STIRLING PROJECT NEWSLETTER NO. 9 (2006/07) |
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Patron: The Lord Mackie of Benshie, C.B.E.,
D.S.O., D.F.C., LL, D. |
Please contact: |
AIR TRAILS PRAISES THE STIRLING. See what an American aviation magazine said about the Stirling in 1942. |
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Trio of Stirlings heads for "somewhere in Germany"These huge four-engined bombers weigh over 30 tons and can carry eight tons of bombs more than 2000 miles at a speed better than 300mph. |
AIR TRAILS PICTORIAL published by Street & Smith, New York, Vol. XVIII Aug.1942. Known as "flying frieght cars", Britain's huge Stirlings carry more bomb load than any other service bomber in the world. |
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The above American magazine was spotted by a member of the legal profession, Edward Peters, when browsing in a bookshop in the Charing Cross Road. Edward is the first cousin once removed of our Chairman and has often sent Stirling-related cuttings and photographs. A big thank-you Edward - keep hunting. |
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COCKPITFEST'07
John Lathwell attended Cockpitfest07 and displayed Stirling cockpit components |
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Mark Gauntlett (above) also attended Cockpitfest'07 Mark generously provided mounts for our blind-flying panel free of charge. |
Chairman flies the Stirling flag at Shamley Green |
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| OBITUARY : AVM JACK FURNER |
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A Stirling navigator and a supporter of our Project died on New Year’s Day 2007. Air Vice-Marshal Jack Furner was born in November 1921 and was educated at Westcliff High School where he excelled in mathematics. After a brief period working in a bank, he was called up and volunteered for flying duties as a navigator. He was partly trained in Canada under the British Air Training Scheme. In March 1943, he joined No. 214 Sqdn. He flew on 25 operations in Stirlings, including the major “fire-storm” raids against Hamburg and on August the 17th, against Peenemunde, the site developing V1 and V2 weapons. When Furner and his fellow crew members completed their tour a few weeks later, they were one of only two crews to survive for the 6-month period. He was awarded the D.F.C. and A.F.C. After the war, he held many highly important posts in Paris and NATO. He was promoted to A.V.M., one of the first two navigators to reach the rank. He was elected a member of MENSA in 1989, and was appointed OBE in 1959 and CBE in 1973.
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STIRLING FEATURE IN THE DAILY MAIL
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THE TEST-PILOT WHO LOOPED THE S31 STIRLING PROTOTYPE! |
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Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown C.B.E., D.S.C., MA, RN is the author of several books, including “Wings on my Sleeve”, his most successful - reprinted six times. The latest edition is now on sale in many bookshops. |
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| Captain Brown is listed in the 1971 Guinness Book of Records for having flown 487 different types of aircraft, of which 55 were German warplanes. He was involved with the Farnborough team in a daring escapade during the war to steal a top-secret German bomber, the He 177 from the airfield at Toulouse - France and it was flown back to England. He was the first pilot to land a twin-engined aircraft (a Mosquito) on the deck of an aircraft carrier. He also holds the world record of 2400 landings on carriers. |
taken in 1938 at Rochester during its early trials |
The S31 made its first flight in 1938 and was kept flying to test out modifications to the original design. In due course, it found its way to Boscombe Down. In January 1944, Captain Brown flew the re-engined S31 and was told it was aerobatic. To quote his words, “…however, if for no other reason, I shall always remember the half-scale Stirling as the only four-engined aircraft I have ever looped, or am ever likely to loop”. |
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FIRST-DAY COVER FEATURING THE STIRLING.
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A first-day cover is basically an envelope on which the postage stamps have been cancelled on their first day of issue. The present example was issued in aid of the RAF Association Home at Sussexdown, Storrington, Sussex. It shows a Stirling flying over Stirling Castle, Royal Burgh of Stirling. |
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RAF WYTON FRIENDS AND FAMILIES DAY 2007. |
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Chairman Brian Harris, left chats to committee member Graham Hutchinson, who is handling the Project’s move to alternative workshops in No. 1 Hangar |
Ex-aircrew and committee members answer questions put by the visitors…."Did you know my grandfather? He flew Stirlings!… |
At the Stirling stall, shared this year with the Pathfinder Group, there were ten members of the Stirling Project and the Stirling Aircraft Society, including the Chairmen of both organisations. Two stalwarts of the ground crew were unable to attend this year. Our condolences to Giuseppe Lombardi, who very recently lost his father, and John Lathwell who suffered a domestic flood, not from the nearby River Ouse but from an overhead plumbing failure. However, quite a lot of interest was shown in the Stirling aircraft, a wartime occupant of RAF Wyton. The interest was generated by a fine display of paintings of the aircraft and various item of equipment, including a cockpit layout, featuring a reconstructed pilot’s instrument panel, a throttle box and a pilot’s seat frame. The Chairman of the Stirling project was very pleased to meet the Commanding Officer of RAF Wyton. During the day, he also met the Squadron Leader who will supervise the forthcoming move to new accommodation at Wyton. |
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PATHFINDER STIRLINGS. |
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The Stirling was among the first aircraft to equip the Pathfinder Force. Others included the Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster. Here, the Curator of the Pathfinder Museum, John Clifford, plays host to Chairman Brian Harris. The Museum’s exhibits will shortly be augmented by items provided by the Stirling Project, including a fine pair of the huge undercarriage main wheels, which will probably serve as “gate guardians”outside, being too large to enter! |
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ITEMS FOR SALE. |
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Books: We have available, copies of the book “The Stirling Story” by Michael Bowyer at a cost of £20:80 including postage in the UK and packing. |
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DVD: |
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