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Does anyone know which street this airplane body is being transported in?

W

Wendy

Guest
I have scanned this from this month's Brummagem magazine with the permision of Carl.
There is a section of photo's by Stan Millington sent in by his sister in law. Stan was a wedding photographer but for pleasure he took photo's around Birmingham. Stan was born in 1909 and died in 1972. I thought it would be nice if we could put more information on this photo.:)
 
thats a most interesting pic wend...just wished i knew where it was taken....

lyn
 
Yes I thought the same which is why I asked Carl if I could post it. Well we do have some fantastic detectives on here don't we!
 
I think we need an aeroplane expert - perhaps if we could identify the aeroplane it may lead us to why/when/where it was in Birmingham.

Now if it was a bus we would get lots of replies!lol

Polly :)
 
It looks like the fuselage of an RAF Vickers Varsity and if it is, I can't think why it was being taken along a Birmingham road.:)
 
I don,t know what type the aircraft is but behind it is i believe a Standard Vanguard mk1 so i would say the photo was mid 50s a plane travelling with no wings, is it going to an airport or to a repair hangar we only have the one airport so may be in the Elmdon area. the houses to the right appear to be quite modern for that period. i would not think that an attempt to pass through a built up area for longer than possible would be under taken. Dek
 
There was a Vickers Varsity sitting on the Elmdon apron just in front of the fire station in the 1970's.

I believe it came from somewhere in the Bickenhill area and was supposed to be at Elmdon until the owner found a new site for it.

For the anoraks amongst us it was registered VW197, can't remember what eventually happened to it.

The photograph could be that same aircraft being delivered to the original Bickenhill location and looks like the 1950's as said earlier.
 
A Vickers Varsity WF408 was at RAF Cosford and it had no tail fin, like the photo.
From another forum 'Someone remembered ‘408’ at Cosford where it was maintained and restored by a bunch of volunteers. At their own expense they replaced a lot of interior parts as well as lavishing tlc on the exterior . They were gutted when the museum decided to replace it, with another. Parts of it are still around somewhere.'
Still doesn't give the street though.:)
 
The VW197 at Elmdon was a Valetta very similar earlier model. It could be the one in the street, but the fuselage in the street pic had a RAF Squadron badge which the a/c at Elmdon did not. A couple of pics below of the Elmdon a/c, one showing it being dismantled.
I think I'll take my anorak off now and wait for a 'street expert' to come on..
Valetta vw197.jpg
Valetta VW197 was on the ground at Birmingham Airport in 1970.
It had been donated to West Midlands Air Scouts Elmdon in 1969

Valetta Breakup.jpg
The aircraft was not wanted, they cost a lot to preserve and store,
so here it is being broken up for scrap in 1971.
There are only two complete Valetta's left in the UK.
 
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The Varsity was the RAF version of the Vickers Viking (I think), and the badge on the side of the fuselage in Wendy's photo is (I think!) of RAF Transport Command. I do remember the Elmdon Valetta, but it ain't the same. What street that is/was, I haven't a clue.

Hate to be pedantic, but for 'airplane' read 'aircraft', and for 'body' read 'fuselage'....

Big Gee
 
Big Gee said:
for 'airplane' read 'aircraft',
Big Gee
Click to expand...
When I was in the RAF we used to call them 'kites' and I used to work on Varsity aircraft. We slightly damaged our first one pulling it into the hanger, and the 'Staish' wasn't happy. As I said in my first post I think it is a Varsity looking at the antennas on it. Lovely old aircraft sometimes known as 'gentleman's flying machines'.
If that street had a garage, Phil could name it....:)
Anorak is definitely coming off and I'm going to watch 'Wallander' which is recording at the moment.
oldmohawk:)
 
Hi Keith,
You've made me put my 'anorak' on again. The Varsity at Cosford is WL697 and I've read it flew in for it's last flight.
Wendy should have known, if she put a pic of an aircraft in her thread, it would go a bit off topic.
I think we had better find that street.
Phil...:)
 
OK you guys back on topic, the houses on the right look more inner city than say Stratford Rd/Coventry Rd etc; BUT I MUST ADMIT I HAVE NOT A CLUE????
Phil, keep that Anorak ready as that is what this site IS ABOUT guys like you who keep information on subjects not all of us would know.
ALL THE BEST Keith
 
Wendy said:
I have scanned this from this month's Brummagem magazine with the permision of Carl.
There is a section of photo's by Stan Millington sent in by his sister in law. Stan was a wedding photographer but for pleasure he took photo's around Birmingham. Stan was born in 1909 and died in 1972. I thought it would be nice if we could put more information on this photo.:)
Click to expand...

Maybe we should be looking further a field what was the extent that Stan travelled where in B,ham did he live could it be in another town could it have been when he was away on holiday.Dek
 
I agree Baron I don't mind it straying a bit as info about the plane is interesting too. Thanks all for the imput:).
 
I think I must take some of the blame if the posts have gone off thread a bit - as I thought if we could identify the plane it may help us to identify why it was being transported through Birmingham which may lead us to the route it took.

Wasn't there an RAF base at Wythall?

Polly :)
 
I have seen this photo before, but as you might guess when you try and remember something its gone,i do recall reading that it was fairly common to move aircraft in this way, and the wings were attached when it arrived at the destination.And if i remember correctly this one was being moved from somewhere named Bickenhill to Elmdon Airport.
 
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Hate to be pedantic, but for 'airplane' read 'aircraft', and for 'body' read 'fuselage'....
Click to expand...

I just re-visited this thread, and can't believe I wrote the above - I must've had a bad attack of Severe Pomposity.

I hope you weren't too annoyed, Wendy.

Big Gee
 
Big Gee,

I think Wendy used those words - airplane and body - because they are the words used underneath the photo in the magazine.

Polly :)
 
No not at all Big Gee anyone who knows me knows it takes a lot more than something like that to upset me. I often make mitakes and don't mind anyone putting me right. Keep up the great info Wendy:) x
 
i love a mystery but this one has got me stumped...i agree about the houses on the right having a modern feel to them. but they dont have the feel of birmingham to me..(just my opinion)...shame we cant read any writting that maybe on the buildings to the left....

lyn
 
The Baron said:
OK you guys back on topic, the houses on the right look more inner city than say Stratford Rd/Coventry Rd etc; BUT I MUST ADMIT I HAVE NOT A CLUE????
Phil, keep that Anorak ready as that is what this site IS ABOUT guys like you who keep information on subjects not all of us would know.
ALL THE BEST Keith
Click to expand...

Keith My first thought was Coventry Road There is a photo on the Forum of that part of Coventry Road it had a Tram on I think ot it might be one of Phils Where is this.:)

View attachment 58126
 
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Wendy said:
I agree Baron I don't mind it straying a bit as info about the plane is interesting too. Thanks all for the imput:).
Click to expand...

No Wendy we needed the Aircraft to find if it may have been going to be converted to passenger service which some were in the 1940s also they were used for commercial flights carrying freight:)
 
Big Gee said:
I just re-visited this thread, and can't believe I wrote the above - I must've had a bad attack of Severe Pomposity.

I hope you weren't too annoyed, Wendy.

Big Gee
Click to expand...

Read my signature Bee Gee:D
 
Anorak back on, well it is raining here...:D
A Birmingham scrapyard H H Bushell & Co used to buy scrap aircraft and I've seen a record that they bought a Vickers Valetta for scrap....which district of Brum were they in ?

On 2nd thoughts, I suppose a scrap yard would break it up at the RAF MU and bring it in trucks rather than complete by road...!
 
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Wherever it's going, I think the cyclist at the rear, is an RAF outrider escorting the load. He is wearing what seems to me to be a uniform greatcoat. Which would suggest that the aircraft was still owned by the RAF...
Humph
 
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