Military Archaeology

Ali,
Not sure if we're talking about the same thing, but a couple of years back a Hurricane was excavated from near the Palace. The pilot had rammed a German bomber in 1940 when his ammo ran out, and lived to tell the tale.
The dig was live on British TV, but was very amateurish. The pilot lived to 90+, but the production crew managed to make his story-and his live contribution-seem very ordinary indeed. A few artefacts were recovered from the plane, but the production team didn't seem to realise that anything recovered wouldn't necessarily be recognisable without substantial cleaning. It didn't stop them going into paroxisms every time something appeared out of the ground though.

 

That's right, Gordon - it was Sgt Ray Holmes' Hurricane which rammed the 'Buckingham Palace' Dornier ( which itself crashed onto the forecourt of Victoria Station ).

The TV programme has now become almost legendary among Battle of Britain/Aviation Archaeology enthusiasts as an example of modern TV at its worst. The presenter almost gave the impression that at any moment, a virtually complete Hurri would emerge from the ground, maybe with a few dents and scratches...

The disappointment at the few scraps of alloy which were dug up was intense....

 

Thanks Guys,

That's they incident.

The news just hit OZ, its not that we are backwards.....

 

Well, I suppose by the time the mailboat arrives.....

 

B-24 Liberator found in Mojave desert
Let's hope they do a decent job of investigating it.

 

Sounds almost like another 'Lady Be Good' - although reading between the lines, the wreckage would seem to be very fragmented.

 

True Martin, it would seem that way.
This isn't archaeology, but I think it will interest you. A German design firm is making executive desks from wingtips of DC3s; go to www.raphaeldesign.de/ and click on the "news" icon.

 

If they were Bf109 or Me262 wingtips, I might be tempted.... On second thoughts, the wife would probably throw the item and myself from an upstairs window

 

Found this on geograph.


It's an anti-tank block in Aberdeenshire. The block has been signed by Louis Lawson, presumably one of the men making the defences, and shows caricatures of Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler, who is looking up at a falling bomb.

More info at Geograph

 

Nice find, Ian. Wonder how many more like it are out there?

 

Wonder if it will become a tourist attraction or a neo-Nazi shrine?
New plaque marks site of Hitler's bunker

 

That's good that they did that. People need to know what happened.

 

I like this guy's style!
Enthusiast wants to restore Redsand fort

 

Just a reminder of the forthcoming 4th International Fields of Conflict Conference at Leeds Armouries in September.

 

I think this is a great initiative-
Somme trenches opened to public for first time

 

This book has apparently just been published- German Bunkers in Denmark .
As well as the German fortifications, it also covers Resistance nests and a host of other sites. It might well mean next year's holiday destination has just been decided!
Another book mentioned in that link is Dictionary of Modern Fortifications, which covers the 19th/20th centuries. It has coverage of Dover, Portsmouth and the Firth of Forth, as well as a hoard of Continental sites. Looks a great investment.

 

Historic RAF Biggin Hill buildings under threat

Britain's last WW2 Military Hospital opens to public

 

'Site owner Pentbridge properties was unavailable for comment'....now, there's a surprise.....

 

Went up to Lunan Bay, near Montrose in Angus yesterday, to see what remains of the defences.
Most important was this type 27 variant. These were designed with a central well to mount an LMG in an AA role-but this pillbox doesn't have one. The inner chamber is there, but there's no hole in the roof and no firestep. It seems to have been purpose-built as a command post for this sector of the defences.





Further along the beach was this type 22.





This sits at the foot of a 40' embankment, 10' above a terrace, which is itself 10' above the beach. The occupants would have had nowhere to retreat to.
The only remaining part of the beach obstacles I could find was this:



There was a triple row of anti-tank blocks further along the beach a few years ago, and seemed to form a British "Siegfried Line", but they appear to have been removed......

 

....Meanwhile, on the way home I went to the village of Star, near Glenrothes in Fife, to photograph this MG bunker which formed part of the Fife stop line:







Back along the road a bit, I found this roadblock and anti-tank wall guarding the top of the embankment on the east side of Markinch railway station.



I couldn't get a shot of the wall's other side without tresspassing on the railway unfortunately.