Dornier Do17 Restoration

The Dornier Do 17 Restoration:  One Year Later

Tuesday 10th June 2014  marks the first anniversary of the moment the world’s last surviving Dornier Do 17 was successfully lifted from the bottom of the Dover Straits.   The breath taking moment the aircraft surfaced from the water was captured live on TV and sparked interest from around the globe

Sonar images of the wreck

The RAF Museum, Hendon indicates that the wreck is Do-17-Z2 Ser No 1160 of 7/III/KG3 (5K + AR) lost on 26 August 1940, the height of the Battle of Britain.

The Dornier 17 was part of a large enemy formation intercepted by RAF fighter aircraft at midday on 26 August 1940 as they attempted to attack airfields in Essex. This particular aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on the Goodwin Sands at low tide after an attack by Defiant fighters of No 264 Sqn that left both engines stopped and the crew wounded.

The Dornier, flown by Feldwebel (Flt Sgt) Willi Effmert attempted a wheels-up landing on the Goodwin Sands. He touched down safely and the aircraft sank inverted. Effmert and his observer were captured but the other crewmen died and their bodies were washed ashore later.

Raising the Dornier 17

The aircraft is in remarkable condition - considering the events surrounding its loss plus the effects of spending so many years under water. Other than marine concretion it is largely intact, the main undercarriage tyres remain inflated and the propellers clearly show the damage inflicted during their final landing.

Work to conserve and prepare the Dornier for display will be undertaken at the RAF Museum's award-winning conservation centre at Cosford. 

Dornier 17 Aircraft restoration

Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye, Director General of the RAF Museum said that "The discovery of the Dornier is of national and international importance. The aircraft is a unique and unprecedented survivor from The Battle of Britain. It is particularly significant because, as a bomber, it formed the heart of the Luftwaffe assault and the subsequent Blitz." The RAF Museum, with the support of English Heritage and the Ministry of Defence, is now developing a recovery plan to protect the aircraft from any further damage and to provide for its long term preservation. There is concern, however, that material has recently been removed illegally from the wreck site - although a number of items have now been retrieved.

After recovery the Dornier was transported from Ramsgate, Kent, to the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire and placed inside purpose built hydration tunnels. Here, the Dornier has been systematically sprayed with a low concentration citric acid based solution to arrest the damaging effects of nearly seventy years on the seabed. This process has helped to soften up and remove marine accretions, allowing direct access to the airframe structure and the subsequent neutralisation of corrosion impurities.

During the first stage of the aircrafts conservation, the Museum’s team of skilled Apprentices have worked tirelessly at gently removing marine growth from the fuselage with the use of plastic scrapers. Many of the aircrafts smaller components have been worked on by the RAF Museum’s Apprentices and volunteers, with several items now on display at the Museum’s Cosford and London sites. Significant work has taken place in recent months on the airframe’s major assemblies.




The forward fuselage has been de-riveted and separated from the tail boom, the latter section having suffered major damage during its period on the seabed. The separation of these two sections has enabled the conservation team to focus effort on the forward fuselage interior and this is progressing well.  The spraying process has also proved effective on the propellers and both units will shortly be placed on purpose built stands in readiness for the next stage of their conservation.

The work undertaken on the Dornier so far hasn’t been without its difficulties.  The hydration tunnels require daily maintenance in order to keep the spraying system operational. During the early phases of the project marine accretions, broken down by the citric acid based solution, began to clog up the filter system.  The agar gel produced by the debris also caused difficulties and as a result, the filtration system was upgraded which counteracted the problem and improved the Museum’s ability to keep the system operating.  Professor Mary Ryan from Imperial College London continues to offer guidance at each stage of the conservation process and has worked closely with the Museum from the project’s inception.

“It has been a challenging year but the project has provided us with a lot of new information and we have learnt a lot about this process.  It is long and tedious work but in the end the results will be there for all to see when the Dornier eventually goes on display at the RAF Museum London.”

Ian Thirsk, Head of Collections at RAF Museum says:  “Over the past twelve months the RAF Museum has made tremendous strides with the conservation of this unique aircraft.  As the last surviving example of its type, the Dornier 17 will make a hugely significant addition to our German aircraft collection at Hendon and help us to communicate the wider story of the Battle of Britain to our audience”.

Visitors to the RAF Museum Cosford are able to view the Dornier and watch the process through viewing panels in the tunnels. For visitors wishing to gain even closer access to the aircraft, volunteers from the Museum’s Aerospace Museum Society will be working on Dornier components every Tuesday and Thursday between 10:30am and 3:00pm in the Museum’s Test Flight Hangar.  It is a great opportunity for aviation fans to get close to this historic aircraft and to ask the volunteers questions about the vital work they are carrying out.The Dornier Do17 Interpretation Zone, located next to the Dornier hydration tunnels and supported by wargaming.net, allows visitors to the Museum to explore the background of this legendary aircraft and tells the story of its recovery and the conservation process. Multi-media content includes archive footage of the aircraft in action and a film of the specialised recovery operation which took place in June 2013

Pelican 16 Down : The sad story of a SAAF Shackleton (Part 3 of Shackleton MR3 in SAAF Service)

Pelican 16 Down:
The story of a grand old lady lost in the Sahara desert

Part 3 of the Shackleton MR3 in SAAF Service

SAAF Shackleton 1716, call-sign "Pelican 16" was the first Avro Shackleton built for the South African Air Force and the first to go into service upon its delivery on August 18th, 1957. Eventually joined by seven other aircraft, Pelican 16 formed part of the SAAF's 35 Squadron and for the next 27 years served as part of South Africa's Air Force patrolling the sea lanes around the Cape of Good Hope.

Side-lined by a combination of air frame fatigue and lack of spares due to apartheid-era embargoes on South Africa, Pelican 16 and the balance of the SAAF's Shackleton fleet were placed into storage by 1990.

 

Restored to flying condition by volunteers in 1994, Pelican 16 was offered to take part in a multi-stop air show tour in the UK and departed South Africa for England on July 12th, 1994, taking in the famous Farnborough Airshow. At the time she was the only airworthy Shackleton MR3 in the world.

Flown by a group of active SAAF pilots, Pelican 16 was operating over the Sahara desert in temperatures exceeding 38 deg C/100 deg F on the night of July 13th when her number 4 engine began to overheat from a coolant leak and had to be shut down. Moments later, a bolt connecting her two contra-rotating propellers in her no 3 engine failed, causing the assembly to overheat and melt and leaving the fuel-laden plane without any functional engines on its right wing.

Left no option but a controlled ditching in the desert below, Pelican 16's pilots successfully belly-landed their aircraft on flat sands where it slid to a stop at this location. Though none of the crew were injured by the landing, all 19 men were miles from any assistance and in the middle of an active war zone. Through the next several days, the crew of Pelican 16 made their way to the safety of friendly forces and returned safely to South Africa.

The rescue

Today, the wreckage of Pelican 16 still remains where she came to a stop on the night of June 13th, 1994.

On the morning of 13 July 1994 the headline news in The Argus newspaper read “SAAF Plane Down in Desert”. Today, twelve years later and although she was found, Pelican 16 is for the records still “missing-in-action”; and remains at the crash site (click for panoramio map)

Enough has been written in the past on Pelican 16 and her last resting place in the Western Sahara when she hugged the sand with her belly on the night of 13 July 1994 after an emergency landing when her number 3 and 4 engines on her starboard side ignited and burned. A documentary by Andrew White told the story in great detail. The radio transmission that was made with military precision and efficiency are told to be used even today by the SA Air Force in their training as a text book example of how it should be done.

One can only begin to understand the legacy of, and the passion for this remarkable aircraft once you have heard for yourself the mighty roar of the four Rolls Royce Griffon engines. Everything else is only then put into perspective if you are lucky enough to touch the fuselage and ride the winds on the mighty wings of this Avro Shackleton MK3 called the “Pelican”.

This aircraft to some is bigger than religion and greater than fantasy…

Today a few survivors from the crash still believe that she should have been brought home years ago and others are of the opinion that it is significant to let her rest where she came to a halt.

Be as it may South Africa is still very fortunate to have Pelican 22 still in flying condion (albeit grounded)  at Air Force Base Ysterplaat in Cape Town and to hear the four fabulous Griffons growl!

The crew who had to leave Pelican 16 behind:

Eric Pienaar (Pilot)
Peter Dagg (Co-Pilot)
John Balledon (2nd Co-Pilot)
Derick Page (Public Relations Coordinator)
Blake Vorster (Navigation Leader)
Horace (Hartog) Blok (2nd Navigator)
Frans Fourie (Flight Engineer)
Buks Bronkhorst (Aircraft Fitter)
JP van Zyl (Flight Engineer)
James Potgieter (Aircraft Fitter)
Lionel Ashbury (Telecom Operator)
Freddy Deutshmann (Radio Operator)
Chris Viviers (Radio Operator)
Pine Pienaar (Aircraft Electrician)
Spud Murphy (Radio Technician)
Ron Bussio (Museum Curator)
Gus Gusse (Aircraft Fitter)
Bobby Whitfield-Jones (Instrument Fitter)
Tony Adonis (Treasurer)

Lost in the desert sands: A first-hand account:

The South Africans Air Force crew who crash-landed this plane in the Sahara Desert were rescued with the help of a message dropped from the sky and a rebel movement.

This is all that's left of the SA Air Force Shackleton 1716, forever abandoned in the sand.

"No way will you ever hear that sound again," said mission commander Hartog "Horace" Blok.

He was reminiscing over the long-gone sound of the Shackleton's four Rolls Royce Griffon engines.

"The sound those engines make is just so unique. It's a sound that nothing can emulate, it's a beautiful sound."

Blok is now involved in aviation in the private sector.

These photographs were taken by United Nations officials who passed by the wreck recently.

In July 1994 the Shackleton, known as Pelican 16, had been refurbished in a huge project, and the team was flying from SA to England to take part in a series of airshows.

At the time The Star reported the aircraft was one of only two airworthy Shackletons left in the world, and had about 1 000 hours of airframe time left before being permanently grounded.

It had been used for maritime patrols off the South African coast until a few years before its last trip.

But en route to the English airshows, at night over the Sahara, the Shackleton had engine trouble and pilot Eric Pienaar had to crash land at 1.40am.

"It was pitch black. There was no horizon," remembered Blok.

"We just flew until we hit something.

"It's an anxiety attack that I never ever want to relive."

Driven by terror of fire, they fled from the plane and scattered.

Blok blew a whistle to get everyone together and, joining hands, they counted all 19 occupants.

Only two were slightly injured.

Still holding hands to stay together, one survivor led them in the Lord's Prayer - a ritual re-enacted at the survivors' union every year. 

They had sent mayday messages shortly before crashing, but after that lost radio contact.

On the ground they set off a satellite-linked signal beacon - initially ignored by rescuers who disbelieved a signal from the Sahara.

At sunrise, they attracted the attention of a French naval plane from Morocco (inaccuate- Ex Dakar, Senegal - see erratum below-) by burning a tyre.

The French plane couldn't land, but eventually got help - by writing a note, shoving it into a plastic Coke bottle and dropping it on a UN team in two vehicles in the desert.

"One aircraft has crashed near your position - 19 persons on board.

"Position 015/10km from you. We try to contact you on frequency 1215 or 243 MHZ. GPS position 2238 north 01314 west," read the note.

Blok said the UN team fortunately included someone who spoke English, so could read the note.

Horrified at the prospect of 19 people mangled in an air crash, the UN team rushed to the scene.

"And there were the South Africans, beers in hand," said Blok.

The crash site was near Agwanit in the Western Sahara, for years in dispute between Morocco and the Polisaro Front, a Sahrawi rebel movement working for independence for the region.

The Shackleton survivors were helped by the Polisaro, even though South Africa did not recognise its government-in-exile until 10 years later.

The territory is still disputed.

"They took extremely good care of us," said Blok.

Within hours, the survivors had all been picked up.

"The last one of us left the crash site at 11.45am local time," Blok said.

The plane was written off as too difficult to salvage.

Now all that remains in the desert is the wreck of the grey- and-white plane, one of the last Shackletons to fly.

Update 25.03.2015

Erratum: Updated facts-  The Search and Rescue operation that found Pelican 16 was operated by a French 22.F Squadron Breguet Br 1150 Atlantic 1 (22.F is based in Nimes, France)

The Atlatic 1 operated out of Dakar (Senegal) at the time; and not Morocco, as reported in my article.
Thank you to Sebastien Jouve, who was the radio operator on board the rescue  flight for setting the record straight.

Me 323 Gigant found off Sardinia

Rare find off Sardinia

 Reputedly the remains of a 

Messerschmidt 323 Gigant Transport

Italian researchers claim to have discovered the wreck of a Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant heavy cargo/troop transport off the Sardinian coast. Only 200 Me 323 were built during the war and none has survived to this day, the only remnants of the type being a main spar owned by the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr (German Air Force Museum), near Berlin.

The plane was reportedly shot down by a Bristol Beaufighter on 26 July 1943 as it left Sardinia for Pistoia in Italy. A few troops onboard the aircraft managed to evacuate the aircraft before it sank, but most passengers were trapped inside and drowned.
If the wreck does prove to be an Me 323, this would be a major discovery for aviation historians. Amateur historian and diver Cristina Freghieri claims she had been searching for the wreck for a year but had not expected to find it here. The wreck was discovered by using a wire-guided camera, and was then explored by a team of divers. The few seconds of footage that have been made available would tend to show the wreck is indeed an Me 323

Link to Luftwaffe Me 323 Wreck video

Another WW2 Find: A Kittyhawk this time

A Curtis Kittyhawk found in the Sahara desert

Link to more photos from The Telegraph:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/9258110/World-War-II-RAF-Kittyhawk-fighter-plane-found-in-the-Sahara-Desert-in-Egypt.html?frame=2216168