I thought I would post this email for you all that I received from the Museum over Christmas.
Lancaster Corner Refurbishment At Newark Air Museum
Work is now well underway on the refurbishment of the Lancaster Corner
display area at Newark Air Museum, which is located on part of the former
RAF Winthorpe airfield in Nottinghamshire; close to the border with
Lincolnshire.
This refurbishment work has been timed for completion before several
significant anniversaries connected to the museum's extensive display of
Lancaster artefacts. These include the 70th Anniversary of the formation at
RAF Woodhall Spa of 619 Squadron - "The Forgotten Squadron" on 18 April
1943; and the 70th Anniversary of the famous Dambusters Raid in May 1943.
Newark Air Museum's Lancaster Corner contains an unusual array of World War
II artefacts associated with the famous Lancaster bomber and wartime RAF
Winthorpe, which was a major training base for 5 Group Bomber Command.
The museum's 619 Squadron ME846 Lancaster display, relates to an aircraft
and crew that crashed in June 1944 over northern Belgium. The extensive
display tells the story of the crew training on Stirlings with 1661 HCU at
RAF Winthorpe; the events leading up to their Lancaster, ME846 being shot
down; and the search to find the crash site and the remains of the missing
pilot.
Displayed alongside the ME846 display is an UPKEEP Mine (Bouncing Bomb).
This legendary weapon is on loan from the MOD, which was made possible
thanks to the efforts and good offices of the Sir Barnes Wallis Memorial
Trust. This item was a test piece mine dropped at Reculver in preparation
for the legendary Dambusters Raid.
Maintaining the Dambusters theme is a memorial plaque loaned to the museum
by Jan van den Driesschen, who tends Guy Gibson and Jim Warwick's graves in
Holland. Gibson was leader of the Dambusters Raid and Warwick was an
Instructor from 1661 HCU at RAF Winthorpe and Gibson's navigator on the
flight when they were killed. Displayed below is a propeller blade from
Lancaster AJ-S flown by Pilot Officer Lewis Burpee, which was shot down in
Holland in wave 3 of the Dambusters Raid.
Of major significance in Lancaster Corner is the fuselage section of IX(B)
Squadron Lancaster W4964 WS-J that was donated to Newark in 1974. Its ends
had been boarded up and it had been used as a garden shed. W4964 flew 106
Ops and its 100th Op was a 'Tallboy Op' on the Tirpitz battleship in Alten
Fjord, Norway. It carried the nose art of the 'Johnnie Walker' whiskey
company and the exhibit still wears its original wartime paintwork.
Displayed above the fuselage section is a Lancaster wing tip that was
recovered from Knipton reservoir near Grantham. This came from Lancaster
R5726 that broke up in mid-air on April 4th 1944 and fell into the
reservoir. It was recovered by the local sub-aqua club in the 1970s.
Completing the Lancaster display is the Lancaster rear turret that housed
twin 0.5 inch guns and was designed and built by the Rose Brothers Ltd of
Gainsborough, Lincs.
During the weekend of 18/19th May 2013 a series of temporary Lancaster
displays will be exhibited at the museum as part of a Lightning & Lancaster
Weekend.
