A model plane made out of a real plane
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:47 am
So I was photographing my Leo and saw in the back ground 3 models made by my grandfather. A Sunderland and a Whitley made from brass and a Hurricane made from perspex. All my by my grandfather during his time in the RAF, during the war.
These are rather unique for a few reasons. The materials come from the actual aircraft themselves. He was a triage nurse in the RAF, firstly with Bomber Command and then the 2nd Tactical Airforce. His job was to crawl inside of crash landed aircraft and stabilise the injured crews while they were cut out, hence he had plenty of access to written off airframes. I never asked how he got enough brass, or melted it down and cast it. I assume they were bullet casings from 0.303s. The Sunderland I know was made why he was posted to the Shetland Islands but I'm not sure about the others.
Either way, I doubt he took them without asking, he did 30 years in the Police after the war and was about the most morally upstanding person I ever met. He even handed his driving license back to the DVLA himself when his sight started to go. He passed away in 2008, at the age of 87.
Sadly there was also a Spitfire but my grandmother, in a bout of dementia, did something with that one and we were never sure what.
These are rather unique for a few reasons. The materials come from the actual aircraft themselves. He was a triage nurse in the RAF, firstly with Bomber Command and then the 2nd Tactical Airforce. His job was to crawl inside of crash landed aircraft and stabilise the injured crews while they were cut out, hence he had plenty of access to written off airframes. I never asked how he got enough brass, or melted it down and cast it. I assume they were bullet casings from 0.303s. The Sunderland I know was made why he was posted to the Shetland Islands but I'm not sure about the others.
Either way, I doubt he took them without asking, he did 30 years in the Police after the war and was about the most morally upstanding person I ever met. He even handed his driving license back to the DVLA himself when his sight started to go. He passed away in 2008, at the age of 87.
Sadly there was also a Spitfire but my grandmother, in a bout of dementia, did something with that one and we were never sure what.