Bridgnorth Hurricane finds home
I was interested in the short piece on RAF Bridgnorth and the request for information on the "Gate Guardian" Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft is in Washington DC where it forms part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum.
A brief summary of its history follows:
The LF686 wasÊbuilt at Hawker's Langley factory, near Slough, early in 1944.
It was delivered to No. 41 Operational Training Unit at RAF Hawarden, near Chester on April 15, 1944.
It served here until June 27, 1945, and then transferred to Chilbolton, Hampshire to train mechanics.
In July 1948, it was moved to Bridgnorth and placed outdoors. Sometime later, the entire aircraft was painted silver. In 1963, Bridgnorth closed and LF686 moved to RAF Colerne, Wiltshire.
During the late 1960s, the Smithsonian tradedÊthe last surviving Hawker Typhoon to the RAF Museum at Hendon in exchange for the Hawker Hurricane. It went to the US in 1969 and is now on display at Washington Dulles Airport.
As co-author of the book "Spitfire Survivors" I am currently updating the book. As part of the research I have come across references to a factory in Shrewsbury which built Spitfires - or parts of them.
I am aware that Joseph Sankey Ltd built several hundred Spitfires at their Hadley CastleÊWorks but I cannot confirm the existence of a factory in Shrewsbury.
Can any reader assist in pinning down the elusive factory? RAF Cosford was also used for final assembly of Spitfires and I would love to hear from anyone with information or photos.
Rather sadly High Ercall was the site where thousands of Spitfires were melted down for aluminium. Does anyone have any details or photos of the High Ercall scrapping?
Gordon Riley, 16, Church End, Weston Colville, Cambridge CB21 5PE e-mail gordon@i-tri.co.uk
