| STIRLING PROJECT NEWSLETTER NO. 5 (2002/03) | ||
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Patron: The Lord Mackie of Benshie, C.B.E.,
D.S.O., D.F.C., LL, D. |
Please contact: |
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From an original framed oil painting by Clive Kemp (24in x 31in) Progress Reports. FN5 Front Gun-Turret The Frazer-Nash front gun turret being refurbished by the Stirling Project has already earned much favourable comment including an article in Aeroplane Monthly, and has been exhibited at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Work has been carried out on the manufacture of the complicated Perspex panels incorporated in the cupola. The Chairman has worked for several months on the very unusual job of making the moulding tools for this operation. |
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Progress on the Undercarriage.
Committee member Richard Doel has been hard at work rebuilding a complete undercarriage leg: a giant task in every sense. The picture below shows part of the gearbox being stripped down.
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Engineering Drawings of Stirling Parts All this progress has taken place against a background of continuing work on the task of educating the public on all aspects of the Short Stirling Bomber. Not least in this endeavour is the painstaking work at the drawing board, carried out notably by Design Officer, Peter Howell, with growing support and involvement by Committee Member Louis Brown. So many drawings have now now been produced by the Stirling Project that a formal numbering system shown below. Drawing
of Mixture Lever Assembly. Instrument Panel. Work will soon begin on the manufacture of a replica Stirling pilot's instrument panel. The relevant drawings have now been "frozen" by the Design Officer, and the great majority of the necessary instruments are to hand. Peter Howell and Project Manager, Giuseppe Lombardi derived the detailed information required for this and many other Stirling components partly through careful archaeology at various Stirling crash sites both in Britain and abroad. Both Peter and Louis Brown have spent many hours in the careful measurement of parts recovered in this way, including the hrottle box, shown in part at the centre of the photograph below. This item also is under restoration by the team.
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Congratulations! Congratulations to Colin Young, chairman and founder of Cranleigh Freight Services, for his MBE award granted in the Queen's New Year Honours list. Colin was honoured for his services to young people and the local community. Two years ago, he waved his magic wand, and the Bristol Hercules engine kindly donated to us by the Ulster Aviation Society appeared in Cranleigh, at a cost to the Project of almost nothing.
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Donations and Acquisitons. |
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Turret Ladder Paul Mc Master of the Ulster Aviation Society, presenting a mid-upper turret ladder on their behalf. Unusually, this item is in excellent condition. |
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Stirling Pilot's Wheel Handover of pilot's wheel and harness to Project Manager Giuseppe Lombardi, by Graeme Snaddon at Duxford Museum. |
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Operation Pickup On the 16th of October 2002, the Chairman, Secretary and willing helper Jeff Turner embarked on a marathon 2-day journey in a hired 7.5-ton truck, to collect a number of important Stirling parts. The team first visited Sywell aerodrome to collect a deactivated sea mine. They later went to Fenland Aviation museum at Wisbech to collect several items including a supercharger from a crashed Stirling. | |
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| Jeff Turner is shown above, standing inside the truck while the Secretary on the right, and a Wisbech stalwart load part of the supercharger. The following day, the team recovered a damaged Stirling tyre from Newark Air Museum, whose assistance was much appreciated. Finally, a badly damaged Hercules engine was collected from storage at H.M. Prison, Highpoint. Stirlings operated from the latter during its original role as an RAF WWII airfield. The items collected on this odyssey were all acquired by Giuseppe Lombardi, over his many years of work on the Stirling.
Scale Model Stirling The picture below shows a scale model of the Stirling produced by Diverse Images Ltd. This excellent limited-edition model was presented to the Stirling Project by one of our most generous supporters, Tony Fellowes, and is now on display in our workshop.
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Stirling Wheels Delivered from Manchester The picture below shows Jim Irvine, and his son Benjamin. Jim has kindly delivered these massive Stirling mainwheels to RAF Wyton, free of charge. He had kept them very carefully in storage for many months in his business premises in Manchester. He made the delivery when we were in a position to store them in the Project workshop and we are very grateful to Jim for his kindness.
Donation of fuel gauges to BBMF. Our Acquisitions Officer, Martin Smith, recently donated four Lancaster fuel gauges to the Battle-of-Britain Memorial Flight. For his reward, they kitted him out as an aircrew member and ushered him into the interior of their Lanc. Would that it had been a Stirling! (Martin is third left)
Thanks and Acknowledgements We welcome this opportunity to thank several other people who have helped the Stirling Project, both during the past year, and in previous years. Derek Hahn, FCCA, the next-door neighbour of our Treasurer, has audited the Stirling Project accounts for several years and we thank him for his continuing efforts on our behalf. Consultative Committee member Bob Coles, a notable figure in the world of the restoration of Second-World-War aircraft, kindly allowed us to hold our last Annual General Meeting at the The Second World War Aircraft Preservation Society's museum at Lasham Airfield in Hants, of which Bob is the prime mover. We are very grateful to Bob for his kindness and for the interest he continues to show in our long-awaited Stirling. There will be much for Bob to do in his professional capacity when our bird finally flaps home to roost. |
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Obituary. Charles Lofthouse OBE, DFC. Since our last Newsletter, we have lost a valued Committee Member, Charles Lofthouse OBE, DFC. As a pilot in the RAF, he took part in the WWII bombing campaign over Germany, and later served in numerous postings, both at home and abroad. Charles entered the RAF and "took the oath" in June 1940. His first squadron service was in the Wellington at Lossiemouth. He converted to Stirlings in October 1941. A move to Lakenheath saw him operational in July 1942, and a successful tour ensued, culminating in the award of his DFC. Later, while at 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit, Waterbeach, he led a desperate attempt to rescue the crew of a crashed bomber. He and two ACs repeatedly braved burning aviation fuel and exploding ammunition and fought for over an hour to bring out five crewmen. For this sustained act of gallantry, Charles was awarded the OBE (Mil); the ACs each received the BEM. His next posting was to No 7 Squadron (PFF) at Oakington where he converted to the Lancaster. Sadly, the good fortune that had followed him though the Stirling tour now departed: he was shot down over Berlin on the 23rd of August 1943 and spent the remaining 23 months of the war in the notorious Stalag Luft 3, of "Great Escape" fame. After the war, he remained in the Service for twenty more years, ending his career at RAF Ternhill. Following a period as a mature student at teacher training college, Charles embarked on a second career, involving teaching at schools in Birmingham and Rye, Sussex. He was a prominent member of the Stirling Aircraft Association for many years, and always fought for his belief in open accountability, sometimes against bitter opposition. His participation in the Stirling Project was greatly welcomed, but regrettably brief. The newly formed Stirling Aircraft Society, which he materially helped to found, will be one of his enduring legacies. The Stirling Aircraft Society has established a memorial fund for Charles with the proceeds going to the Stirling Project. |
| NEW COMMITTEE MEMBER RON LUNNEY The record document below was recovered from the headquarters of Stalag Luft 3 when the Germans left in April 1945. Russian tanks arrived the next morning.
Ronald Lunney's boyhood hope was to become a pilot, but when facing an aircrew selection board, he was informed there was a vital need for Observers (in due course they became Navigators). Ron recalls how he left Britain for Observer training in Canada during September 1941 as a LAC and in the remarkably brief spell of only 18 months, he was to rise to the rank of Squadron Leader, by now operational back in Britain His very first op. took place on the 25th of June, 1941, when still under training on Stirlings at 1651 Conversion Unit. His crew was one of those selected to go on the 1000-bomber raid on Bremen. Soon afterwards, they were posted to the legendary No 7 Stirling Squadron at Oakington. A few weeks later, on August 15, the Pathfinder Force came into being with its headquarters at RAF Wyton. Already, the tactic of using specialist target markers to guide the main bomber force was being developed and Ron soon became involved. On the 17th of August, he and his crew were given the sole responsibility of marking Osnabruck. Remembering those times, Ron is quoted as saying "I was having the time of my life. I was sometimes leading 2-3-4-500 aircraft into the target on my own". Returning from Stuttgart on his 39th operation his Stirling, was shot down. On parachuting from the aircraft his 'chute was damaged and he dislocated his shoulder on landing. Despite this injury he avoided capture for a month but was eventually caught by two gendarmes who reluctantly but inevitably handed him over to the Gestapo. He was fortunate to avoid summary execution, having been in "civvies" when captured and became a prisoner in Stalag Luft 3 for the next two years. While a prisoner, he was involved in a small way in the well documented "Great Escape" as indeed were the late Charles Lofthouse, and Tim Howell, the late father of Peter Howell. How times have changed. This Pathfinder is now active on our Committee and has made wonderfully detailed ammunition boxes for our FN 5 front turret. STILL a Stirling man in every sense. Donations. We continue to rely on the generosity of volunteer supporters and well-wishers, many of whom have had no previous connections with the Stirling, or even the Royal Air Force. If you support our aims and aspiration to bring into being a real-life Short Stirling Bomber, please send a donation, either to out Chairman, Brian Harris, DFC, Dibdene, Shamley Green, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0UA, or direct to our Treasurer, Derek Hahn, 16 Cromwell Place, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 7LF. Cheques payable to "The Stirling Project". Your Legacy Will Help the Stirling Project Charity A legacy to The Stirling Project is another way in which you can support the continuing efforts of a small, but dedicated, band of enthusiasts, giving freely of their time and knowledge to see an example of the Short Stirling bomber brought into being again. Because we are a registered Charity, your legacy will be free of taxation. Your solicitor can explain matters. |
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Articles For Sale: |
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Original Stirling Paintings.
We are once again indebted to Clive Kemp, shown below on the left, who has donated to us yet more of his fine framed oil-paintings of the Stirling, in a variety of roles and settings. He is depicted below presenting them to Giuseppe Lombardi and Committee Member John Lathwell. The pictures below, and the one on the front cover, give a flavour of the originals, but by no means do them full justice. However, the originals are available for viewing at the Chairman's address. They are approximately 24 in x 20 in . All are available for sale at the time of writing, at a guide price of £200 each. |
Set of "Dambuster" Plates Several limited-edition souvenir plates commemorating the "Dambuster" raid are also axailable for sale. They measure 71/2 inches in diameter and are priced at £25 each.
We have available, copies of the books "Stirling Wings", by Jonathan Falconer, at a cost of £14.25 and "The Stirling Story", by Michael Bowyer, at a cost of £20.80. Prices of all these items include postage and packing. Profits from the sales go to the Project. All the items mentioned above are available from Brian Harris, DFC (contact details at top).
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Stirling
pilot's instrument panel, and throttle box. 
