Just a note to let you know that I managed to visit a couple of Halifax crash sites last month and paid my respects to those who lost their lives.

Brief details here http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/scottish_crashsites/halifaxll414.html and here http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/scottish_crashsites/halifaxlk901.html

Thanks to Andy O for his company during the visit to LK901 and for his extreme bravery (where mine failed) in sticking his arm down dark spidery holes in the boulders to recover wreckage.  Actually, the truth is that his arms are longer than mine so I couldn't reach it...honest!

Have also visited some Halifax crash sites in Norway this month but that's another story for another time (in other words I haven't written it up yet!).

Cheers

Linzee

Hi Linzee,

Nice pics. Strange that so many years later there are still large amounts of wreckage littering the hills. Pity we don't have hill in Holland, we call them speedbumps.

Cheers

Cees

Hi Cees,

I think one of the reasons wreckage is still to be found is that many of the locations are pretty remote.  Crash sites which are/were easily accessible were cleared up pretty efficiently by the RAF MU's (Maintenance Units) in the months/years afterwards.

In more remote locations the MU's concentrated on removing the more 'sensitive' equipment and parts and the rest was simply left behind  (it was before the days of helicopters).  Heavy stuff was removed by using hill ponies if it was not possible to get vehicle access.

In more recent years some wreckage has been recovered from more remote locations by helicopter for one reason or another.

A Wellington crash site I visited at the weekend which was at around 1000 m was cleared in 1986/1987 although there is still plenty of evidence left today the big stuff like the engines, turrets, wings and fuselage have gone.  I slept out on the hill hoping to visit an Oxford crash site the following day but woke up in the morning to a blizzard so had to abandon that plan!  And this is supposed to be summer?  

Regards
Linzee