What's The Story?

[Lakesailor]

Just read the Wings on Windermere.

Gets very anoraky towards the end but has full documentation of all the planes that were here and proves there were none scuttled.

 

[Seajet]

Just read the Wings on Windermere.

Gets very anoraky towards the end but has full documentation of all the planes that were here and proves there were none scuttled.

Scuttled or crash landed - I know I'd fancy a lake rather than a mountain to land on !

There are repeated descriptions of scuttled aeroplanes in the 'anoraky' magazines.

I'll have to find the logs & books, don't hold your breath...

 

[Lakesailor]

In the book Allan King has quotes from people who actually broke the planes up.

In addition it is known that five aircraft were broken up for scrap at Windermere after being declared beyond economic repair. Seven aircraft at Windermere waiting for work at the end of the war were cancelled but all were removed to other factory sites.

From his Web Site

 

[IRC Kevin]

Just south of High Wray Bay you should find :-

1 Lancaster bomber
1 Bristol Beaufighter
1 Chance Vought Crusader
1 'Grenville' sutcliffe destroyer
2 sutcliffe submarines
1 vosper 'Mercury'
several small yachts

All the product of a happy (& destructive) childhood

Fascinaating sonar pics - any old steamboats from the early 1900's ?

As requested
Sladen's 'Elfin', at 65' long and 6'6" wide, supposed to be the largest wreck in the Lake. Coordinates removed as it's an easily diveable depth I don't want the wreck to be looted.

Don't know the name of this one, but it was T-boned by Esperance in the early 70's and sank. It's in three parts, bow, stern and boiler/funnel. (Crew were rescued)

This next one is unidentified and not sure if it's a yacht or a steam launch. It's in 150' of water and nearly 40' in length.

Last one is in 200' of water and measures 52 metres in length. I suspect it's the first 'Swan' which was supposedly broken up for scrap and removed from the Lake in 1936- much cheaper to sink it off Wray Castle one night! Hard to see on this pic, but has a similar bow, central boiler and is the right length.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Still don't quite see how Dad's Army was going to defend anything without ammunition in that gun (Vickers?)

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Still don't quite see how Dad's Army was going to defend anything without ammunition in that gun (Vickers?)

Given the times after Dunkirk, if you got the gun, you often didn't get the ammo and vice versa- there were colliers going round Dover's Hellfire corner and down to Shoreham, Littlehampton, and Solent gasworks etc, without even a Lewis gun to have a go at their constant air attackers.

 

[claymore]

Just south of High Wray Bay you should find :-

1 Lancaster bomber
1 Bristol Beaufighter
1 Chance Vought Crusader
1 'Grenville' sutcliffe destroyer
2 sutcliffe submarines
1 vosper 'Mercury'
several small yachts

All the product of a happy (& destructive) childhood

Fascinaating sonar pics - any old steamboats from the early 1900's ?

And a pair of my prescription sunglasses.....

 

[Iain C]

Looks like the Cowes water taxi thing is starting to turn ugly...

 

[Lakesailor]

Still don't quite see how Dad's Army was going to defend anything without ammunition in that gun (Vickers?)

Just guessing it was set up for the photographer.

Their task was to defend the Shorts Seaplane factory (Sunderlands) at White Cross Bay from attack by the Hun.
Be a bit of a waste of effort if they had to shout "bang" at the interlopers

 

[ValleyForge]

As requested
Sladen's 'Elfin', at 65' long and 6'6" wide, supposed to be the largest wreck in the Lake. Coordinates removed as it's an easily diveable depth I don't want the wreck to be looted.

Fascinating, thanks for informing us. Lets hope one day she can be raised & restored, and with special dispensation from the almighty powers that be be allowed to max out again at 20kn +

Arthur Sladen was quite a colourful character, not only steam powered speed boats but fast ice yachts and a small steam railway in the grounds of his house at Far Sawrey. All gone now though.

 

[Lakesailor]

Elfin

 

[Seajet]

Given the times after Dunkirk, if you got the gun, you often didn't get the ammo and vice versa- there were colliers going round Dover's Hellfire corner and down to Shoreham, Littlehampton, and Solent gasworks etc, without even a Lewis gun to have a go at their constant air attackers.

Please excuse thread drift, this reminded me of someone I know whose father was on an armed trawler at 'Hellfire Corner' off Dover; the constant pressure of attacks got to him, and he later admitted machine gunning anyone coming down on a parachute, without checking nationality ( would have been awful even if they were enemy of course ).

There was a very good advert' on TV a while ago which showed the seas running dry and the exposed wrecks; I suspect a place like Windermere has a lot of secrets, I just hope the technology - and more importantly the funding - has a look in my lifetime.

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Please excuse thread drift, this reminded me of someone I know whose father was on an armed trawler at 'Hellfire Corner' off Dover; the constant pressure of attacks got to him, and he later admitted machine gunning anyone coming down on a parachute, without checking nationality ( would have been awful even if they were enemy of course ).

There was a very good advert' on TV a while ago which showed the seas running dry and the exposed wrecks; I suspect a place like Windermere has a lot of secrets, I just hope the technology - and more importantly the funding - has a look in my lifetime.

The ad was for Perrier Water or something like that-purity of water sort of thing. Started with a seaman throwing a drink can into the sea, as I remember.


It was a well known, fairly standard MN convoy reaction to shoot at any aircraft coming in range throughout the war, despite DEMS ratings(AA Guard, Port Guard, Maritime Royal Artillery),the 'professionals', even having recognition silhouettes on the back of the barracks loo doors.
The Merchant Navy Gunners had a peaked cap and armband-cooks, stewards(not on coasting colliers!), any supernumery not immediately needed to work ship , and got their training from the DEMS gunner, who might have had 3 weeks training.
As to parachutes, seeing your family or mates machine gunned, drown, blow up, or burn, for convoy after convoy, with inadequate return fire power, and not much air cover, could generate hatred of all airmen in general, and not much pity or mercy.
Plus London and all the coastal ports where their families were were getting bombed almost nightly.
I grew up amongst that generation in the London Docks, many were still very bitter.

 

[DownWest]

My father was in RAF fighters from '38 on. They stayed well away from the Navy, who would open fire on any aircraft which they weren't sure of.

 

[ffiill]

Protecting the flying boats based at White Cross Bay ?

Same thought-my Dad once worked on them and as I said elsewhere Short Sunderlands had a terrible habit of sinking on their moorings due to electrolytic action between the rivets and duraluminium hull plates.Recall they had to recover one out of the lake.

 

[Lakesailor]

Are you sure it wasn't one that ripped it's bottom off flying too low over a mountain. It made a landing but had to be dragged onto a recovery trolley as it sank.

From the book Wings on Windermere

 

[Seajet]

Truth is stranger than fiction every time

Under the 'you couldn't make it up' category,

my ex-RAF boss used to mention the old joke 'flood the runway, there's a Sunderland coming in'.

We all thought this silly, but a while ago the property developers who now own the airfield tried to get planning permission to dig up the runway and divert a canal so they could build 'attractive waterside properties' in mid Surrey !

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Under the 'you couldn't make it up' category,

my ex-RAF boss used to mention the old joke 'flood the runway, there's a Sunderland coming in'.

We all thought this silly, but a while ago the property developers who now own the airfield tried to get planning permission to dig up the runway and divert a canal so they could build 'attractive waterside properties' in mid Surrey !

Give it a decade and it'll be "do come to dinner, Darhling, bring your own quininne"

 

[Flashy]

Was this the advert?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uODJwBViN54

 

[Seajet]

Brilliant, Ta !

Flashy,

that's the one, thanks !

I'm not normally a fan of CGI, but I hope whoever did that got an award.