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McCroskey
28th Sep 2003, 21:26
I've got several wheels from WW2 fighter aircraft which I got off my Grandad. After the war hundreds of aircraft ended up at Burtonwood for dismantling and many of the local farmers, including my Grandad, went along to see what they could salvage with a popular item being the wheels which they used on their trailors. I have now gone round my Grandads farm and rescued all these old wheels, most are in poor condition eg. broken rims, or badly corroded, but some are in reasonable, but not airworthy, condition. They are mainly off American aircraft but 2 or 3 of them I recognise from pictures are off Spitfires.
Although I dont want to get rid of them I am interested to know how much they would be worth and how much demand there would be for such a thing.
I know that alot of the farms surrounding Burtonwood used these wheels on trailors, I remember as a child seeing dozens of trailors with these funny looking wheels, which I have since discovered were WW2 aircraft wheels and I remember that many were the 3 spoke style Spitfire wheel, does anyone know what has happened to all these wheels as I never see any on farm trailors any more.

Many thanks for your thoughts.

FJJP
29th Sep 2003, 04:07
Why not donate them to BBMF? I'm sure they would be only too willing to receive gifts like those to keep those vintage aircraft flying - and you would have the satisfaction of knowing that you helped...

Vfrpilotpb
29th Sep 2003, 16:50
Comming from the cow muck brigade, I can tell you that once the tyres had expired usually perished, not worn out, it was not in the farmers mind, or attitude to buy new case's , many farmers junked the wheels and then went for scrap lorry wheels from local scrapyards, that is the main reason for many of these Aloominum wheels disappearing from farm trailers.;)