Aircraft identification help needed

[Bugblatter]

Looks more like a Westland Scout which was a much smaller helicopter.

[blackprince]

Is it even a helicopter or just a wingless cockpit & fuselage section?
At the lower back on the enlarged photo are what could be wing roots.
If its on a RN transporter it could be a fleet air arm wreck.

[Bugblatter]

Resembles a partial Lancaster bomber cockpit.

[blackprince]

I'll hazard a guess that this could be the cockpit of a Vickers Valetta which crashed near RAF Leeming alongside the A1 on 6th Aug 1958.
The crew survived but the aircraft was a write off and was dismantled before removal from the site. It was reported that the wreck fell off the transporter in York and caused traffic chaos.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vic ... ajaxhist=0

[tyke bhoy]

I'll hazard a guess that this could be the cockpit of a Vickers Valetta which crashed near RAF Leeming alongside the A1 on 6th Aug 1958.
The crew survived but the aircraft was a write off and was dismantled before removal from the site. It was reported that the wreck fell off the transporter in York and caused traffic chaos.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vic ... ajaxhist=0

The timing would appear to be about right but one or two things don't quite ring true. I know your link is to an image from http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air ... 0067983/M/ but I'll embed it

So from Liits zoomed in view the nose cone would have to be removed. Yes it could have broken off in the crash.

But then there are logistics. Was it doing a tour of the country? If it crashed at Leeming and fell of its transporter in York then why is it in Leeds? The A1 and either the A19 or A64 would have taken it to York directly but then, especially if the A64, why York then Leeds or into Leeds and back out to York?

I'm not saying you are wrong but if you are correct its journey raises as many questions as the answer provides.

[j.c.d.]

I'll hazard a guess that this could be the cockpit of a Vickers Valetta which crashed near RAF Leeming alongside the A1 on 6th Aug 1958.
The crew survived but the aircraft was a write off and was dismantled before removal from the site. It was reported that the wreck fell off the transporter in York and caused traffic chaos.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=vic ... ajaxhist=0

The timing would appear to be about right but one or two things don't quite ring true. I know your link is to an image from http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air ... 0067983/M/ but I'll embed it

So from Liits zoomed in view the nose cone would have to be removed. Yes it could have broken off in the crash.

But then there are logistics. Was it doing a tour of the country? If it crashed at Leeming and fell of its transporter in York then why is it in Leeds? The A1 and either the A19 or A64 would have taken it to York directly but then, especially if the A64, why York then Leeds or into
Leeds and back out to York?




As ex. R.A.F. I can honestly say that if it was not connected to the Navy in some way it would not be on one of their motors. The rivalry and sometimes
hostility between the 3 Services was always intense.

[blackprince]

"As ex. R.A.F. I can honestly say that if it was not connected to the Navy in some way it would not be on one of their motors. The rivalry and sometimes
hostility between the 3 Services was always intense."

Point taken. I think an assumption that this is an RN recovery vehicle has just crept into this thread. The RAF & RN Bedford S type tractors are very similar, even the dark blue paint scheme could be RAF judging by these pics
http://miliblog.co.uk/wp-content/upload ... -an-00.jpg

http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8465/811 ... 2c0a_m.jpg

[blackprince]

I accept my earlier post raised some unanswerable questions.
I’ll say why I think the wreck on the transporter is the cockpit & part of the fuselage of a Valetta, based as far as possible on the evidence in the photo, trying to avoid speculation.
The photo must have been taken in the time period between Feltham Trams coming into service in Leeds and closure of the tram system . This places the photo between 1951 and Nov 1959. The trees are in leaf so the time of year is summer.
The Bedford S type lorries were built from early 1950s but the military started buying them in large numbers in 1954/5. The one in the photo could be RAF or RN ( see previous post).
Like an earlier poster I checked online databases for helicopter crashes in Yorkshire in the 1950’s and found none recorded. Recorded military air crashes in Yorkshire 1951-59 included 4 Vickers Valettas, 2 Handley Page Hastings, 1Douglas Dakota and a Miles Marathon. The crash could have occurred further North than Yorkshire, of course, even in Scotland.
There are multiple points of similarity between the cockpit windows of a Valetta and what can be seen in the wreck photo. I also think the wing stub and 2 square cabin windows can be seen where they would be expected on a Valetta. The side cockpit window of a Valetta is a moulded blister window and this can be seen clearly on the wreck photo once you know what you are looking at.
As to the destination of the wreck, I found a reference stating that all the crashed Valettas were either taken to RAF stations to be used for training fire-fighters or to Birmingham for smelting.

[blackprince]

A couple more Valetta photos taken from an angle to allow comparison with the cockpit glazing of the wreck on the transporter.
The 1st one shows the cockpit side blister window clearly and I think this matches a feature visible in the wreck photo.

[blackprince]

This photo is the one which convinces me that the cockpit on the transporter is from a Valetta. The photo very clearly shows the cockpit side window in the open position. The side window on a Valetta was a quite distinctive moulded blister which tilts outwards and the smaller triangular window is hinged to allow this. Both the triangular and the blister window , can be seen in the unknown wreck.