Bristol Brigand.

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16 years 5 months

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Having read about the Bristol Brigands use in the far east inside FP magazine, it got me wondering what is there left airframe wise of the few that were built. I understand NEAM have a fuselage section.. recovered i think from Failsworth, but is that it? Are there any wing sections, engines, props, tail surfaces, undercarriage etc. Also what are the chances of something substantial turning up in Malaya or the surrounding territories..?

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14 years 10 months

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ISTR some time ago that there was a substantial portion of one, lying in remote jungle in the Malaya area. They had a nasty habit of bending main spars at inconvenient times. Also exploding due to ingesting gas from firing the cannon, due to the poor design of the gun port.
A brutal aeroplane to look at and to fly in, we were trained to use AI radar in them.

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17 years

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The example rescued by NEAM was owned by Unimetals and it was transferred to a collection in Bristol a few years ago. They had intentions of restoring it, as you would, but the owner made her instructions very clear. It suffers from the same fate as the swift and Balliol sections on loan to Millom.

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24 years 2 months

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The NEAM Brigand (RH746) is with the Bristol Aero Collection, on Kemble Airfield. It comprises an unrestored fuselage, but is currently out of sight. As far as I know, restoration is on the cards for some point in the future. The Malaysian wreck is RH755, it comprises several components, including a tail fin. It would be fantastic to use the components of the latter in the restoration of the former!!!

Andy

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16 years 5 months

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Thanks guys. Incidentally does the RAF museum hold any remains or parts that could be integrated into an airframe together with the Kemble fuselage.?
Not the most well liked or known about aircraft i know, but a complete or part complete example would be great... especailly after having read what those poors aircrews had to go through whilst operating it.

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16 years 7 months

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I'm sure there was a thread on here a while back about quite a large chunk of Brigand found in Malaya, it was posted under a heading about a WW2 bomber or similar and I can't find it now.

IIRC Pagen01 posted on the thread, but I can't find it now :(:(

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20 years 8 months

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I remember Brigands flying regularly into Culdrose in about 1957/8 when I were a little lad..they must've been T5s, anyone know their squadron and home base at that time. They were impressive aircraft when seen from the airfield boundary fence just above your head!

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20 years 2 months

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I remember Brigands flying regularly into Culdrose in about 1957/8 when I were a little lad..they must've been T5s, anyone know their squadron and home base at that time. They were impressive aircraft when seen from the airfield boundary fence just above your head!

Torpedo Development Unit, Culdrose.

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20 years 8 months

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Ah! That'll explain it then !! Thanks, Lee.

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More details and photos on the rediscovery of the wreckage of RH755 in 2000 here:

http://www.airscapesgallery.com/wreck/wreck.html

Thats the one - thank you ! Location not withstanding, there seems enough there to recover but would a Brigand raise enough interest/cash ?

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16 years 5 months

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My thoughts exactly. And sadly i think the answer is probably no. I cannot see the RAF museum getting involved, and that leaves a private individual or a local museum to organise and fund a recovery.

I take it that the pictures show the bulk of the larger items?

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there seems enough there to recover but would a Brigand raise enough interest/cash ?

As it was discovered 10 years ago - probably not sadly.
As for starting resto on RH746 that is great news, could always remove and use wings from a Beaufighter!

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17 years

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As long as RH746 is owned by its present owner, there is no chance that it will be restored. Sorry to sound pessimistic, but it just isn't going to happen.:(

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Have I read too much into FiltonFlyers' post?
Can you expand on your comments John or is it a sensitive subject?

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24 years 2 months

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Although I was involved in the Internet discussions on RH755 in early 2000, I never actually got to visit the site. I understand that there were other items belonging to the aircraft that were not photographed at the time. The photographer who took the shots was working with a wide angle lens most of the time because of the space constraints.

As for recovery, bear in mind that this crash site is in primary jungle, at around 3000ft AMSL. It was a five hour slog to the site from the nearest access point, up some very steep slopes. That, in itself, would deter most recovery efforts.

I believe that the RMAF did recover some items circa 2000/01 but am not aware of what those were. It is possible that those items were taken to the RMAF Museum at Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. This is not the only Brigand lying in the jungle here. There are several more, one or two of which have never been located since they were lost.

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Have I read too much into FiltonFlyers' post?
Can you expand on your comments John or is it a sensitive subject?

The Brigand, Swift, Balliol and Firefly sections were identified by NEAM and saved by the owner of the Unimetals yard in Failsworth. The owner subsequently passed away and his widow acquired ownership. She sees the relics as her late husband's legacy and should be left 'as-is'. The Swift fuselage was cobbled back together so it looked externally presentable and was about to be sprayed blue again when the owner cancelled all authority to restore it. Thats why it was left in that unattractive yellow primer for years.

The Brigand was not suitable for display at NEAM - they didn't have the space. NEAM repeatedly asked the owner if they could make the aircraft presentable, or at least stabilised, and the reply was a resounding 'no'. It was subsequently removed to the Bristol Collection who were seen to be 'better' (certainly more relevant) custodians. The same was true for the Swift, Firefly and Balliol sections.

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Lauriebe, do you have any more info on the Brigand sites that have been located/visited? Have these had parts recovered or do substantial remains still exist at these sites.? Sorry to put you on the spot like this but you are somewhat closer to them than i am here in frosty old Duxford.

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i could never understand why people insist on being so single minded!

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i could never understand why people insist on being so single minded!

Yes, and it always seems to happen to aircraft that are very rare, yet arn't of a monetarily high value, thus these projects end up between a rock and a hard place.

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id been told that the reason for her stubborn refusal to allow the aircraft to be restored, purchased was due to paranoia that someone would pull a fast one and make a lot of money?

(so my father says)