Warbirds Online regularly visits the Historical Aircraft Restorations Limited facility at Albion Park NSW and we have been watching the progress being made on several Bristol Beaufighter cockpits being constructed as museum display items. These cockpits are restored for trading purposes and to produce exhibits for Museums seeking to display a significant item related to the “Beau”.
One cockpit that was very advanced in our visit earlier this year was missing at the time of our visit in July 2015, so we asked naturally enough where it had gone. We were told that it has apparently gone to a new home in the UK as a display at the Hunt Brothers “Wings Museum” World War Two Remembrance Museum in Sussex.
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- Beaufighter cockpit – destined for Wings Museum UK
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- Beaufighter cockpit interior – destined for Wings Museum UK
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- Beaufighter cockpit controls – destined for Wings Museum UK
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- Beaufighter cockpit fitout – destined for Wings Museum UK
It is believed that the cockpit will go on display shortly and should attract a good audience. Despite being a significant WWII aircraft very few Beaufighters remain, with around only a dozen or so left. A group associated with “Wings Museum” has recovered quite a few remnants of Beaufighters and the new cockpit will significantly add to the display of the recovered items.
In other exciting Beaufighter news, it is believed from discussions we had while visiting Historical Aircraft Restorations Limited, that work on the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) airworthy Beaufighter restoration project is due to progress rapidly next year and has been prioritized. HARS have been collecting Beaufighter components for many decades and probably has the most significant holding of Beaufighter components anywhere in the world.
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- DAP Beaufighter fuselage under restoration
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- DAP Beaufighter under restoration
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- Bristol Beaufighter nose structure rear view
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- Bristol Beaufighter nose structure
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- Bristol Beaufighter cockpit interior restoration
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- Beaufighter cockpit for the UK nearing completion
Exciting times indeed for fans of Bristol’s “Whispering Death”.
© John Parker 2015