54 MU RAF Repair and Salvage (43 Group)
Title
54 MU RAF Repair and Salvage (43 Group)
Description
A document listing the activities of the Maintenance Unit Repair and Salvage unit. It describes the recovery of damaged aircraft which could be rebuilt and returned to service. The make up of the team is described.
Creator
Spatial Coverage
Coverage
Language
Type
Format
One handwritten list
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
MShawSR3002545-160211-16
Transcription
54. M.U. R.A.F. REPAIR AND SALVAGE. (43 GROUP).
THIS UNIT OPERATED FROM A SITE ON TRUMPINGTON ROAD, CAMBRIDGE IN 1944, SOME OF IT’S AIRMEN WERE BILLETED AT JESUS COLLEDGE, [sic] IT MOVED TO RAF STATION NEWMARKET, EARLY IN 1945. THE PURPOSE OF THE UNIT WAS TO REMOVE AIRCRAFT FROM CRASH SITES. IF THE DAMAGE WASN’T TO [sic] SERIOUS, THE AIRCRAFT WAS VERY CAREFULLY DISMANTLED, LOADED ONTO ‘QUEEN MARY’, LOW LOAD TRUCKS, AND TAKEN BACK TO REPAIR DEPOTS, TO BE OVERHAULED, AND PUT BACK INTO SERVICE. LARGE AIRCRAFT, FOUR ENGINED, EX. LANCASTER, HALIFAX OR STIRLING, WOULD TAKE ABOUT FIVE DAYS DISMANTLE. TWIN ENGINED AIRCRAFT I.E. MOSQUITO’S ABOUT THREE DAYS.
THE SEVERITY OF THE CRASH, DETERMINED WHICH CATEGORY IT WOULD BE TREATED UNDER.
CAT. B. STRIPPED CAREFULL. [sic] SENT BACK TO REPAIR UNIT
CAT E1 STRIPPED AND SENT FOR SPARES.
CAT E2 CRASH. ‘SWEEP UP’ THIS TYPE OF CRASH USUALLY COVERED A SMALL AREA, HAZARDS ENCOUNTERED. PETROL LEAKAGE AND IN SOME CASES, LIVE BOMBS AND AMMUNITION.
A SALVAGE PARTY USUALLY CONSISTED OF EIGHT PERSONEL [sic] A SEARGNT. [sic] I/C. TWO CORPORALS, TWO ENGINE. AND TWO AIRFRAME AIRMAN, PLUS A DRIVER, WITH A BEDFORD OR STUDEBAKER TRUCK. TOOLS AND SLINGS WERE CARRIED, BUT CRANE’S FOR HEAVY LIFTING, COLE’S OR LORRAINE. WERE SENT OUT FROM THE DEPOT.
THIS UNIT OPERATED FROM A SITE ON TRUMPINGTON ROAD, CAMBRIDGE IN 1944, SOME OF IT’S AIRMEN WERE BILLETED AT JESUS COLLEDGE, [sic] IT MOVED TO RAF STATION NEWMARKET, EARLY IN 1945. THE PURPOSE OF THE UNIT WAS TO REMOVE AIRCRAFT FROM CRASH SITES. IF THE DAMAGE WASN’T TO [sic] SERIOUS, THE AIRCRAFT WAS VERY CAREFULLY DISMANTLED, LOADED ONTO ‘QUEEN MARY’, LOW LOAD TRUCKS, AND TAKEN BACK TO REPAIR DEPOTS, TO BE OVERHAULED, AND PUT BACK INTO SERVICE. LARGE AIRCRAFT, FOUR ENGINED, EX. LANCASTER, HALIFAX OR STIRLING, WOULD TAKE ABOUT FIVE DAYS DISMANTLE. TWIN ENGINED AIRCRAFT I.E. MOSQUITO’S ABOUT THREE DAYS.
THE SEVERITY OF THE CRASH, DETERMINED WHICH CATEGORY IT WOULD BE TREATED UNDER.
CAT. B. STRIPPED CAREFULL. [sic] SENT BACK TO REPAIR UNIT
CAT E1 STRIPPED AND SENT FOR SPARES.
CAT E2 CRASH. ‘SWEEP UP’ THIS TYPE OF CRASH USUALLY COVERED A SMALL AREA, HAZARDS ENCOUNTERED. PETROL LEAKAGE AND IN SOME CASES, LIVE BOMBS AND AMMUNITION.
A SALVAGE PARTY USUALLY CONSISTED OF EIGHT PERSONEL [sic] A SEARGNT. [sic] I/C. TWO CORPORALS, TWO ENGINE. AND TWO AIRFRAME AIRMAN, PLUS A DRIVER, WITH A BEDFORD OR STUDEBAKER TRUCK. TOOLS AND SLINGS WERE CARRIED, BUT CRANE’S FOR HEAVY LIFTING, COLE’S OR LORRAINE. WERE SENT OUT FROM THE DEPOT.
Collection
Citation
Stan Shaw, “54 MU RAF Repair and Salvage (43 Group),” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 24, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/25991.
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