Stirling- Largest section left?

[K4KittyCrew]

Could this be the largest section of a Short Stirling, left in the world?
John

[AlanW]

Thanks for that John, until now, i did'nt know it existed.

[Nocturna mors]

Hello all!
My first post on the SASF so, here goes I too recently came across this "holy grail" of finds. I believe some "make do and mend" farmer retrieved this piece of fuselage from the crash site at the time. He cut out what he wanted and returned home to his farm with his prize.
He had it to use as a shed of some sorts.......... and there it stood until now.

If memory serves me right, somebody was tidying up the yard adjoining the farm when, after removing some bushes weeds etc found the Stirling section underneath
A totally amazing find! It makes you wonder what other aviation treasures are out there waiting to be found.........before the scrap man does.

Just think, the Elvington Halifax started its life as a fuselage section come chicken shed in the highlands of Scotland.

I don,t think its going to get any better than this in regards to the Stirling. She has vanished ....but, with the level of dedication of those involved wih the Stirling project,....never say never.
As far as i know there is the tail section remaining at RAF Wyton, recovered from a hillside........and thats about it.

There is a Stirling wreck off a UK south coast pier which is supposed to be quite intact but, at a guess would break apart due to corrosion when raised.....too much oxygen in the water equals detioration,...although, remember the P38 on the Welsh beach http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... years.html and the condition she was in when exposed.
The South coast Stirling is tantalisingly close but, the RAF museum seem to be interested in recovering the BoB Dornier on Goodwin sands.
As far as recovering underwater a/c wrecks goes, you,re best bet would be for a Stirling that ditched in the Baltic in my opinion. The sea their has a kinder enviroment for a/c wrecks....colder and less oxygen.

Did anybody see the condition of the Swedish airforce DC 3 that was shot down in 1952 during the cold war into the Baltic and was recovered 40+ years later. It is currently on display in a museum http://www.atomicexpress.net/2011/07/23 ... iet-union/ It had survived all those years at the bottom in remarkably good condition. It would be brilliant if the powers that be could bring a Stirling up from the deep....before its to late.

.........That said, there is also option 4b ...a fibreglass mock up on similar lines to the Dambuster Lancs for the new film. It could be done cheaper than trying to raise an a/c from the sea. I dare say, she could be tarted up a bit for realism.



Regards NM

[Nocturna mors]

Another piece of Stirling fuselage http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1255034/ ........again, the section has had the floor removed.

Regards NM

[Stirling Project]

The RAFM has the tail section (and centre section) of LK488 which crashed on Mickle Fell. They're not at Wyton but are currently in store at either RAF Stafford or Cosford. The Stirling off the south coast is of interest but it's in an area of strong tides and poor visibility. Several dive teams have been to look at it but they've been unable to ascertain which way up the aircraft is. Current theory is that it's the right way up, but the scouring action of the tide and the saline conditions has eroded the fuselage away to the top (or bottom) of the wings.

As you say, it's tantalisingly close to the shore but the cost of raising it (even if it could) would be prohibitive. The Stirling has a lot of magnesium alloy in it's construction and even the wreckage of BK710 which was buried in mud and in fresh water conditions was almost completely corroded away.

A fibre glass construction would give you the outward appearance of a Stirling but you wouldn't be able to sit in it

JL

[Nocturna mors]

Hi John,
Many thanks for your comments. It looks like the Stirling of the south coast is in very poor condition.....how frustrating. The channel is notorious for strong currents and tidal actions. It is a definate no go as far as a/c wrecks are concerned and thats without the water salinity issues.....that said, the south coast Stirling could still have some very salvageable parts?

I have always been a bit of an optimist as far as our beloved Stirling goes ...one has to be. I still want to believe that somewhere on the ocean bottom lies a reasonably intact wreck. The major stumbling block is of course.......funding. We would need quite a few "quid" just for the search. I dare say that could run into millions alone?

Let us imagine that the magic words "lottery funding" were uttered in our direction or a benefactor bequeaths his or her millions..........where would we look?

I got this of Wiki....

The Baltic Sea's salinity is much lower than that of ocean water (which averages 35‰), as a result of abundant freshwater runoff from the surrounding land, combined with the shallowness of the sea itself; indeed, runoff contributes roughly one-fortieth its total volume per year, as the volume of the basin is about 21,000 km³ and yearly runoff is about 500 km³. The open surface waters of the central basin have salinity of 6 to 8 ‰. At the semi-enclosed bays with major freshwater inflows, such as head of Finnish Gulf with Neva mouth and head of Bothnian gulf with close mouths of Lule, Tornio and Kemi, the salinity is considerably lower. Below 40 to 70 m, the salinity is between 10 and 15 ‰ in the open Baltic Sea, and more than this near Danish Straits.
The flow of fresh water into the sea from approximately two-hundred rivers and the introduction of salt from the South builds up a gradient of salinity in the Baltic Sea. Near the Danish straits the salinity is close to that of the Kattegat, but still not fully oceanic, because the saltiest water that passes the straits is still already mixed with considerable amounts of outflow water. The salinity steadily decreases towards North and East. At the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia the water is no longer salty and many fresh water species live in the sea. The salinity gradient is paralleled by a temperature gradient. These two factors limit many species of animals and plants to a relatively narrow region of Baltic Sea.

There must have been quite a few Stirlings that ditched in the Baltic at a guess? I believe at one time there was a project to raise an A W Whitley from the Baltic? but, this project seems to have gone cold. ......Still, the Whitley must be in "good condition" for the recovery to have reached the planning stage?
There is also 57 rescue who are planning to raise a Halifax from over a mile down. off the coast of Ireland. These two recovery groups would be an excellent start to accertain the cost/logistics of a project such as this. I suppose it all depends on the big if,........... if the magnesium alloy you mentioned, could possibly have survived for nearly 70 years in a environment such as the Baltic?

Does anybody know of any Stirlings that ditched in the Baltic? Primarily, we would only be concerned with wrecks that are not classed as war graves and no major ordnance on board.

Regards NM

[K4KittyCrew]

Another photo.
John

[K4KittyCrew]

I'm thinking this is the same section as above ( been cleaned up )
John
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showth ... 197&page=8