Halifax/Hastings wing

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Member for

18 years 1 month

Posts: 92

How similar are the wings of a Halifax and a Hastings?

Original post

Member for

17 years 1 month

Posts: 1,263

Very!

Seriously though, I'd be very interested if someone has the precise details of the variations.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 9,780

The wing centre section of the Hastings is wider. Otherwise very similar.

Member for

14 years 9 months

Posts: 703

As if to illustrate the point, HP.57 Rescue have launched a fundraising appeal to cover the shipping costs of an almost complete set of Hastings wings. The bits are in a scrapyard 'somewhere in Europe', and the intention is to ship the parts back to Canada. Follow the link for more info, including a video:

http://www.57rescuecanada.com/

Member for

16 years 2 months

Posts: 2,841

Hastings wing

Didn't Elvington use a Hastings wing for their Hali restoration?

The outer wings are the same but the centre section, as Dave Burke has said, is wider. I recall seeing the wing being offered up with the circular section Hastings fuselage skin attachment webs being obviously wrong for the near-rectangular Hali fus, though these were, of course, modified eventually.

Anon.

Member for

14 years 4 months

Posts: 1,665

As if to illustrate the point, HP.57 Rescue have launched a fundraising appeal to cover the shipping costs of an almost complete set of Hastings wings. The bits are in a scrapyard 'somewhere in Europe', and the intention is to ship the parts back to Canada. Follow the link for more info, including a video:

http://www.57rescuecanada.com/

Malta. I don't know why it's become the worlds biggest secret all of a sudden; they've been there for years and discussed at length on this forum in the past.

Regards,

Rich

Member for

14 years 2 months

Posts: 1,558

If they ar ethinking of using the wing sections and other parts from the scrap yard they are about 11 months to late it has been totaly wiped clean off the face of the map.Here in Malta (over here at present)we have the two hastings cockpit sections and a couple of bits in storage.An american gentleman bought some of the other stuff (and raised all the prices to ridiculous leveles),heritage Malta has the part remains of the sea hawk (god knows why its is beyond redemption).
I never saw any wings in the scrap yard in all the many hours I spent in there
the only Hastings parts where Two cockpit sections badly knocked about and the remains of two wing sections with the engine nacelles on and undercarriage in place but not what you would describe as either a centre section or an outer wingas they had been chopped very randomly.

I there fore wonder where these major wing sections are as I dont think they are coming from here ?.I will make some enquiries tomorrow and post back .

Mike E
www.whirlwindfighterproject.org

Member for

18 years 3 months

Posts: 1,216

The Elvington Halifax recontruction was originally planned using the whole wing from Hastings TG536 which had been retired to Catterick in 1977. The outer wing sections were found to heavily corroded though and were substituted by some spare units found elsewhere.
Incidentally the Hastings wing was a new project that Handley Page were working on for an improved Halifax, the HP65/66, the work was cancelled with the end of the war but was resusitated for use on the Hastings.

Richard

Member for

17 years 4 months

Posts: 1,375

Mike,

Any chance of photo's of the two Hastings and Seahawk ?

.

Member for

19 years 11 months

Posts: 1,988

If they ar ethinking of using the wing sections and other parts from the scrap yard they are about 11 months to late it has been totaly wiped clean off the face of the map.Here in Malta (over here at present)we have the two hastings cockpit sections and a couple of bits in storage.An american gentleman bought some of the other stuff (and raised all the prices to ridiculous leveles),heritage Malta has the part remains of the sea hawk (god knows why its is beyond redemption).
I never saw any wings in the scrap yard in all the many hours I spent in there
the only Hastings parts where Two cockpit sections badly knocked about and the remains of two wing sections with the engine nacelles on and undercarriage in place but not what you would describe as either a centre section or an outer wingas they had been chopped very randomly.

I there fore wonder where these major wing sections are as I dont think they are coming from here ?.I will make some enquiries tomorrow and post back .

Mike E
www.whirlwindfighterproject.org

If past experience is anything to go by, expect this thread to be moderated shortly. In the meantime their latest newsletter - February - seems to suggest that the required sections have already been dissembled and loaded into a shipping container. One wonders whether the "American gentleman" was actually Canadian......

Member for

17 years 8 months

Posts: 2,766

I would suggest that there are quite a lot of differences. Just look at the planform and engine positions in relation to breakdown joints of both wings. The Hastings has a double taper wing outboard of the centre section. The Halifax does not. I believe the wing section to be the same but we really need some one involved closely with Elvindon to comment on the structural differences and how they resolved the conversion. Of interest the ill fated Hermes I used the Halifax wing.

John

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,172

Correct me if I'm wrong but the wing centre section and the outer wings are very similar to the Halifax (I was told they carry the same 57 prefixes) . But the intermediate wingsection between the centre section and the outer wings is a bit wider than the Halifax.

So why not, YAM did it. Why not doing it again, and Karl is planning to build two sets of wings. So if any museum is interested in a Halifax reconstruction.

Now is your chance!!!

Cees

Member for

13 years 4 months

Posts: 485

I'm suprised they're looking for a Halibag that went down near the Hebredies when so many ditched off the Yorkshire coast.

Member for

17 years 1 month

Posts: 1,263

Thanks John - I suspected that it was rather more complicated than just a larger inboard section! Hope someone knows the real differences as it would be interesting to know.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 246

I'm suprised they're looking for a Halibag that went down near the Hebredies when so many ditched off the Yorkshire coast.

They want a Pukka RCAF machine with a combat history which LW170 has. In theory it should still be intact, in deep water so not too corroded. Because its demise was well documented (A postwar ditching) they should in theory know its approximate location.

A lot of if's and but's and maybe's but I really do wish them luck.... You can never have too many Halibags!

I also agree about the Yorkshire coast as by all accounts there are halifaxes and Whitleys in Bridlington bay, an area which is easily in reach of scuba enthusiasts so I'm slightly suprised that divers have not been down there to see what can be recovered. Perhaps as it is relatively shallow they will be too corroded by now.

Sorry for the thread drift!

Paul.

Member for

14 years 4 months

Posts: 1,665

I would guess that dredging and shallow salty water has finished off most of the east coast wrecks.

Member for

14 years 4 months

Posts: 1,665

Still thinking about unrecovered Halifaxes, surely there's got to be a couple more out in the Norwegian fjords?

Looking about there were a couple more ditched in a similar manner as the RAFM example:

W1037 from 10 Sqn, 30 Mar 1942, Trondheimfjord
W7656 from 35 Sqn, 27 Apr 1942, Åsenfjord

I'd hazard a guess that whatever is left would be in a reasonable condition too, an engine was trawled up off Bergen from a Lancaster on a Tirpitz mission and that wasn't as bad as half the North Sea stuff you see recovered.

Regards,

Rich

Member for

13 years 4 months

Posts: 485

Trouble is Rich, both those fjords are pretty big. Look at the Brooklands Wimpy, that was pure chance by nessie hunters and the Trondheimsfjord is three times the size of Loch Ness....

Member for

14 years 4 months

Posts: 1,665

I wouldn't bother scouring the whole fjord. I'd just go ask the local fishermen the area where they lose the most nets.

Putting that against the areas known for the loss (and crew survived from both aircraft, so there is a good idea) and you can pick yourself some promising targets.

If I keep on like this I'm going to talk myself into a fishing trip.. :D

Regards,

Rich

Member for

13 years 4 months

Posts: 485

I like to keep my feet dry me. I think I'd stick with the Porjus Lanc or that Svalbard Ju88.... or maybe rounding up the bits of L7775.... :D