30th May 2024 at 11:32am
The last remaining Blackburn Beverley in the world has been saved from the scrapheap and is being transferred to her new home in Cumbria.
RAF transport aircraft XB259, affectionately known as Big Bev, is being taken apart for the journey to the Solway Aviation Museum near Carlisle Lake District Airport.
Big Bev, who had been sitting at Fort Paull in Hull, is the first production Beverley to have been built and is the last of the original 49 that were ever made.
- Last-ever RAF Blackburn Beverley sells for £21,000
- New home, but same markings as Spotty the Jaguar says goodbye to RAF Cosford
- WW2 veterans help bring to life ‘ultimate history lesson’ for children ahead of D-Day 80
Big Bev was sold at auction in September 2020 and then partly dismantled. She was acquired by the Solway Aviation Museum earlier this year following a JustGiving appeal.
It had been feared she might be scrapped should she fail to find a buyer, but the museum was able to save the historic aircraft after receiving more than £70,000 in donations to cover the cost of further dismantling work then transporting Big Bev to Cumbria.
Chairman Dougie Kerr told Forces News the museum was hoping to raise a total of £100,000, which would let staff carry out restoration work, repaint the aircraft and put her on permanent display – a project that could take around two years.
XB259 is being disassembled and transported to Cumbria by road, with the whole aircraft expected to have reached her new home by the end of June.
Mr Kerr said the aircraft is in fairly complete condition and will be repainted in silver with an orange nose rather than the overseas scheme of light stone and dark earth that she currently wears.
When complete, visitors will be able to go inside the transport aircraft to get a better idea of her huge size and carrying capacity.
The Blackburn Beverley was a large transport aircraft, being designed for carrying large and bulky payloads and landing on rough or damaged runways, and even fields or dirt strips.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Freer, who served in Singapore and Malaysia in the 1960s, recognised the capability offered by this ungainly looking aircraft, describing it as “like something out of the Ark, but it was a superb supply dropper”.
Anyone who would like to support Solway Aviation Museum’s preservation effort can donate via its JustGiving page.
from JC's Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/d5k4Ozv
via IFTTT
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
How did you like the post, leave a comment. I would appreciate hearing from you all. Best wishes from JC's Naval, Maritime and Military News