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Cosford

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:07 pm
by Fury1630
The less well known site of the RAF museum, so, how many can you name?

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VC10

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Bristol 188, a stainless steel skinned plane to test the heating effects of flying above mach 2. Unfortunately mach 1.8 was the most they got out of it :?

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Not a harrier OR a P1127, it's a Kestrel (OK probably splitting hairs :D )

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Not a Lightening prototype, it's the one & only Shorts SB5 - an aircraft designed with a Lightening plan form to test the low speed handling (note the non-retractable undercarriage).

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BAC221 - modified from the Fairey Delta II prototype.

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Gloster Meteor - this one has an additional "prone pilot" cockpit to test if flying a plane while lying down was a good idea.

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Fiesler Storch - one of the first proper STOL aircraft, it would fly down to 35mph & was used to rescue Mussolini

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I was waiting for someone to say "Lancaster" - it's not, it's a Lincoln, a re-designed Lancaster, bigger, faster, heavier. Designed to bomb Japan from the Pacific island airbases.

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Yes - TSR2, probably the best bomber the world never had. Deliberately scuppered by the Americans because it was streets ahead of anything they had.

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Saunders Roe SR53, Rocket fighter, the small intakes behind the cockpit lead to a small "get you home" jet engine, so this was like an ME163, only more sensible.

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Hunting jet flap research aircraft - another one that could fly at 35mph. It made it's own lift by blowing engine air over the flaps

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Boulton-Paul defiant. Looks like a Hurricane & when fist sent up in the battle of Britain was spectacularly successful, Jonny foreigner didn't expect a Hurricane to fire on him from the side / below / in front. Unfortunately after about a week Jonny foreigner caught on & attacked them from underneath & being a ton heavier than a hurricane they didn't have the manoeuvrability to respond.

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Messerschmitt 262, the first jet fighter in service, that's the gun bay open there - it could ruin your whole day.

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Yes ME 163, not intended as a suicide aircraft, but often ended up that way as if the fuel didn't explode on touch-down, it leaked & dissolved the pilot where he sat.

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Vickers Valliant - first of the V bombers, didn't take well to the change in role to low level, cracked & fell apart

& finally, couldn't resist this one :twisted:
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Not something BMW make a lot of in their advertising!

Re: Cosford

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:47 pm
by DJ.
9th one down is the TSR2 which the government cancelled to buy US F111

Re: Cosford

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:49 pm
by greenwoo
i got a few, but no idea which as lost count of the photos.....
love the old GE lightening....took me back to airfix days as a kid....

Re: Cosford

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:52 pm
by DJ.
14th is the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket powered suicide plane.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:57 am
by Alex.
Looks like the Harrier prototype (P1127), Lightning prototype (unless it is just the angle of the photo).

The highlight for me is the AV707! I knew Cosford had one of them, but it was not on display last time I enquired. I feel a road trip coming on.... :D

Alex.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 7:37 am
by David T
That takes me back. Went there as a youngster with ATC.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:58 am
by Fury1630
DJ. wrote:9th one down is the TSR2 which the government cancelled to buy US F111


Actually, in a desperate attempt to stop us producing the TSR2, the Americans offered to give us a fleet of F111s as long as we destroyed all the prototypes, tooling & drawings. The Wilson government fell for it, scrapped the TSR2 & then never got the F111s. A lot of the electronics (automatic terrain following - in the '50s!) went into the Tornado.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:01 pm
by Fury1630
Alex. wrote:The highlight for me is the AV707! I knew Cosford had one of them, but it was not on display last time I enquired. I feel a road trip coming on.... :D


Road trip's a good idea - but there's no Avro 707 - Wikipedia says ....

Surviving aircraft
No 707s are now airworthy. Both examples of the Avro 707A variant survive. One, WZ736, is preserved in Great Britain at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, while the other, WD280, is preserved in Australia at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Victoria. Also in Great Britain is WZ744, the single 707C, which was displayed at the RAF Museum, Cosford near Wolverhampton and is currently stored out of public view with its space in the museum's Test Flight hall taken by the British Aerospace EAP.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:52 pm
by bigstuff
I can remember seeing a storch seeming to fly backwards at an airshow years ago, obviously it wasn't but what an extraordinary design.

Re: Cosford

Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 6:14 pm
by Tony C
All very interesting, but I've just seen Sophie Raworth on the BBC News at RAF Coningsby in a flying suit..... :D