © 2013
High winds delay WWII bomber bid
BBC News
An attempt to raise a unique World War II German aircraft from the bottom of the English Channel has been abandoned for the night because of high winds. Divers had hoped to begin lifting the only surviving Dornier 17 at 21:00 BST but have decided to delay the bid. A spar, attached to lifting cables and struts in the wings, is to be inserted through the bomber's fuselage, which lies in 50ft of water off Kent. The plan, devised by the RAF Museum, has been repeatedly hit by bad weather.
The Dornier 17 was a mainstay of the German bomber fleets during the Battle of Britain. The salvage attempt at Goodwin Sands was scheduled to take place at midday on Monday but the weather - bright sunshine and calm waters during Sunday afternoon - is expected to deteriorate over the next 24 hours and it was brought forward. But organisers made a decision to call off the attempt because of the weather and the salvage barge is now returning to Ramsgate. Since the salvage barge - GPS Apollo - dropped anchor over the wreck on 3 May, a total of 16 days of diving have been lost and the barge has had to take refuge in Ramsgate harbour four times.
Shot down
The original plan to build an aluminium frame or cradle around the fragile wreck was abandoned after it became clear it would take too long and send the £600,000 project way over budget. Instead, divers are to insert a spar along the inside of the fuselage and attach lifting cables to that and to a pair of struts, part of the original airframe, running the length of both wings. This method is riskier because it depends to a much greater degree on the structural integrity of an aircraft which has spent more than 70 years buried in sand.
The Dornier 17 was a mainstay of the German bomber fleets during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The plane on the Goodwin Sands is believed to be aircraft call-sign 5K-AR, shot down on 26 August that year at the height of the battle by RAF Boulton-Paul Defiant fighters. There were four crew members on board; two - including the pilot - survived to become prisoners of war. The bodies of the other two washed ashore and were buried elsewhere.
If the wreck is successfully raised, the RAF Museum plans to undertake work to preserve it before exhibiting at the museum's main base at Hendon in north London.
BBC © 2013
Instead, divers are to insert a spar along the inside of the fuselage and attach lifting cables to that and to a pair of struts, part of the original airframe, running the length of both wings.
Good luck to the lift team but I think they' rip the thing to pieces if they use internal structures to raise it.
As an aside, I realise that the Dornier is unique but why doesn't the RAF museum raise the RAF Stirling that's also in Pegwell Bay instead of the Luftwaffe Dornier......
As an aside, I realise that the Dornier is unique but why doesn't the RAF museum raise the RAF Stirling that's also in Pegwell Bay instead of the Luftwaffe Dornier......
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If the Dornier is actually "buried in sand" as the article states - or even if the fuselage and wings have even a modest amount of sand washed inside them - then the sand would need to be hosed out under pressure before any lifting takes place.
To not do so, will just mean the lifting spar will merely rip straight through the aircraft structure.
The water inside the fuselage and wings adds many tonnes to the weight to be lifted - the buildup of sand would add another 50 tonnes at least to the weight to be lifted.
I hope these people understand what they're about, and don't allow shortcuts due to budgeting limits, lead to incurring a disaster in the lift.
To not do so, will just mean the lifting spar will merely rip straight through the aircraft structure.
The water inside the fuselage and wings adds many tonnes to the weight to be lifted - the buildup of sand would add another 50 tonnes at least to the weight to be lifted.
I hope these people understand what they're about, and don't allow shortcuts due to budgeting limits, lead to incurring a disaster in the lift.
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Rev1.1= that is what they now plan to do. I guess it wasn't as structurally sound as they thought it would be:Dornier Do 17 bomber plane salvage operation on hold - Home News - UK - The Independent
Last edited by sharksandwich; 7th Jun 2013 at 07:38.
that is what they now plan to do
But the article that you linked to makes no reference to any plan to raise the aircraft in sections.
In fact it specifically states "The plan to raise the Dornier has had to be adapted and now involves attaching lifting equipment to what are believed to be the strongest parts of the aircraft's frame and raising it whole, in a single lift instead of constructing a cage around it, which was the original plan."
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But the article that you linked to makes no reference to any plan to raise the aircraft in sections.
In fact it specifically states "The plan to raise the Dornier has had to be adapted and now involves attaching lifting equipment to what are believed to be the strongest parts of the aircraft's frame and raising it whole, in a single lift instead of constructing a cage around it, which was the original plan."
But the article that you linked to makes no reference to any plan to raise the aircraft in sections.
In fact it specifically states "The plan to raise the Dornier has had to be adapted and now involves attaching lifting equipment to what are believed to be the strongest parts of the aircraft's frame and raising it whole, in a single lift instead of constructing a cage around it, which was the original plan."
Last edited by sharksandwich; 7th Jun 2013 at 14:32.
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Forecast Weather Windows
Two new potential weather windows identified:
Monday 10th June between 1530 – 1800hrs and early Tuesday morning between 03.30 - 06.30hrs.
Fingers crossed!
Monday 10th June between 1530 – 1800hrs and early Tuesday morning between 03.30 - 06.30hrs.
Fingers crossed!
Video of the raising at following link. Well done all involved.
BBC News - WWII Dornier bomber raised from English Channel
BBC News - WWII Dornier bomber raised from English Channel
Coppula eam se non posit acceptera jocularum
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Must admit to wondering about the outcome when the team announced a change in the lifting method, so particular well done
. And got to love the comment attributed to somebody from the Museum, "We'll have her flying in a week."
. And got to love the comment attributed to somebody from the Museum, "We'll have her flying in a week."
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A German World War II bomber has been raised from the bottom of the English Channel.
Believed to be the only intact example of its kind in the world, it has lain in 50ft (15m) of water