MaggieD:
Hi Saviem,The Sunderland was ML 796 when the French had finished with it in 1962, it became as you said a Disco/Restaurant in La Baule Brittany,not that far from Fergie’s maison,in 1975 it was brought back to the Duxford Museum on 3 trucks,the wings being removed and the fuselage cut in two. It took over 3 days to bring to Dunkirk and then the ferry to Harwich and on to Duxford where it lies today.
Hope all is well on the farm.
Regards
Richard[/quotHello Richard,
Sadly have had to bury my old lad today, we are all very, very sad. God, he was a real friend.
Took solace in searching through some old pictures. Found the ones relating to the Sunderland ML796. There are three F88s in Ukon silver, and one blue Saviem from Don Griffiths Allwood Transport Cheltenham, all look to be coupled to Trombone trailers. Allwood had quite a few of these in their operation.I do not have shots of the actual loads, but it looks as though it was a case of the maximum, being carried by the minimum! It appears that the fuselage was cut in two horizontaly, and as you say the wings removed, so would that have accounted for four vehicle loads? If it did they were fair ones at that.
David Junior, Fergie is quite right in what he says about the driving enviroment in the older UK built lorries. That Atkinson cab was superb when new, but after a few years the coach built wood and fibre glass construction became like a leaky tent on a wet mountainside!! Cheap to operate, oh yes…And that instrument panel made any driver a Spitfire pilot…but after a few years of neglect…oh dear!..And I sold them for a good few years in the late
60s early70s, beautiful lorries to drive, pin point steering, great brakes, (perhaps the best ever brake pipework in the world bar none…but drafty, noisey, and uncomfortable, (that squeaky Chapman drivers seat)…and my beloved Fodens were , (in hindsight, that gift of the older person), even worse, oh yes, much worse…I well remember the pure “Portaloo” smell of my S39 when enjoying the sunshine and bumps of the road network of barren Sicily…but I forgave her that because of the unbridled 200hp Leyland engine singing through that orchestra like air split 12 speed…John, you are right about the graceful Caravelle, what an elegant aircraft, within which I did a fair few miles, and loved every second of them. Used to catch the Algeirs Paris flight from Lyon Brun on a Friday night, wafted along a smooth silk road to Paris…then the Austin Severn Viscount back to Birmingham…but at least the Viscount had deep panoramic windows…and a noise level like a Mk 1 Atkinson with a ■■■■■■■ 180…
Cheerio for now.
Who did the job? Heaven knows how I ended up with these photographs, but I must master the technique to get them on here!