For Berrimilla's first circumnavigation, the International Space Station
and the North West Passage, go to www.berrimilla.com
and www.berrimilla.com/tng

Sunday, August 8, 2010

One for my aircraft nut mates

You know who you are! This is the wreck of an Avro York - sad. The York was a commercial airliner and freighter based loosely on the Lancaster bomber airframe. (There are 2 Lancasters here somewhere too) I remember seeing Yorks by the hundred flying over my grandmother's house during the Berlin Airlift - probably my first lesson in aircraft recognition was distinguishing Yorks from Tudors and DC3s. The photos are a bit limited, I'm afraid - was raining and I was watching for bears and short of time as well. Full sized versions when/if I ever get out of here and can send them to anyone who wants them. I might try to get better pics tomorrow if things improve.

This one crashed in 1955 0r 1956 as far as I can discover from the internet. Here's one link and there are others:
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=88843
From the photos in this site, the wreckage has deteriorated significantly since they were taken. It would not be difficult to recover it but expensive. The wings and nascelles are substantially intact, most of the two main tailfins and elevator are there but mangled and full of bullet holes. The central fin is mixed up in there somewhere too. There are oil coolers and other bits and pieces scattered about. The fuselage is completely destroyed - looks as if there has been a fire at some stage. No sign of the 4 engines or the props. I guess 4 Merlins in any condition would have been souvenired years ago. There is a bulldozed gravel ramp close to the wreckage, possibly to assist with removal of the engines.

 I suspect it must have crashed on snow or it would have been a lot more mangled by the terrain where it sits. Or it was pushed there by a bulldozer over snow.