Hulk …
… this Halifax has seen better days…
On April 27th 1942, 11 Halifax bombers of No 35 Squadron flew out RAF Kinloss, Scotland, on a high risk mission to sink the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway, at the very limit of their operational range.
The mission was a failure. Hit several times by anti aircraft fire during its bombing run and with engines on fire, W1048, a brand new aircraft at the time, belly-landed on nearby frozen lake Hoklingen near Trondheim. Her crew managed to escape the aircraft and the lake, 5 out of 6 made it to neutral Sweden and later repatriation; the sixth - injured - member, Sgt Stevens, was captured by German forces.
12 hours later, W1048 sank to the bottom of the lake through the ice, was reported as missing in action and never heard of again for nearly 30 years.
In 1972, it was relocated, salvaged and repatriated to Britain as a training exercise by 71st Maintenance Unit, RAF. Because of damage sustained during salvage, full restoration was not an option, and it now ‘lays in state’ – partially restored – in the Bomber Hall of RAF Museum Hendon.
Hulk …
… this Halifax has seen better days…
On April 27th 1942, 11 Halifax bombers of No 35 Squadron flew out RAF Kinloss, Scotland, on a high risk mission to sink the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway, at the very limit of their operational range.
The mission was a failure. Hit several times by anti aircraft fire during its bombing run and with engines on fire, W1048, a brand new aircraft at the time, belly-landed on nearby frozen lake Hoklingen near Trondheim. Her crew managed to escape the aircraft and the lake, 5 out of 6 made it to neutral Sweden and later repatriation; the sixth - injured - member, Sgt Stevens, was captured by German forces.
12 hours later, W1048 sank to the bottom of the lake through the ice, was reported as missing in action and never heard of again for nearly 30 years.
In 1972, it was relocated, salvaged and repatriated to Britain as a training exercise by 71st Maintenance Unit, RAF. Because of damage sustained during salvage, full restoration was not an option, and it now ‘lays in state’ – partially restored – in the Bomber Hall of RAF Museum Hendon.