For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By OCB
#1849541
Andy Saunders wrote:
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:
Andy Saunders wrote:I think I can help you.

The propeller assembly is German, WW2.

It is from a radial engine, and I suspect a Bramo-Fafnir 323.

Almost certainly, I'd say, this is from a Dornier 17-Z.

I suspect one must have crashed nearby.

Fascinating!


I am seriously impressed. Can you reveal why you have such detailed knowledge?



It is just years of not getting out much... :|


@Andy Saunders - I can thoroughly recommend scratching around neighbours gardens, trying to avoid being butted/eaten by pet goats and looking at old propellers!

Seriously though - I can't thank you enough for coming on here and helping with this one. :clap: :salut:
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By Rob P
#1849557
At the time of the RAFM Dornier recovery I remember that Andy and the museum had very different opinions on the identity of the aircraft lifted from The Channel.

I'm unsure if this was ever resolved, but I'd back Andy's opinion every time.

I can seriously recommend his books, my particular favourites being "Finding The Few", "Finding The Foe" and "Finding The Fallen" in which his forensic investigation of existing documentation and witnesses has enabled previously anonymous headstones to be replaced with the name of the casualty.

His book, and related television programme puts to bed the question of Bader's last sortie.

Rob P
Flyin'Dutch', Dave W, OCB and 1 others liked this
#1849576
@Andy - I’m sure you are the very person who can fill in much of the story of the Hurricane piloted by Jens Muller (one of 3 Stalag prisoners who made it back from “The Great Escape”) which was involved in a mid-air with Leif Lundesten’s Hurricane Norwegian pilots out of RAF Castletown. After my late cousin raised the Muller crashed Hurricane out of a Caithness bog (with RAF permission) much of it was still in working order - bits went to Duxford. Jens wrote to my cousin detailing exactly what happened during the incident when he knew the aircraft had been recovered. Leif’s Hurricane returned to Castletown with most of the tail missing - a photo of it exists but I can no longer trace it.
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By OCB
#1849610
I have to say - just looking at the book list of @Andy Saunders - it looks like I could do with

a: reading all them books :thumright:

and

b: some "consultancy" from Andy asap :oops:

My current MZ629 mystery is genuinely fascinating. Twists and turns including a cameo appearance from Belgium's most notorious Collaborator, execution of a priest*, a 101 yr old neighbour, a clever escape and evasion by the sole survivor who ended up in the Comet Line, and with whom I possibly have a family connection with, a couple of Canadians who've been on the case for 25 years...all interwoven into the tapestry of where I live - to the point that I've been finding out about Comet Line safe houses in places I take my kids weekly, and an infamous house that features prominently in a book about the Occupation.. that I've passed near daily for the past 9 years, but has now been completely erased from any searchable record to protect the innocent! Finding the location of the latter took a private call to our mayor from a trusted source - under the strict instructions "you can't tell anybody, but the house from the book is xxx".... :shock:

75+ years after hostilities ended, and people here are still asking (and being granted) the "right to be forgotten".

Then of course there's the minor mystery of the Dornier 17 prop in a neighbour's garden.

My head is spinning - it's turned into a bleedin Da Vinci Code style mystery, from less than 2 weeks ago where I was lazily responding to a post on our usually dull as dishwater local Facebook group - to ...well..a lot more than even "this" that I've posted to be honest.

*Turns out the execution of the priest had nothing to do with that particular crashed Halifax - memories from long ago conflating different incidents; but still shocking for me, as I have a lot of connection with the church and the current priest - I'd been there doing some work for our Scouts about 2 hours before I got the relevant hand-written documents from the Diocese and a letter from Dachau :shock:
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By OCB
#1849645
...anyway, moving on!

I've just had what can't be denied as a "bloody fascinating" Skype call with an American citizen who was about 16 years old in the area and witnessed a Lancaster coming down just down the road from me in 1944.

Sharp as a tack, he explained everything.

Alas, not someone who witnessed the downing of the a/c we are looking for - but..my lord..what a childhood.
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By JAFO
#1849654
I've read @Andy Saunders book on Bader's last flight and thought it was meticulously researched.

I've long thought that Bader was downed by a British pilot in the heat of battle and I believe that Bader knew that, too.

Anyway, @Andy Saunders, a brilliant book.
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By Rob P
#1849655
Andy Saunders wrote:Do I send the cheque to the usual address, Rob.


No, just add it to the outstanding account for the Easter Rising etc etc etc.. :lol:

Rob P
User avatar
By OCB
#1851619
I sent a belated update - with more detail - to my neighbour, saying about Andy and his credentials etc.

Apparently the retired aero engineer thinks that Andy is wrong, and the prop is from a FW190.

My polite reply was basically “I’m not qualified to comment”, but i think a local nose or two was put out of joint...

In fairness to the lady - she only has two questions:

1. How did it end up in the woodland at the end of her property.

2. Who can she give it to, who’d appreciate it?

It’s no problem for her, having it rot in her woodland, but she’d much prefer it went to a museum or something- and ideally have it conclusively identified (and how it got there...)
User avatar
By OCB
#1905577
Small update.

The whole thing started as we were looking to find where a Halifax bomber came down in our local forest, at the request of family of the crew who perished.

The local Commune historian (PY) and myself obtained permission to do some archaeological searches to try and find remains of Halifax MZ629 in the forest where we know the a/c came down. The Canadians have spent decades scouring every single lead to identify locations, and myself and PY visited our prime suspect at the weekend.

Armed with nothing more than PY’s cheap 1980s Tandy metal detector and my field archaeology skills - I wasn’t sure which was the rustier TBH - but within 5 mins we had a hit!

We have been in contact with “the usual suspects” to have a full survey done, but they want we find at least some evidence first…and fair enough


Image
Image

PY was all excited because he though we’d found evidence of the crash site - I was all excited because I’d visually spotted enough of a ground anomaly to direct PY to do detection, and there was indeed “something”!

I knew right away the shell casings weren’t from an aircraft, but it was an exciting find - and cleaning them up showed they are German WWI artillery casings.

Still researching why there would be WWI shell casings at that location - will report back.

More curious was us finding an area of slightly ferromagnetic material that could be geology rather than archaeology - and hence my posting here.

Does anyone have access to a mass spectrometer or similar where we could send some samples?

The archaeology points to (recent) human activity- but I don’t have the means to distinguish between the remains of some forestry workers fire pit, and amalgam of Perspex/glass/metal from a WWII burned out bomber.

Rolling the dice on the magic of FF forum once again :oops:
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User avatar
By OCB
#1971563
Hi all,

2 years down the line, and the guys are metal detecting this weekend - Canadian nephews of the Halifax lost crew included...and at least 1 interesting find.

Since the magic of the forum worked last time...anyone got any idea what this may have come from? The magic of @Andy Saunders last time was nothing short of miraculous :shock:
I'm busy trying to find hi definition photos of the interior of a Halifax...
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User avatar
By OCB
#1971579
Rob P V2.0 wrote:Bomb release, RAF WW2. Can't tie it to a specific aircraft type.

Rob P V2.0


Thx @Rob P V2.0 :)

Would you have any photos of what the overall mechanism would look like?