Westland Whirlwind Helicopter

The North East Aircraft Museum, formerly the Northumbrian Aeronautical Collection, began life in 1974 as a small group of vintage aircraft enthusiasts meeting very informally at Sunderland Flying Club to exchange views and information on their chosen interest. At this time, the North East was the only major area of the United Kingdom not covered by any form of vintage aircraft group. Indeed, the only enthusiast aviation group in the whole region was Air North which mainly indulged in aircraft spotting. As the number of people attending the informal group meetings began to swell the decision was taken to establish a more formal organization and thus the Northumbrian Aeronautical Collection was born.

About the time of the formation of the N.A.C., reports were received of the existence of an ex-Fleet Air Arm Westland Dragonfly helicopter rotting in a North Yorkshire scrap yard, and that a Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 fighter aircraft was to be broken up at RAF Acklington. After many hurried conversations and much frantic money raising, it was decided that the N.A.C. should go into aircraft preservation.
Following the acquisition of the two airframes, finding a suitable site to display the embryo collection was the first major difficulty. However, this was finally overcome when the owners and organizers at Lambton Pleasure Park showed an interest and were kind enough to provide a site free of charge. Thus, a trend was started that would eventually develop into the North East Aircraft Museum.

Over the following years the museum continued to grow, by collecting aircraft and artifacts from home and abroad, this included three aircraft donated by the United States Air Force. As the size of the collection increased so did visitor figures and the museum was considered to be of sufficient standing to allow an entrance fee to replace entrance by donation. In an effort to enhance the status of the museum it was decided that the museum should apply for registered charity status and that the museum support and fund raising activities should be set up as a limited company.

It was also at this time that the museum achieved its first major preservation coup by successfully saving the remains of a Supermarine Swift F.4 and a Bristol Brigand. These two airframes were of a particular historical significance in that the former was the remains of an aircraft that had captured the World Air Speed record in 1953. The latter represented the sole surviving remains of this type of aircraft anywhere in the world. Both of these exhibits were saved from certain destruction, while many larger museums looked on.

In January 1983 the largest aircraft to land at Sunderland Airport arrived for the museum. This exhibit, the mighty Avro Vulcan bomber, which is still the largest and most expensive of the museum's acquisitions instantly became the museum's biggest attraction and to this day remains open for public inspection.

In line with a policy of continuous improvement the museum was able to stage another major preservation coup in 1988 when an F-84 Thunderstreak arrived on site from Greece. This was followed in 1989 by an F-86D Saber from the same source and thus gave the museum two further unique exhibits. The success of the policy of continuous improvement and extended opening times was supported by the ever increasing number of visitors, which by the end of 1990 had reached an annual total in excess of 20,000.

The professional standing of the museum was recognised in 1990 when the museum was honored by becoming the first transport museum in the country to become registered under the Museum and Galleries Commission Museum Registration Scheme.

Group members attending the Investigation

Jim Ellis, Mike Griffiths, Andrea Ellis, Lorraine Ellis, Kate Lloyd, and Mike Roberts.

The Investigation

Everyone had been looking forward to our visit to the North East Aircraft Museum at the former R.A.F Unsworth site in Sunderland with its alleged paranormal activity. On our arrival the group was joined by Keith the manager of the museum who would accompany our medium and the rest of the group throughout the night’s investigation.

Hanger 3

 

We started the investigation in Hanger 3 in the Display Hall. Our medium immediately picked up on an R.A.F man standing on the wooden stairs leading to the top office and a sensitive with the group could also feel the same man on the stairs, the name given to our medium was Edward Shaw, he later gave his middle name as Granville. Our medium was then shown an engine and asked by Keith what he could he glean from it? Our medium again said that Edward had crashed in an accident and the area given was Wingate. The rest of the information that was forthcoming was that he was a Flight Sergeant flying a Hurricane when he touched wings with another plane and his plane crashed killing him, the other pilot survived the incident. Edward was distressed about his legs and not having his boots on; he said that the accident had happened in mid-March 1942. Keith confirmed that all the facts given were true and that Edward had actually died on March 12th 1942. Edward told our medium that he had bought a new car just before the accident and was disappointed because he never got the chance to drive it, and the details of the transaction were with his personal diary which where in his pocket when the plane went down.

Keith was one of the men involved in retrieving the wreckage from a field in Wingate. Edward’s boots were also recovered from the crash site along with many of Edward’s belongings.

In the display area there are a number of engines on display, Keith pointed to an engine on the other side of the room and asked if the Medium could pick anything up. Our medium began to feel tearful and said that although no one on this plane was killed, the plane had crashed onto a house killing a woman and badly injuring a young girl who appeared to have lost a hand, she appeared to have been trapped under the wreckage. Keith confirmed that this was correct and that the little girl obviously now much older had visited the museum in recent years and had seen the engine.

Hanger 2

The group then moved on to Hanger 2.

Our medium soon realised that a particularly nasty spirit was present and that this man was attempting to hide himself away in dark corners. This man was a Czech pilot working for the Germans and the name he gave was Augustine Preucil, who stole an aircraft and flew back to Germany, he was allegedly hanged in 1947.

Again this was confirmed.

On entering the hanger there is an impressive Westland Whirlwind Navy Rescue helicopter which has a history of paranormal activity attached to it.

The medium again picked up on a Navy Mechanic by the name of Alan Rothwell. Alan had died in a helicopter accident in 1965 in Borneo while on board a Westland Whirlwind helicopter that was performing trials; two helicopters had collided, allegedly killing nine people. Exactly what the connection was to the museums helicopter, was never established. Alan kept repeating H 9 but none of us, not even Keith knew why he was saying it or what it meant.

The spirits of three very young girls are believed to haunt this helicopter, a house was thought to have stood on this site in medieval times and the children were thought to be the victims of the plague, but on the night no evidence of these three children had revealed themselves to us even though the group had set up trigger objects for the three children to play with.

Hanger 3

On walking into the hanger the spirits of two men standing either side of a plane had been detected straight away by the groups medium. These two enjoyed themselves by shaking the plane tapping on it and startling unsuspecting visitors and appeared to be a couple of real jokers.

The one spirit conversed with our medium and appeared to speak for both men because the second spirit just stood there rooted to the spot.

We obtained some very interesting information from this spirit. He gave the name Ernest Moulding they were with 207 Squadron, he was a Flight Sergeant and wireless operator aged 21. He and his seven man crew had been shot down while flying their Avro Manchester on October 12th 1941. Their Manchester had been heading for Germany on a day light bombing raid with the aim of attacking the Cologne railway yards when they had been shot down by enemy fighters. Ernest gave the name for his friend as Frank Mason who was aged 26 a Pilot Officer who was the aircrafts rear gunner.

Ernest gave his identity number as 621167 and Keith the museums manager asked our medium if he could ask Ernest for the planes identity number, which of course Ernest did by replying with L 7321 ED. Ernest gave some more information, the crew number was seven, but said that two had bailed out before they went down. He gave the surnames of Carroll and the other name as Newton. He later gave their Christian names as Howard and Jack for the two that survived. Ernest wasn’t very complimentary about the performance of the Avro Manchester, in fact I can’t really put down the words he used. The one thing he did say was that the Vulture engines were not up to the job, but again I am being polite. Although all are now in spirit he did say that Howard Carroll died a few years later in an accident and that they all meet up from time to time.

Outside area of Hangers

While crossing open ground between the hangers Keith asked if he was picking up on any spirits? Our medium said he was picking up on a man who’s name was George, he thought his surname was Roberts, he was either an airframe mechanic or something similar. Again Keith asked how he thought George had died? The reply was he fell to his death; this was correct an airman had been sun bathing on the roof of one of the hangers and unfortunately fell to his death.

The only name we failed to obtain was that of a womanizing sergeant who used to meet married women close to the area of the hangers, this man was killed in a car accident, unfortunately we couldn’t get a name.

E.V.P 

The group had split up into two groups in an attempt to capture some EVP in the hangers and both teams heard while playing back the recorders a sound that sounded like a deep exhale which wasn’t apparent at the time of recording indeed both teams experienced the same phenomena.

Unknown or unexplained occurrences

Taps and unknown sounds seemed to follow the group around especially in hanger 2

The shadow of a man lower half was seen walking at the back of one of the planes in hanger 2 before disappearing.

Two of our investigators heard a woman talking to a man, just as they entered hanger 3, it stopped them both in their tracks but when they looked round in the direction of the sound no one was there.

A figure in black was seen walking across the area between the hangers, but on checking everyone involved in the investigation was accounted for.

On a number of occasions our K2 meters flashed up to their maximum red settings, The K2 EMF meter is a standard EMF detector, much like its competitors. Most EMF detectors use a needle that will move up and down when indicating electromagnetic energy. As there is an increase in the energy, the needle will move to the right, indicating the higher levels. The K2 meter uses lights to indicate the energy instead of a needle, flashing and then finally staying light at the level found with the meter.

Footsteps could be heard above the confectionary shop.

A magazine moved of its own accord on a shelf.

Trigger objects had moved.

A sweet smelling aroma was detected in hanger 2, it would come and go.

The Ouija Board

The Ouija Board was used in all areas but the spirits didn’t bother or were not that interested in communicating through it.

Cameras

Orbs had been caught on our digital camera, although nothing was recorded on the night vision cameras.

Certainly at night Aircraft hangers are very eerie and frightening places to be, especially when you are on your own 

GHOSTLY SIGHTINGS

There have been quite a number of ghostly aircraft reported in Britain over the years, one that I'm aware of in Derbyshire, in particular. Here is an account of another that I came across.

There have been many sightings of a rusty old plane across the North East of Wales, with people claiming they felt sure the craft was about to crash because it came in so low overhead.

One of the first recorded sightings of the so-called Phantom Plane was in 1987 in Abergele when a number of townspeople reported seeing the "war-time transporter" appear from nowhere and then vanish before them. They described it as very large and unmarked, a black Hercules [C-130] plane. Phone calls were made to RAF Valley, Anglesey, and nearby airfields, but no-one was able to shed light on the sightings.

The most dramatic incident, which came to the attention of ufologist Margaret Fry, was reported by mothers in Llangernyw, Denbighshire, as they were picking up their children from school. Several claimed they were sent running for cover as the plane - which they described as rusty, with no paint work - roared over their heads.

In the distance it followed the landscape and dipped down in to the valley at such speed that the parents felt the plane was sure to crash, but they continued to watch as it pulled up and, with "great effort", it managed to make it over some distant hills.

Margaret said there was a shocked silence after the incident before locals began calling officials to try and find out what had happened to the plane.” They were told that no such aeroplane would be allowed to fly in that condition," said Margaret. "So what was it, and where did it come from and vanish to?" she said. "To this day people still mention it.

In another incident on June 15 1994, at about 7pm, a couple were driving over Denbigh Moors when the aeroplane appeared before them. They watched as it passed left to right in front of the car at an estimated 100ft off the ground, flying fairly slowly. It then started to turn to the right giving the couple a full view of the craft but then it suddenly "vanished into thin air".

There are several moors in the area but reports seem to centre on Howden Moors which cover quite a large area of the Peak District to the north west of Sheffield. Nearby features are the Derwent & Ladybower Reservoirs to the south of the area in question. This region has been the site of many plane crashes during and since the second world war. Over 50 planes have come to grief in this area. More than 300 people have lost their lives in these crashes.
One Captain Landon T Tranner and his crew perished in the crash of their B29 bomber in 1945. Two crashes at the end of the war claimed the lives of 13 airmen. On 18th May 1945, a Royal Canadian Lancaster bomber of 408 Sqn crashed at James Thorn on Bleaklow Hill. In July 1945, a US Dakota crashed on the same peak. A Superfortress and another Dakota have also crashed in the area. More recently (1993), a privately owned Hawker Hunter jet crashed on Broomhead Moor in a storm.

In April 1995, retired postman Tony Ingle saw the sun blocked out by the shadow of a plane 40/60 feet overhead. He could see the propellors rotating but there was no sound. He saw it banking and then it seemed to go down over a hedge. When he ran to the field, it was empty. His dog, which he was taking for a walk at the time, now refuses to go into that field.
Ron Collier is a local farmer who set up a group to study the sightings. He is regularly contacted by people who have seen ghost planes.
A group who used a ouija board obtained the names of the crewmen of the 1948 Fortress plane and a message that they were not at rest where they were. This could be a reference to the fact that bodies are not always recovered from crash sites. The crash site of the privately owned Hawker Hunter jet is still the resting place of the body of the pilot Wallace Cubitt who is believed to be entombed perhaps 30 feet below the boggy ground.
A farmer picked up debris from one site and stowed it in an outhouse until his son saw the barn almost shake itself to pieces. The pieces were returned and the incident has not happened again. Another man who recovered the ring of a crewman says that he has been visited by a ghost.
Somewhere, there is a book which gives the sites of plane crash sites in the Peak District. These sites still display the odd signs of debris at the scenes.

Re the 24/3/97 incident, an email has been received by this site, reporting that a local MP explained in the Houses of Parliament that this incident may be connected with an RAF plane breaking the sound barrier that night and that it may have been flying low in relation to the moors.

Captain Anthony Clifford, known as 'Sonny', and his crew of a Lancaster bomber known as ' Vicky the vicious virgin' had seen three active years service over Germany and had completed a final mission targeting Hitler's Eagle's Nest hideaway at Berchtesgaden. Now the Canadian Air Force crew was on a routine and boring training flight. They detoured, and got lost over the hills and valleys of the northern moors of the Peak District between Sheffield and Manchester. The hills were covered in cloud and perhaps the crew failed to see the 'Dark Peak' until it was too late. The plane crashed and exploded, killing the crew of six.

But the Lancaster has not, it seems given up flying. One night in October 1982, David and Helen Shaw were parked by the side of the Lady Bower reservoir when Mr. Shaw saw a plane in the air. “I was just turning away from the reservoir when out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something flying over the water towards me ", he said. They could not make out the shape at first but by the time it was just 400 yards away and illuminated by bright moonlight they could see quite clearly that it was a Lancaster bomber, Second World War Vintage.

In March 1997, the plane was again spotted flying very low, almost at ground level by two friends trying to get a glimpse of the Hale-Bopp comet. A nearby farmer also saw it and instinctively ducked !!!!!! Shortly afterwards it was spotted again by a gamekeeper and his wife who also heard an explosion and an orange blast lit up the sky. The emergency services spent over 15 hours searching for the plane which was of course never found. 

On January 31, 1956, a Mitchell B-25 bomber, on a flight from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to Olmstead Air Force Base in Harrisburg crashed in the Monongahela River (locally known as the "Mon"), just outside of Pittsburgh. The crew of 6 survived the crash, but two were later claimed by the icy waters of the Mon River.

What happened over the next two weeks fueled one of Pittsburgh's greatest unsolved mysteries… What became of the B-25 bomber?

In the two weeks following the crash, a search for the plane was conducted, but no trace of the B-25 was ever found. Theories about the plane's disappearance are plentiful, and are still discussed throughout Pittsburgh.

Some think the plane was carrying a secret cargo of nuclear weapons, nerve gas, Mafia money, or even Howard Hughes. Eyewitness accounts sporadically surface. The story I remember being told as a child was "Hundreds of soldiers descended to the crash site and closed the river. They guarded the banks of the river while barges came in and pulled the bomber to the surface. The plane was then offloaded to railroad cars, where it was taken to one of the local steel mills and melted down". Variations on these stories include the plane being chopped up on shore and trucked away, threats to eyewitnesses on shore, even the story of a mysterious '7th man' that was pulled from the river.

The story is such a good one that a film production company is thinking about making a movie about the Mystery of the Mitchell Ghost Bomber.

The mystery of the B-25 has endured over the past 44 years. Every two or three years, an article surfaces in local newspapers about the crash, and new eyewitnesses have come forth with "the real story."

Another strange tale of a ghostly aircraft.

This one took place in Wiltshire, close to the famous stone circle, at Stonehenge.

Close to the stones of Stonehenge there is a monument to Captain B Lorraine and Staff Sergeant R Wilson who died there in 1912 when their aircraft crashed. They were the first members of the Royal Flying Corps to lose their lives. The Royal Flying Corps would later become The Royal Air Force.

In 1944, just before the start of the epic D-Day campaign of World War 2, Sir Michael Bruce was driving through the area with several companions. They all saw a small aircraft, which to their shock, then crashed into a nearby wood. The men began a search of this small wood, hoping to find survivors.

To their amazement, all they could find was the memorial to the fallen pilots.

And finally, another story, not about a ghostly aircraft, but one featuring RAF personnel, the story took place on an RAF base in Egypt, during WW2.

The base in question was an RAF bomber base, from where sorties were flown over the Mediterranean to prevent sea-borne supplies reaching General Rommel in Africa. Commander George Potter and Flying Officer Reg Lamb were drinking in the officer's mess one evening. There were others in the mess at the time, including a wing commander known only as `Roy.'

There was a burst of laughter from Roy and the group of officers he was with, which made Potter look towards him. At this moment, Potter had a terrifying vision of death.

He saw what appeared to be the head and shoulders of the Wing Commander slowly moving in a background of blue-blackness. Shockingly, his eyes were missing. His lips were drawn back from his teeth, and his flesh was blotched in greenish-purple, and starting to peel off. Potter broke out into a sweat at the vision, and began to tremble. He stayed this way, staring at this terrible vision for an unknown length of time, until he suddenly became aware that Reg Lamb was pulling at his sleeve.

"What the hell's the matter? You've gone as white as a sheet.” said Reg, "As if you've seen a ghost."

Potter described the vision to Lamb who looked over at Roy, but Lamb could see nothing.

They both knew that Roy would be flying the next night, but decided they could do nothing to stop it.

The next night, Potter heard that Roy and his aircraft had been shot down and had ditched in the Mediterranean. There was a report that Roy and the crew had managed to climb into a life raft, and for a while, Potter believed his vision had proved false.

Sadly, it turned out not to be. Roy had perished. Potter realised that he had been seeing the image of the Wing Commander in the blue blackness of the Mediterranean at night, floating while dead. His head and shoulders must have been held up by his life jacket.

 

"Ode of Remembrance"

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.