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Description: | AluminiumAircraft Debris. A curved fitting possibly from the undercarriage hydraulic system, and circa 20 fragments of melted aluminium. The only recognisable fragment is itself partly melted. These are thought to be parts of a Lancaster bomber (serial no. PB476) of 12 Squadron which crashed at 29 minutes past midnight on the morning of March 4 1945. This element is part of the starboard undercarriage strut; an identification kindly suggested by Susan Bootland and confirmed by members of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.The plane, returning to RAF Wickenby, was the first of over 20 to fall victim to Operation Giselda, in which the Luftwaffe sent 200 Junkers 88 night-fighters at wave-top level to attack allied planes landing after air raids on targets on the continent. The plane had crashed 'headlong into the ground; the engines buried themselves ten feet into the ground; there were no survivors' (Night of the Intruders: Unternehmen Giselda, website article consulted March 2012). The fuel tanks of the Lancaster were situated in its wings, to either side of the undercarriage, which would explain the catastrophic level of damage.Measurements: Length: 180mm, Width: 57mm, estimated internal diameter: 300mm, Thickness: 54mm.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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