From today's Scotsman:
Scots museum hopes to purchase
rare warplane
Jason Cumming
A RARE warplane, instrumental in winning the Battle of Britain,
could be home within weeks after a museum raised more than
£80,000 in only 48 hours.
A Museum of Flight restoration expert is on his way to South
Africa to examine one of three remaining Bristol Beaufighters -
currently disassembled in two 40-foot crates in a Pretoria air
force base.
If the night fighter passes the physical inspection, a contract
that would return the relic to the East Fortune airfield and
museum that once served as its training centre could be
finalised by early next week.
The curator, Adam Smith, said: "We had a fantastic response
to the appeal. It says a lot about how important this plane is.
We’re cautiously optimistic we’ll be able to bring the aeroplane
back to Scotland."
Donations ranging from £10 to thousands of pounds flooded in
over two days in August after a last-ditch funds appeal to
keep the plane out of the hands of a private collector.
Museum officials had been certain they would never have an
opportunity to add the legendary plane to its collection and
were determined to land it when it suddenly appeared on the
market. But since the once-feared Beaufighter has been in
pieces for 17 years, experts must determine whether it’s worth
the steep price.
Mr Smith said: "We don’t want to just bolt it back together.
We need to make sure it’s in really good shape so we have to
be sure we’re being supplied with everything."
Designed by the famed Stirlingshire aeronautics engineer, Frank
Barnwell, the Beaufighter’s place in history was secured when
it helped turn the tide during the Battle of Britain. Nicknamed
"Whispering Death" and the "Scourge of God" by its Axis
enemies, the heavily armed strike plane became legendary
because of its almost-silent engines.
One of only a trio of 5,562 British-made models that survives
today, it became available when the South African Air Force
Museum crashed one of its Spitfires earlier this year and was
forced to sell some artefacts to pay for repairs.
Hundreds of Beaufighters flew from Scottish bases and became
famous for relentless strikes on German shipping convoys and
ground targets.
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