Why does no one want the Beverley?
 

Being treated in retirement much as it was in service ! ... bottom of the heap until it was needed for jobs which nothing else would do. Unique in many ways and fondly remembered. Still have the Guiness Bev/toucan tie from the Park Royal 'adoption' :ok:

Wiseman still up to his con tricks then.....

The fate of the Bev was sealed as soon as this chancer bought it.

I'd never heard of Wiseman but I suspect its fate was sealed when it left Beverley for Fort Paull. Even without the closure, on the banks of an estuary was never going to be practical long-term.

There was a suggestion that it could have gone straight to Elvington from Beverley but whether it was wishful thinking or a serious option I don't remember now,

The first thing he did was to try and flog the engine's hoping to get the Sea Fury fraternity interested.

GeeRam
Could you give a bit more info please ?
(asking for a friend who's going to the Beverley Assn Reunion in Sept)

Really sad. Have fond memories of the Beverley at Hendon (a very nice gate guard for Hendon imho) and not so fond memories watching a JCB hack it to pieces.
I've always like the interwar props especially the chunky Bev. Shame it couldn't find a home somewhere like Middle Wallop,
Seems to be suffering the same fate as our sorry Shackleton Gibraltar fleet.

It might be scant consolation, but, it seems the Shack is moving from Coventry to Elvington ...now that will be an interesting transportation job, apparently it can't be flown out, even more so when it's currently restored to engine running condition and presumably the intent is to continue.

Sorry about the drift from the Bev, but I felt the news does have a relevance

Is it positive that it will be made airworthy? Shak and Lanc flypast :-)

The Beverley should be found a home at Farnborough, it spent most of its flying life there with the RAE.
I too witnessed the Hendon one being broken up and the sections that I was able to view close up were in really good condition despite the RAFM stating that its poor condition was why it was being disposed of.

Indeed! He planned to sell off the engines and turn the a/c into a a holiday rental. Preservation was never upper most in his plans. What has become of the money he raised on his website?

https://www.blackburnbeverley.co.uk

Whilst I obviously remember the Beverley at Hendon I can remember them flying at Abingdon in about 1957/8.I was there on a CCF trip and flew in a Anson but can vaguely them on Parachute training ,I think Hastings were also in use.I had forgotten about that Abingdon trip until this article reminded me.
Colin.

What connection does the Bev have with Middle Wallop or the AAC? Better would be the Boscombe Down collection at Old Sarum, the A&AEE operated the (last) Beverley and JATE carried out trials with the Beverley out of Old Sarum.
However, I'm sure the costs of moving the thing from Yorkshire to Wallop or Old Sarum would be beyond the abilities of either museum.

There does seem to be a little bit of parallel lines between the Bev and our Shackleton.

We'd have loved to fly her out, and I'd love to say she'd make it. Even now, she'll make take off power. But to stay up there for an extended flight? Well, the money spent making sure she would do it- safely - would eclipse the cost for a road move, so we had to conclude that was the more sensible option.

After running her up earlier, my heart's still telling me I ought to reconsider. But a clear head and the chequebook rule.

Sorry chaps...

Thanks for that response and clarification. I found out about the move when a friend commented on FB.

From an engineering perspective alone, aside from the logistical planning, dismantling then re-assembling the Shack, will make for some complex operations. Are you planning on recording the whole process please because I feel it would make for an interesting documentary. Even more so when she is run again after the move if this is the intent.

Whatever happened to the Shackleton at Strathallan?
It was an ex RAE T4; I remember the same crew which flew the Beverley to Paull also flew that, having practiced short landings (with much smoking from the brakes) beforehand after the previous delivery, a Comet 2 from Boscombe, 'lost' its undercarriage on landing.

Strathallan's Shackleton was scrapped I believe.

You are correct, it was. The nose survives though and has been resident with us at Coventry since 2012.

The story was that when the T4 arrived at Strathallan , the fuel in the tanks was worth more than what it had been sold for.

I wouldn't hold your breath. I doubt it will ever fly again.

I'm not sure what they are worth now but that (used to be) true for a lot of large Warbirds. I remember reading in the 70's B17's going for around 40k. When you work out a B17 can burn that in just a few flights it's not the purchase price that's the issue.
It's all the other stuff.

Nope. Don't think I'll see one again my lifetime. The South African one was our last hope.

Hot off the (York) Press....

A RARE Cold War aircraft, “a distant cousin to the Lancaster bomber”, is due to arrive at a North Yorkshire Museum.

Yorkshire Air Museum, at Elvington, has secured the Avro Shackleton MR2 RAF aircraft, which was built to search for Russian submarines in the Cold War, as well as helping in search and rescue operations.

The aircraft, also known as Ermintrude WR963, was preserved by the Shackleton Aviation Group at Coventry Airport for 31 years, but the redevelopment of the airport means the plane had to look for a new home.

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/203...re-air-museum/

The Lancaster was built in major components that could be taken apart for easy recovery after a crash. They would be transported on Queen Mary Trailers to a repair centre where they would be repaired or reduced to useful parts. There is a Queen Mary Trailer and Bedford OX Tractor Unit at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....99d863c026.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....cb42583af0.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d026374888.jpg

The reason why the Lancaster and the Shackleton broke down into easily roadable chunks is more to do with the fact that they were built on the other side of Manchester and it made it easier to transport them to AVRO's airfield at Woodford where they were assembled and test flown. Incidentally the Shackleton that used to be on display in the science museum in central Manchester recently made a very similar trip into storage on what used to be the airfield at Woodford.

What is the unit pulling the trailer?

Commer Q2


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5415e66eea.jpg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9b59939962.jpg

Very sad - I remember many years ago visiting an office in Hendon (Sunny Gardens Parade) when a Beverly roared overhead on finals to the the closed Airfield. I wondered what had become of the aircraft which I assumed was destined for the Museum.

Ref post #23: the tractor unit in that photo (towing the Lancaster nose section) is a Bedford product, though I don't know the model.

Bedford OXC seems most likely.

Just scrap
 

While America reveres itshistoric aircraft the UK cannot spare a dime to preserve.Other than the BBMF which is sacrosanct !

I was stationed at Abingdon in 1959 and took these photos there:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ffc6084864.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....253cd6b438.jpg

Imperial War Museum Duxford, RAF Museum London, RAF Museum Midlands. And that's just the official ones.

I was ignoring the dumb comment.

I'd be surprised if there was a hangar in the heritage sector a Beverley would even fit in at 162 ft span and nearly 40 ft high.
Like it or not, whoever, if anybody, gets involved, the outlook can't be promising.

Nice pictures, thanks for posting. Wonder if anyone does a model in 1/72?

Airfix did it

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4d7d7f7aa.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....116f800b0.jpeg

That's the Bedford OXC unit though, not the Commer Q2 unit.

I can remember my late Father in Law talking about driving Queen Mary's at some stage during the war mostly picking up wrecks.I think he was based at Castle Camps wherever that was.I can remember him talking about taking a chain saw to a Mosquito.Later in the war he was in Italy carry supplies to airfields.He always had a twinkle in his eye when talking about Italy.

You are of course correct.
For Commer Q2 you seem to have 2 options:
build from scratch following an airfix magazine:
Airfix DIY

edit:
or an Romanian kit:Wespe Romanian kit

Eastern Cambridgeshire, Essex border and very close to Suffolk as well.

Closed in early 1946 so largely forgotten now.

Sort of correct. Abingdon had a new hangar (novel in building the roof then jacking it up with the walls). Dishforth solved the problem with the unique ground handling 'skates' - fitted under the mains and nose gear, raising the nose to lower the tail and allowing the tilted aircraft to be moved sideways into the 'old style' hangar.