WW2 Landing Gear Find (?)

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Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

Hello all...a rare post from yours truly, but I have just been given a large lump of what seems to be a WW2 aircraft, from the chap that farms the edge of Nuthampstead airfield. He was cutting the field border and this wrecked his mower (punched a hole in the metal casing!). It seems to have survived that encounter fairly well, coming out with a few extra grazes for it's trouble. Nuthampstead was a P-38 airfield then a B-17 airfield. Can anybody positively ID this for us? The whole thing is a tad over 1m long. No obvious part numbers.. and boy have we looked! P-38? B-17? something else? Any help appreciated. Cheers all in advance...
Shabby

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Member for

20 years

Posts: 1,496

What a good find Russ :)

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

Cheers Denis... hope you are well chap (?) I can't lift the flippin thing out of my car boot... but the extra ballast is helping with the road handling! lol

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 365

Blenheim.

Member for

16 years 2 months

Posts: 2,841

I would venture Wellington but Blenheim seems a possibility too.

The confuser is that it appears that the clamp that holds the wheel axle has turned through 90 degrees in relation to the cross brace, which remains in place.

I'd say, from my limited experience, that it is from a British aircraft. Looks like a crasher or something that wiped its gear off on landing.

Anon.

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

!?! Wasn't expecting Blenheim...but I reckon you are right (having subsequently Googled 'Blenheim landing gear' to death). That raises an even bigger question...what on earth is a bit of Blenheim doing on the edge of the airfield at Nuthampstead. We have extensive records, but no mention of a Blenheim crashing, or even visiting, Nuthampstead during wartime service.... many thanks H.M.S. Vulture, that would have taken me years to have failed to ID that aircraft! :-)

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19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

Just a thought... could it be off a Halifax?

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16 years 7 months

Posts: 76

I am a little confused by the claims here....why is it yellow ? That would seem to be ground handling equipment surely ?

Member for

20 years

Posts: 1,496

A good question, or is it a result of the soil conditions at the location causing a yellow appearance.

Now I do know for a fact that in a barn very near to Hunsdon airfield there are Wellington and Typhoon undercarriage legs. They were bought in post war to be used by a plant hire company as dampeners for graders and earthmoving equipment. The plant company Tylers operated from Nuthampstead, could this be a bit of modified kit and given a coat of Caterpillar® yellow??

Member for

11 years 11 months

Posts: 35

Hi, the leg is Blenhiem or Oxford they share the same main undercarriage

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

I agree with Denis, it's probably the soil conditions. The corroded parts are more 'yellow' than the others and the green paint is very evident on some parts. There was an RAF a/c that crashed in the wood immediately in front of that field boundary, but I was always told it was an RAF Halifax... guess they may have incorrectly ID'd it (?!)

I get the suggestion that it's ground handling, or potentially reused post-war material , but given it's remote location I'd be surprised. It's a very heavy bit of metal (to be hauled around) and the guy that hit it with the mower has worked the fields there for the last 50-60 years and is adamant it's not agricultural, or from any long forgotten piece of recycled farming equipment.

From the wonders of Google I can see all the various mounting point and brackets that match a Blenheim/Oxford undercarriage...so that's looking the most likely for now... or perhaps it was a reused item after all and I'm barking up the wrong tree ! lol

Big thank you for all your contributions people...appreciated.

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17 years 5 months

Posts: 8,980

Well I cannot see it as used on Caterpillars as the mounting points have torn aircraft structure on them.

Member for

16 years 7 months

Posts: 76

Well I cannot see it as used on Caterpillars as the mounting points have torn aircraft structure on them.

You are misquoting Tony.... the post said a COAT of Caterpillar yellow...it most definitely has been painted yellow at some point...please illustrate what you mean by 'torn aircraft structure' anyone care to post a landing gear drawing or photo for those of us who are unclear ??

mike

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 8,505

Regarding the reason for a Blenheim part turning up on a P38/B17 field. I would venture the suggestion that it ended up there the same way parts from USAAC aircraft ended up on fields where no USAAC machines were ever based - Coming home badly battered and plonking down on the nearest airfield.

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

here's some I found whilst Googling...

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Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

Mike -

Yep, I agree... puzzling thing is I cannot find any historical reference though. Most (if not all) of the forced landings are noted in official records...but having said that the locals swear blind they removed a fuselage section from near that location post-war (for scrap) and I have no record of anything being left there...so what do I know!?! hahaha

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20 years

Posts: 1,496

Were a few aircraft scrapped there post war Russ?

Member for

20 years 8 months

Posts: 8,505

The lack of documentary evidence tends to make it difficult, if not impossible, to track it down to a particular aircraft. Good luck with your search.

Member for

19 years 7 months

Posts: 80

Cheers Mike, I'll need that luck I suspect.

Not that I'm aware of Denis, lots of munitions, but no airframes. I'll know soon-ish as I'm due to get some aerial shots from English Heritage soon and they are immediate post-war shots taken by the RAF. If there was something there I should see it.