March Newsletter
Welcome to the next edition of the Whirlwind Fighter Project newsletter.
Firstly I must apolgise for the delay in getting this one out to you all but due to computer problems and illness within the WFP team not only have we been unable to get anything done but Mike also had serious problems at the airfield that needed sorting.
I am glad to say that that is all now behind us and work on the Whirlwind will start again soon.
The first thing to report is that the next AGM will be held at East Kirby the home of Just Jane, Andrew Panton has kindly agreed to us holding it there on Saturday the 3rd of June, timings to follow.
Further details of the AGM appear in the Chairman's report below.
Which brings us back to one of the subject that Matt Bearman touched on during the last AGM at Fishburn.
Which brings us back to one of the subject that Matt Bearman touched on during the last AGM at Fishburn.
The search for the holy grail...
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Dartmoor update
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| Matt Bearman our intrepid explorer. |
When Matt Bearman contacted Caroline she was immediately fascinated by the story and the apparent mystery of the planes’ disappearance. With the help of Professor Stone (see previous newsletters – Bob is conducting ongoing UAV work over the moor) Caroline unearthed the diaries of her mother Anne Belam, who was a teenager at the time.
On March 16th 1941, there is an entry: “Rode up to crashed planes. Twin British fighters. John went up in a carrier”
As Anne and her brother John were living in Hexworthy at the time, this certainly confirmed the area if not the precise location.
Caroline was not done yet. She immediately contacted people who used to ride with her mother over the moor – and two came back positive. Maintaining anonymity, witness A said Anne Belam had indicated a spot several times on trips over the moor. She described the route taken to reach it. Witness B said her future husband had identified wreckage that she could see from the track in the 1950’s as being from two RAF aircraft that came down in the war. The location she gave agreed with A. Contacting Witness B’s son, he was able to confirm on a map where this was said to be, though he had personally seen no wreckage.
On the morning of Sunday 19th February a party of project members set off to look for traces in the indicated area. Matt Bearman, Jim Munro, Ian ’The Mole’ McRae, Steve and Antonia Smith and Pete and Elspeth Chipping walked for two hours from the nearest road to find the spot, and spent another two hours searching it before the mist came down (navigation back was ‘blind’ with a compass – Steve got us back to the very spot we had left the cars). The ground was very difficult – uneven hummocks covered in very long grass and with sinking bog in between.
Sadly we found nothing at all.
In March, Bob Stone will be returning to the area, armed with a new drone. Hopefully looking down through the grass rather than along it might reveal something. We are at least now certain of where to look.
If anyone happens to be going to Dartmoor in the meantime, we can share the grid reference on an individual basis.
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Report from the Chair
2016 has been a very challenging year with negatives and positives some easy and welcome
others causing some confusion and a lot of delays to the project not of our doing.
As you will be aware the engineering for the project is being undertaken by the" Aircraft Restoration group"at their new museum and workshops site at Fishburn Airfield in County Durham. Around the
time of our last AGM things had been put into limbo with a major dispute between the airfield
operators and the airfield owners,this had put everyone on site, aircraft owners other company's on site and the museum project all at risk. Finally after eleven months things have been resolved and the operators have departed and the land owners now operate the site themselves and have re assured everyone that they can remain on site and ARG along with everyone else are now working with the landowners to get their lease in writing and move forward in the next few months with the erecting of the museum workshops that are waiting on the site to be put together.
The project has therefore suffered somewhat on the actual engineering side but work has continued
in the background on drawings,research and general information gathering.Also some major
progress has been made on seeking out the wrecks of some wartime Whirlwind incidents.(see article above)
The future is very promising for the project and interest is growing in it and its aim to produce a full
size all metal example of this iconic fighter.To this end we are looking at going beyond the web site
currently open to all and creating a Whirlwind Fighter Supporters club.This will be accessible for a fee and the members will receive a goodies pack and access to special events,the workshops etc.This
is to be discussed at our up coming AGM and we anticipate it being launched following the AGM and this will kickstart the major push to assemble and complete the aircraft and will give members the opportunity to contribute to the project and also to get something in return besides just the finished aircraft on display.
An exciting venue has been selected for our AGM and with the support of the Lincolshire Aviation heritage Centre our AGM will be at the home of Avro Lancaster "Just Jane" and we shall have access to the workshops and museum site and a buffet .We hope to have a talk from one of the team working on the project to return Just Jane to the skies.
The AGM will be on Saturday 3rd June 2017 and we shall be asking for a dontaion of £5 per member attending to cover the admin costs and fees for the use of the premises etc at East Kirkby.
More in the news letter from Chris on this I hope to be able to see as many of you as possibly can make it to East Kirkby on 3rd June.
looking forward to a very positive 2017
Mike Eastman
On the 11th of February we lost Len Bartlett who was a Flight Commander on 137 Squadron, Rob Bowater has kindly put together this brief history of his wartime career.
Len Bartletts Operational career.
Leonard
Harold Bartlett was born in Muswell Hill on 20 June 1916, and worked as
an assistant Buyer
at Smithfield Market before joining the RAFVR in May 1939. Called up on 1
September 1939, following training at No.7 OTU Hawarden, he was posted
to No.17 Squadron at Debden as a Sgt Pilot on 15 July 1940. The Battle
of Britain was in its early stages, but he
was quickly in action and on 21 August 1940 made his first claim in
Hurricane P3673. Several more claims followed – Ju.88 destroyed (shared)
on 28 August; He.111 probable (shared) in Hurricane P2994 on 5
September; Ju.88 destroyed (shared) in Hurricane V7241
on 19 September; enemy aircraft destroyed in Hurricane P3868 on 28
October; Ju.87 destroyed and a second probably destroyed in Hurricane
V7658 on 8 November and again on 11 November. Then on 17 March 1941 his
luck almost ran out when he was shot down over Chiddingly,
Sussex and abandoned Hurricane II Z2704 by parachute.
He
was Commissioned in July 1941 and on 10 February 1942 was posted to 137
Squadron at Matlaske as
A Flight Commander. This was two days before the Squadron lost 4 pilots
during the Channel Dash debacle. He made one claim whilst flying
Whirlwinds – a Ju.88 damaged on 6 July 1942 in P7111 and flew 109 Ops
(138 hours) on the twin. The 137 Squadron ORB noted
that he was, ‘Very popular with all ranks, and a very efficient Flight Commander.’
In September 1942 he was
posted to Command No.253 Squadron at Hibaldstow, and two months later
led it to North Africa. He made his final claim on 10 January 1943, a
Ju.88, in Hurricane HV968. In October 1943 he led his Squadron to
Montecorvino near Salerno but in January 1944 he was
taken off Ops. His next command was the airfield on Vis off the
Yugoslavian Coast; next he became Military Commander of the Island
itself. His next post was the supervision of the construction of a
landing strip at Zemonia-Akos, before becoming PSO to the AOC,
Middle East in 1945
Awarded a DSO on 3 March 1944 and the US Legion of Merit for organising the rescue of USAAF aircrews
from the Adriatic Sea, he was one of the Group Captains who escorted Winston Churchills coffin.
He retired from the RAF on 20 June 1966 and settled in Australia. He passed away on 11 February 2017
aged 100.
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P7015
Thanks to Gildas for the photographs.
The following are available from our online shop just click on WFP webstore
Other items including a nice range of polo shirts are also available.
P7056 Pride of Yeovil Side Profile - Limited Signed Edition Print.
£35.00
This fantastic side profile has been exclusively produced for The Whirlwind Fighter Project by renowned artist Richard Caruana
A3 size, the profile shows P7056 in the colours of 263 Squadron in late summer 1943. Her pilot, Robert Beaumont, was also the artist who painted the 'Gremlin' figure below her cockpit.
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| Copyright Rob Beaumont |
There is a brief profile of two of her pilots - John McClure DFC (137 Sqn) & Robert Beaumont (263 Sqn)
JUST 20 HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY JOHN McCLURE DFC (137 & 263 Sqn pilot)
Supplied rolled in a thick cardboard tube with certificate of authenticity
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Convoy Patrol by Michael Daly MBS AGAvA - Limited Signed Edition
£40.00
Painted exclusively for The Whirlwind Fighter Project by renowned artist Michael Daly MBE AGAvA, 'Convoy Patrol' portrays P7056 Pride of Yeovil in 137 Sqn codes, protecting the vital merchant ships
58cm x 43cm (23" x 17"), printed on Giclee Fine Art Textured Paper and supplied rolled in a thick cardboard tube with certificate of authenticity
JUST 20 HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY MICHAEL DALY MBE AGAvA (the artist) & JOHN McCLURE DFC (137 & 263 Sqn)
This print is also available as greetings cards, unsigned print and the original painting.
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A big thank you for bearing with us over the last few months
The WFP team
Contact details chris-hayward@outlook.com
CopyrightWFP2011/2017
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