If anyone has a buried De Havilland Vampire I'd love to have it Spitfires are nice though.... if they are in good condition, who cares if they don't fly, to have them as museum pieces would be awesome, and the are would be plenty of interest. $$$$$$$
Now we are talking....Vampires were quite a common sight, particularly as gate guards. I remember we had one at 3SQN Air Training Corps in Fremantle which was beautifully restored. I also remember seeing one out the front of a wrecking yards in NSW...Newcastle I think...that was a tagic sight. The sound of the Vampires goblin engine was a sweet sound...much better than the high pitch Macchi.
One of my favourite WWII aircraft is being built at the RAAF Museum Point Cook, using original drawings.... a de havilland Mosquito...shame there are none of these aircraft in a flying condition anymore
Talking about Vampires, there is one mounted in a park at Wagga Wagga near the middle of town, there is also a very well looked after 'Gate Guard' at the De Haviland factory at Bankstown Airport.
Talking about Vampires, there is one mounted in a park at Wagga Wagga near the middle of town,
Cheers
Ahhhh, I remember that one John. I was in the RAAF at Wagga in 1975-76 and I remember seeing it there.
But I'm sure I remember it being at the entrance to the RAAF base, not in town
Oh well, it was a long time ago, the memory is slipping.
May well have been, Ken, it is in a park on the Sturt Hwy now, picture below, also a picture of the Gate Guard at Hawker de Havilland, Bankstown Airport.
May well have been, Ken, it is in a park on the Sturt Hwy now, picture below, also a picture of the Gate Guard at Hawker de Havilland, Bankstown Airport.
May well have been, Ken, it is in a park on the Sturt Hwy now, picture below, also a picture of the Gate Guard at Hawker de Havilland, Bankstown Airport.
Is there a Sabre on a pole somewhere on public display in Wagga?
Not sure if it's still there but there was a Sabre mounted next to the old Pacific Hwy in Raymond Terrace and from memory I think there's either a Vampire or maybe a Meteor at Fighter World at Williamtown RAAF base.
Many years ago there was a company called Marshall Airways, Sid Marshall had a hangar or two at Bankstown which housed DC2's and other stuff from his "airline" days, it was rumoured that he had a Spitfire and possibly a Mosquito somewhere in storage BUT what he did have on display was an ME-109 which I left me speechless when I saw it back in the early(ish) 60's.
There are also apparently a few Mustangs buried at Maralinga that, although on site there during the nuclear tests, were not supposedly used as target aircraft. I have seen old photos of these Mustangs when I worked at Maralinga during the cleanup and it's believed they were either buried there or flown out by someone on the sly! My tip is they are buried there.
There are definitely a number of Swift jet aircraft buried on site as they were used in one instance as targets for a nuclear test. The bomb wasn't detonated close enough to destroy them, but only damage them. There were all pushed into a bomb crater and buried. I wouldn't recommend digging them up though!
Is there a Sabre on a pole somewhere on public display in Wagga?
Hi Hans
As far as I know, not on a pole. There is one at the entrance to the RAAF Base at Forest Hill, quick search reveals that it is a CA.27 Sabre Mk.32, Serial A94-982, there is also several other aircraft there as well including a Gloster Meteor.
Haven't read through the threads, but I have seen this story before, but it was in another part of the world, so maybe this is just an "Urban Legend". Given the finds significance I would expect that the TV News would cover the retrieval of these in a documentary. So, until I actually see these aircraft uncovered, I remain sceptical, but then I am a cynic anyway!
As far as I know, not on a pole. There is one at the entrance to the RAAF Base at Forest Hill, quick search reveals that it is a CA.27 Sabre Mk.32, Serial A94-982, there is also several other aircraft there as well including a Gloster Meteor.
Thanks John, Chris (Ausrock) response refreshed my memory..I was thinking about the Sabre at Raymond Terrace Newcastle NSW. When I was in Wagga in 2000 it was the Vampire (not a Sabre) in your photographs that I remember seeing in a very poor sad condition of neglect, but to my surprise a week later that Vampire was taken down and a new refurbished one mounted. Apparently there was rumour of an argument between the Wagga council and RAAF (after an alleged complaint) over who's responsibility it was to keep this aircraft in a presentable condition. Trouble with the Vampire is that the fuselage is wood and can rot really easily over time...and the gun ports in the nose make a good home for bees.
[QUOTE=Adelastro1;843672]There are also apparently a few Mustangs buried at Maralinga that, although on site there during the nuclear tests, were not supposedly used as target aircraft. I have seen old photos of these Mustangs when I worked at Maralinga during the cleanup and it's believed they were either buried there or flown out by someone on the sly! My tip is they are buried there.
nope sold , if you Google it you will find the story but they were exported to the US (ours are better built than theirs )
Thanks John, Chris (Ausrock) response refreshed my memory..I was thinking about the Sabre at Raymond Terrace Newcastle NSW. When I was in Wagga in 2000 it was the Vampire (not a Sabre) in your photographs that I remember seeing in a very poor sad condition of neglect, but to my surprise a week later that Vampire was taken down and a new refurbished one mounted. Apparently there was rumour of an argument between the Wagga council and RAAF (after an alleged complaint) over who's responsibility it was to keep this aircraft in a presentable condition. Trouble with the Vampire is that the fuselage is wood and can rot really easily over time...and the gun ports in the nose make a good home for bees.
Hi Hans
When I drove past it a few weeks ago it certainly looked like it was in good nick, obviously someone is looking after it. There are always lots of people around it.
When I drove past it a few weeks ago it certainly looked like it was in good nick, obviously someone is looking after it. There are always lots of people around it.
Cheers
Great to hear..nothing worse than seeing a neglected aircraft left/allowed to succumb to the elements...but then some would believe the greater sin is to bury surplus aircraft...which it is if you haven't tried to preserve the history through restoring a select few of the fleet.
If you want to fly a realistic Merlin engined Spitfire under FS9/ CFS2, then check out my detailed models. YAS Spitfires (Yet Another Spitfire) - some 30 variants of the Spitty (over 50,000 downloads to date!) accurately detailed, with very accurate flight characteristics....
(the Griffon powered versions weren't real Spitfires!)
A £1 MILLION ($1.5 million) expedition to find Spitfires allegedly buried in Burma at the end of World War II has ended in embarrassment, disappointment and recrimination.
Spitfires are nice though.... if they are in good condition, who cares if they don't fly, to have them as museum pieces would be awesome, and the are would be plenty of interest. $$$$$$$
