The Lancaster Bomber, which for the past 25 years has stood on a pedastal in Jackson Park in Windsor Ontario, was taken down on Thursday. The bomber has served as a memorial to those from Windsor and Essex county who served and died in the RCAF. The bomber was carefully lifted off the pedestal, its landing gear lowered, and rested on the grass to one side. There will be fund raising tours of the Bomber for the next two weeks, and then it will be dismantled and taken to a warehouse where it will remain until restoration can begin. Nature has taken its toll on the aircraft, and it was decided to take it down before it fell off and was beyond repair. It is hoped that a hanger will be found as a permeant home for the aircraft. There will be fibreglass models of other aircraft built to replace the Lancaster in the park.
It's good news indeed to se that another Lancaster is being brought in from the cold, pwwbear ! Although the original intention to display outside may have been reasonable, these historic aircraft are now so rare and significant that they cannot be left at the mercy of the weather.
Took in the tour today... quite an experiance. It is nice to see that the people of the area are donating to the cause of restoring the bomber. The sad fact is that they expect it to take 10 years to complete and a proper home found, if the funding holds, and there will be precious few who will remember the Lancaster first hand left.
I saw this aircraft several times when I was at the Toronto lakeshore. It's good to see she's getting taken care of.
A vet sent me a newspaper clipping with a pic of him in front of it about 20 years ago. It is indeed good to know that people do take the troble and expenses to take care of that monument!
