Lancaster, err Wellington wreck

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Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Good afternoon,

My compliments, this website is incredibly rich, it takes hours to visit the main topics!

I am a 26 years old researcher from Northern Italy. I am currently trying to discover and to show the history of a plane wreck I found this summer, at more than 2900 meters on the Western Alps.
Here you may find the photos and datas I already posted,

http://www.iphpbb.com/board/ftopic-81805422nx79380-1556.html

You have to know that this crash site is covered by snow for at least 11 months per year, so it is quite difficult to look for other parts; I will come up there next spring, I hope.
According to archives, this should be the wreck of Lancaster LM339. It crashed up there after striking Milano, during August, 1943. I would like to identify it for sure.

Here, in the end, the list of the five inscriptions I found on the parts:

number 1 28527
numero 2 nothing
numero 3 nn.
numero 4 nn.
numero 5 nn.
numero 6 nn.
numero 7 08ISS B
numero 8 nn.
numero 9 nn.
numero 10 nn.
numero 11 0130
numero 12 32311 (with a strange symbol, where I read 42 and S)
number 13 nn.

Thank you all for your kind help.
With my kindest regards,

Marco

Original post

Member for

15 years 11 months

Posts: 86

The part in the hand is a joint from the geodetic construction of a Wellington bomber, so you have a Wellington crash site probably from 205 Group RAF.

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Thank you,

do you refer to this picture?,

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3207/partedue.jpg

But no Wellingtons were lost there. :confused:

It would appear that a Wellington DID crash there....or else someone decided to dump a whole load of Wellington wreckage on a mountain! :D

Unless I am mistaken (and I am only a lightweight,here) that is one of the "fishplate" joints that secured the cross-over sections of the geodetic structure. There were hundreds of them on a Wellington.

PS.....:

Ooooops....just noticed the previous post from Hampden Project which I have just reiterated. Thats what becomes of being a lightweight, here.

Junk Collector found some bits of Wellington recently and posted an image, I think, of a complete one of these fishplates?

Actually.....now I look at it again I am not so sure about the Wellington theory. Strange that two of us thought the same, though. Its just that the bits attached to this fishplate don't look too much like any of the geodetic structure?

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Hi Tangmere, thank you,

I am not an expert in British bombers.. But I would like to ask if there are many differences from a Lancaster joint and a Wellington one.
Because, according to RAF and other historians, up there it crashed a Lancaster MK III..

Yes. Huge differences!

What I thought this to be is one of the geodetic structure jointing plates. Not something one finds on a Lancaster.

However, I could be wrong.

Any part numbers visible on any of the items you have found?

If I recall correctly, we should be looking for 26EA if Lancaster? I think.

Member for

15 years 11 months

Posts: 1

Here are two pictures of what I believe must be the "fish plate" joints of the cross over sections. The picture is of the wreckage of Wellington R1646 at Glen Clunie, Scotland.
Hope this may help.
regards Kjell
http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/clunie-08.jpg
http://ktsorens.tihlde.org/flyvrak/clunie-09.jpg

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Hi Kjell,

thanks, great photos!, very interesting. But my part is much more smaller..!

Tangmere, what do you mean with 26EA?

About inscriptions, the only I found are the followings (other ones may be covered by rust, and I do not want to try to remove it, not to damage the parts of the wreck):

number 1 28527
numero 2 nothing
numero 3 nn.
numero 4 nn.
numero 5 nn.
numero 6 nn.
numero 7 08ISS B
numero 8 nn.
numero 9 nn.
numero 10 nn.
numero 11 0130
numero 12 32311 (with a strange symbol, where I read 42 and S)
number 13 nn.

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 2,172

285 and the photograph of the part confirms it as being Wellington.

Cees

Member for

15 years 11 months

Posts: 422

Definate Wellington wreckage. 285 Wellington part No. and the photo of wreckage in the hand, Wellington

G.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,835

No sign of any geodetics, but as Cees says, Wimpy I think until proven otherwise!

As someone already pointed out, you have the back end of a .303 Browning there :p

Edit - sorry prempted by Wellington285

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Very strange,

according to http://www.lostbombers.co.uk/ no Wellington was lost on the western Alps.

Please, may you explain me why 285 should become from a Wellington and not a Lancaster or other planes?
I am trying to post a better, more detailed e-mail with this inscription.

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu53/LAF-Forum/PartOneDetail.jpg[/IMG]

Member for

20 years 5 months

Posts: 366

Hello Marco,

Following your posts on here as well as RAF Commands :D

The website you mentioned in your previous post probably only covers RAF Bomber Command losses which took off from Britain. Most of the information on that website has been taken (and not acknowledged) from the excellent volumes of books RAF Bomber Command Losses by W R Chorley.

There is a similar reference book that deals with RAF Bomber losses in the Middle East & Mediterranean by David Gunby and Pelham Temple. So far only Volume one has been published which I believe covers losses to the end of 1942.

Maybe someone knows more about the ME & Med volumes than I do as I don't have copies of them.

Kind Regards
archieraf aka Linzee

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 6,968

Marco. I think what those helping are trying to say is that each aircraft type was given a specific number with which to prefix part numbers. In this case, the prefix for a Wellington is 285. For a Halifax for instance, I think the prefix is 57.

As to the Lost Bombers website I believe Linzee is correct in saying that only Bomber Command aircraft are covered. But by August of 1943 wouldn't Wellintons of Bomber Command have been superceded by Lancasters and Halifaxes on such long missions? The evidence points to this particular aircraft being a Wellington of the Middle East and Italian based Squadrons.

Wellingtons were flown by 37, 40, 70 and 104 Squadrons in the Middle East and Italy.

Is it possible that there are two crash sites which have become confused?

Regards,

kev35

Member for

15 years 11 months

Posts: 422

Marco
Have you any photographs of the actual crash site, that would be a great help
G.

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

Very difficult.. it is not probable that there are two crash sites over there!

Strange thing.. You saw the last picture I posted?

Member for

15 years 11 months

Posts: 86

At least six Wellingtons from 205 group were lost on supply dropping sorties to the resistance groups in Northern Italy during November 1944.Im sorry but I dont know any other details other that none were lost from 40 Squadron.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,835

Have you found any Whitleys Marco?

Member for

18 years 6 months

Posts: 342

At least six Wellingtons from 205 group were lost on supply dropping sorties to the resistance groups in Northern Italy during November 1944.

.

`

One of those 'six' you mention HP , is/was a Wellington.X, serial No. LN.914

It was a 37.Sqdn Wimpy & apparently crashed into a hillside (Northern Italy)

It was lost on Nov.10th 1944, on a Partisan-supply-drop BTW.

As I haven't the faintest-idea of the layout in Northern-Italy, I figured I'd mention it; tho' I doubt it's related ?

--

Member for

14 years 6 months

Posts: 57

No, never found a Whitley..!

But please, maybe these numbers referred to a different thing. Maybe, codenumbers for soemthing else.

Which was the number of Lancaster, if 285 referred to Wellington?

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,835

Hi Marco

Forum member Fluffy posted the following a while ago on Lancaster part IDs.

Notes on the Avro Lancaster (Posted by Fluffy):

For ease of identification, each area of the Lancaster is designated a letter followed by the actual part number.
B – data and rigging
BBH – repairs
C – cockpit deck and fairings
D- fuselage structure
E – cowlings and fireproof bulkheads
F – wing structure
G – tailplane and elevators
H – fin and rudders
K - undercarriage main and tail
N – furnishings
O – power plant
P – fuel and oil
Q – piping services, hydraulic and pneumatic
R – flying and trim controls
S – instrument and panels
T – radio and radar
U – ancillary equipment
V – electrical systems
W – bomb gear
X – gun gear
Z - sundries

The actual part number prefix is not clear - records suggest it may be 683, but that needs confirmation. Surely someone out there must know! ;)

No, never found a Whitley..!

But please, maybe these numbers referred to a different thing. Maybe, codenumbers for soemthing else.

Which was the number of Lancaster, if 285 referred to Wellington?