|
|
Post by dave on Oct 13, 2022 9:09:24 GMT
hi, now i'm not sure, and i'm having to say that more and more, but i came across this site again, whilst looking for something else, so if i have posted this please excuse, if not get your boots wet... for the long dark nights are coming... peterandsusan.co.uk/laarally/default.aspregards, dave... |
|
|
|
Post by graham on Oct 13, 2022 11:59:29 GMT
Hi Dave, that's a great find, fantastic, I went to all three of the Wroughton rallies but had mislaid the logs years ago. Thanks very much.
|
|
|
|
Post by chrisj on Oct 13, 2022 19:25:24 GMT
Yes , Thanks Dave . I had a quick peep and it seems to be a very useful site . Now we could do with something similar for various other airfield movements from days long past . How do yoy find these sites ?? Keep it up . Chrisj
|
|
|
|
Post by graham on Oct 14, 2022 5:46:40 GMT
A historic webpage for Wroughton would be a great find. I remember my Dad taking me there as a nipper and seeing stacks of Meteors there that I assume had been struck off charge.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2022 6:10:56 GMT
hi, now i'm not sure, and i'm having to say that more and more, but i came across this site again, whilst looking for something else, so if i have posted this please excuse, if not get your boots wet... for the long dark nights are coming... peterandsusan.co.uk/laarally/default.aspregards, dave...  I've had that peter and susan LAA Logs site in my favorites for a couple of years now dave- it is a handy site to have  They do have the odd one missing though having checked through some of my logs for the Rally. Happy Days Bob  |
|
|
|
Post by dave on Oct 14, 2022 11:18:18 GMT
A historic webpage for Wroughton would be a great find. I remember my Dad taking me there as a nipper and seeing stacks of Meteors there that I assume had been struck off charge. hi Graham, have you tried www.flickr.com/photos/152630265@N07/albums he seemed to be based around the midlands (ie his name ) but he did travel to shows and visits, if you find yourself at a loose end, give it a go... at least it shows what was out there. regards, dave... |
|
|
|
Post by chrisj on Oct 14, 2022 11:33:07 GMT
Hi All , Graham re old Kemble logs , I seem to have a constant troll through my old logs for those always missing idents and I think that the old WLAG magazines available to down load off milspotters and the BARG dvds all have some visit reports from Kemble early sixties . I also use the Air Britain discs but they are not user friendly and can take some time to find what one is looking for . Chrisj
|
|
|
|
Post by graham on Oct 15, 2022 7:59:01 GMT
Thanks chaps, old Kemble logs would be a good find too, my Dad took me there a few times in the 60s and I distinctly remember seeing a load of Argosies there, presumably for scrapping but I wouldn't have specific dates.
|
|
|
|
Post by davebasing on Oct 15, 2022 16:18:27 GMT
Thanks chaps, old Kemble logs would be a good find too, my Dad took me there a few times in the 60s and I distinctly remember seeing a load of Argosies there, presumably for scrapping but I wouldn't have specific dates. Probably a bit later than you remember Graham. The first Argosy arrived for storage at Kemble in mid 1970, a dozen more dribbled in during 1971 but by late 1972 no less than 31 were in outside store. Scrapping began in earnest in 1975 (rubbish picture as I had loaded a very high speed film for shots inside the dark storage hangars). By 1977 a very few were left and the Kemble skyline had been taken over by the retired Belfast fleet, whose resting place is still remembered as the Belfast Ramp. Largest cockpit area of any aircraft I can remember, you could have held a dance in it. Subsequent UK civil certification proved expensive as a stick shaker was mandated (the RAF simply having told their crews not to stall it), though as this had a nasty habit of activating at awkward moments such as just after take off, the crews were prone to just disable it anyway. Have a few shots of the civil ones during my secondment to TMAC.  77-jg by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-bq by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-bp by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-jr by dave tompkins, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by chrisj on Oct 15, 2022 16:57:41 GMT
Corrrrrr ! I wish I had gone to Kemble ( and about a thousand others ) ! I thnk the Andovers ended up there as well (?) and I needed a few . Great photo s Dave . Chrisj
|
|
|
|
Post by davebasing on Oct 16, 2022 11:58:37 GMT
Corrrrrr ! I wish I had gone to Kemble ( and about a thousand others ) ! I thnk the Andovers ended up there as well (?) and I needed a few . Great photo s Dave . Chrisj Thanks chrisj. Yes, several Andovers were stored at Kemble though none were actually scrapped there, many moving to the New Zealand AF like this one I took pre-delivery at Kemble in 1977 ex XS606 and now preserved in the RNZAF museum. It would be many years until I took another former Kemble inmate, 3C-KKC the one-time XS611 & RNZAF which I took at Lokichoggio in northern Kenya in 2000 while I was with the aircraft aid programme in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.  77-bn by dave tompkins, on Flickr  00-tp by dave tompkins, on Flickr In the 60s & 70s Kemble was an extremely active maintenance unit, not just for storage but it had a busy paint shop dealing with a wide range of RAF types including Jaguars, Harriers, Buccaneers etc. In storage terms before the Argosy days there were numerous Shackletons laying around, then later the Britannias, Hunters, Meteors, Jet Provosts, Varsitys, Devons, Chipmunks, Bulldogs etc etc. A notable aircraft on the dump in 1977 was VC10 G-AXLR (XR809) after its fuselage had been twisted while testing the RB 211 on one side pod with the original Conways on the other side. Again a rubbish picture as that day I had loaded a very fast print film for interior dark shots like the JP (XM502 now in the US), Hunter (XF301 also now in the US and stored at Chino as N301XF following the death of its owner who bought it in 1995 from the RAF for just £4,000. It has been for sale - engineless - for $40,000 for over 10 years), and Devon VP960 which went to the Fire School at Manston. In those days the storage hangars continued on the ‘F Site’ on the opposite side of the road from the south side military gate on the A429.  77-jf by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-jl by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-jm by dave tompkins, on Flickr  77-jj by dave tompkins, on Flickr No matter when one first went to Kemble one always wishes to have been there earlier. |
|
|
|
Post by graham on Oct 17, 2022 7:50:53 GMT
You're no doubt correct Dave about the dates at Kemble being a bit later than I remember. My dear old dad took me all over the place in the 60s, he wasn't a spotter as such, but had a very keen interest in all things aviation and we went to lots of shows as well as places like Kemble and Wroughton to see all the junked stuff. Without checking, I'm pretty sure I saw all of the RAFs Belfasts at Lyneham between 67 ish and 70 ish. We lived in Calne back then and I'd cycle the six miles or so to the New Zealand crash gate at Lyneham with a small pair of 8 x 30 bins and the trusty notebook.
My parents ran a transport cafe back then, we had a cook called Brenda whose husband Alastair was an ATCO based at Lyneham and he took me on a guided tour of the base in 1969 I think. I have memories of Comets, Belfasts, Britannias and of course, C-130s by the score. Great days.
|
|
They do have the odd one missing though having checked through some of my logs for the Rally.