Picture of the day

Dark Alley Dan said:
Gotta think resto of any warbird this far down the road must involve an awful lot of new parts - the skin, most of the ribs, all the electrical, all the gauges... Damn little of the original left. I've heard it said that as long as you have the ID plate (basically the VIN for the aircraft) you can build the rest and still call it the real deal. How much of a B17 submerged for 70 years or so will remain airworthy?
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No idea how much is usable to put a drowned B-17 back in the air but it is great someone does it.

My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I where driving to Toronto so for a break we stopped in at the RCAF museum at Trenton. Parking around the side of the building the shop doors where wide open and we walked over to have a look at the Halifax that was in the process of being restored) fully expecting to just see it from the doorway. We where just standing there taking in the view when we where warmly invited in and given a walk through of the work shop and people doing it. The average age of the volunteers was...........lets say senior, when they broke for lunch our guide pointed out there was well over one thousand years of experience seated at the lunch table. He also showed us one of the rebuilt engines on a stand that pics of it at time of recovery looked like a ball of mud and rust, the motor on the stand looked like it had just arrived from the factory AND, and this was the coolest thing, he put the power to it and turned it over!!

http://airforcemuseum.ca/en/special-exhibits/the-story-of-halifax-na337-2p-x-part-1-of-5
 
XRCD011 said:
No idea how much is usable to put a drowned B-17 back in the air but it is great someone does it.

My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I where driving to Toronto so for a break we stopped in at the RCAF museum at Trenton. Parking around the side of the building the shop doors where wide open and we walked over to have a look at the Halifax that was in the process of being restored) fully expecting to just see it from the doorway. We where just standing there taking in the view when we where warmly invited in and given a walk through of the work shop and people doing it. The average age of the volunteers was...........lets say senior, when they broke for lunch our guide pointed out there was well over one thousand years of experience seated at the lunch table. He also showed us one of the rebuilt engines on a stand that pics of it at time of recovery looked like a ball of mud and rust, the motor on the stand looked like it had just arrived from the factory AND, and this was the coolest thing, he put the power to it and turned it over!!

http://airforcemuseum.ca/en/special-exhibits/the-story-of-halifax-na337-2p-x-part-1-of-5
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Many of the volunteers that did this restoration are very good friends of mine and I watched their progress with admiration. The dedication that these guys put out was unbelievable. Work started at 8 am and quit at 4pm and no one washed up and removed coveralls before quitting time. All of these guys were older retired guys and a few were WWII vets but that didn't slow them down whatsoever. I will briefly mention a few individuals:

Bev Renshaw worked every day through the lengthy restoration process. He was a sailor on Corvette's in the Atlantic during the war and while working on the Halifax he said "damn, if I had of known how neat airplanes were, I would have joined the airforce instead of the navy". He bought a metal lathe to practice at home so he wouldn't waste time at the hanger during the restoration.

Another guy Lloyd Wright worked on the Halifax and never missed a day during the lengthy restoration. He flew the Halifax during the war and did over 30 missions.

All of the other full time guys were older retired guys and it was a pleasure to occasionally drop in and get an update on progress. I was still working at my day job so couldn't do much but a few of us did the fabric on the ailerons. Never saw ailerons that long on an aircraft.

Three of these guys have passed away since but at least they saw the completion. Outstanding job by a bunch of dedicated volunteers.
 
Didn't know the RCAF museum was even working on a Halifax. Very pleased to see her done. Now if the Nanton lads can get LW170 off the ocean floor and safely to Alberta, we'll have two. :)

Here's one that brought her crew home despite the best efforts of the port inboard prop, which apparently decided to go after the wireless operator's toes before heading off for parts unknown:

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Flying Officer F H Greenhalgh, a wireless operator serving with No. 158 Squadron RAF based at Lissett, Yorkshire, contemplates his lucky escape when the propeller from the damaged port inner engine of Handley Page Halifax B Mark III, MZ928 'NP-S', smashed into his position during a raid on Duisburg, Germany, in the early morning of 14 October 1944, (Operation HURRICANE). The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the target, putting the port inner engine out of commission and shooting away two of Flying Officer Greenhalgh's toes. As the aircraft completed its bombing run and turned for home, the propeller and reduction gear sheared off and smashed a large hole in the fuselage, just where Greenhalgh's legs would have been, had he not shifted position in order to bandage his wounded foot. The pilot brought the damaged aircraft back, making an landing at Carnaby Emergency Landing Ground, where this photograph was taken.
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Wonder what happened to the prop. In a lake someplace, or still stuck in the attic of a barn?
 
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Another close call:

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Interior of the fuselage of Handley Page Halifax B Mark II, JP321 'V', of No. 614 Squadron RAF, showing some of the many holes caused by splinters from an anti-aircraft rocket which hit the aircraft during an early pathfinding operation over central Europe. The aircraft was successfully flown back to the Squadron's base at Celone, Italy, but was struck off charge as a result of the damage.
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Betcha there was a lot of grabbing for the "relief tube" after that hit.
 
Before the Lancaster came the Manchester. And what a POS her engines were:

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You can see the Lanc in there, just waiting to be born. Here's a group of Erks bravely attempting to transform chicken poop into chicken salad:

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I was one of the six original pilots to have flown with the first Manchester squadron. That was a disaster. The aircraft itself, the airframe, had many shortcomings in equipment in the beginning, but as we found out Avro were excellent in doing modifications and re-equipping the aeroplane. The engines never were and never did become reliable. They did not give enough power for the aeroplane, so we ended up with two extremely unreliable 1,750 hp engines having to haul a 50,000-pound aircraft. We should really have had 2,500 hp engines. You felt that if you'd lost one, that was it, you weren't coming home. It didn't matter if you feathered the propeller or not. There was only one way you went and that was down. I have seen an aircraft doing a run up on the ground and have two pistons come right out through the side of the engine. The original bearings were made without any silver as an economy measure, so they weren't hard enough. The bearings would collapse the connecting rod and the piston would fling out through the side of the engine and bang! Your engine just destroyed itself.
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They make damned poor submarines, too:

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L7300 EM-S/F Hills AW - engine cut out on approach, hit ground and skidded into Fiskerton Lake 8m E of Lincoln - all safe - training - 23.1.41
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Officers and S.E.5a Scouts of No. 1 Squadron, RAF at Clairmarais aerodrome near Ypres. The group includes two Americans serving with the Royal Air Force, Lieutenants D. Knight (extreme left) and H. A. Kuhlberg (extreme right).
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Common mistake, should be RFC, not RAF
 
RAF "Eagle" Squadron patches:

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The "Eagle Squadrons" were comprised of American volunteers who weren't inclined to wait for the US to get off its keister and get into the fight. All three squadrons were repatriated and rolled into the US 8th Air Force in 1942.
 
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