Coley's scrapyard

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Over the years in the aviation press the name Coles scrapyard is mentioned, what made this yard so famous?

Cees

Original post

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16 years 3 months

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Cees............

Think you maybe thinking about the legendary R J Coleys yard, not too far from todays Heathrow. Try a search on here for Coleys, plenty of info comes up.

Sadly I never had the pleasure of a trip there.

Planemike

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As a child one of my neighbours worked there, and every now and again he would bring me parts, control grips, instruments etc. I've still got a few.

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I hope Mark12 won't mind me showing one of his photos but this rare prototype Blackburn YB.1 was in Coleys yard circa 1958.

Have you got any pieces of this one PanzerJohn?

Rob

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re;

thats an a/c I have never heard of. Any details?

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16 years 3 months

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thats an a/c I have never heard of. Any details?

SADSACK............

Blackburn produced three prototypes to meet Spec G.R.17/45. Blackburns lost out to the Fairey submission which went on to become the Gannet.
The Y.B.1 was the sole Double Mamba powered machine.

Planemike

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The same aircaft WB797, seen here in better days.

Rob

Edit.. The Coley's airframe could also be WB781, the first prototype. That one was RR Griffon powered but also had cutouts in place for the AS Double Mamba's jet pipes.

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re;

thought it might be a prototype. you learn something new all the time!

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Love these old Scrap-yard Pics !!!!

I hope Mark12 won't mind me showing one of his photos but this rare prototype Blackburn YB.1 was in Coleys yard circa 1958.

Have you got any pieces of this one PanzerJohn?

Rob

Nice pic. thanks for sharing. :) Looking closer in and around the yard,those centre Sections piled up at rear look like Comet or Valiant, I'm sure I came across somewhere that Coles did scrap Valiants, can anyone confirm that.

And noticed what looks like a line of bullet holes in that 45 gall oil drum on left--lol !!! (Or is that marks on the pic. :eek: ) :D

Bill T.

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I've got a loading gauge for a Valiant that came from there, looks like a slide rule.

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Maybe this will help, quoted from the Fourth Edition of Wrecks & Relics (1974):

"HOUNSLOW Sadly the prolific yard of R.J.Coley and Son Co. Ltd. was cleared for good in late 1972. As with the Staravia yard at Lasham it is felt that its passing should be marked by outlining some of the aircraft it dealt with in the last years of its operation. This list is less complete than that for Lasham.

Comet 4B G-APMA ex BEA Airtours, Heathrow
Saro P.531 G-APNU ex Westlands at Hayes. Whole in July 1972
Jetstream 3Ms c/ns 219, 226, 228, 232, 239, 242, 244. All prospective USAF C-10As. Bought from Thameside Aero Spares, who had kept them in a builder's yard at Cove. Mostly reduced to produce by July 1972.
Vampire T.11s XD394, XD514, XE893, XH363, XJ771. All from the BEA Apprentice School at Cranebank, Heathrow.
BAC TSR-2s XR224, 225, 226, 227, XS660, 661, 662, 663, 665, 666. All ex Weybridge. XR226 and 227 (and probably XR225) have since appeared in a yard at West Bromwich."

Sadly the stated policy of the first three editions of W&R was to exclude the contents of scrapyards. However Coley's yard did get mention in the first edition (1961) as follows:

"COLEY'S YARD near London Airport. In September 1960 Hurricane 2c 5500M (ex PG499) was residing here after a spell at Dunsfold. The fuselage frame of the A.W.35 Scimitar, G-ADBL, which was broken down in 1958, is still to be seen here."

Perhaps this gives some little indication of why Coley's yard was so famous in the fifties and sixties.

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As a child one of my neighbours worked there, and every now and again he would bring me parts, control grips, instruments etc. I've still got a few.

What control columns did you get you lucky chap?!

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Sections of Donald Campbell's parts-donor Gnat XM691 most likely went to Coleys, as did the sponsons from Bluebird as recovered after the crash- though that's a highly contentious subject!

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The last RAF service Lancaster, MR.3 RF325 H-D SMR, ended up at Coleys as well, as pictured by Mark12.
All the info and some supporting pics of the above are in the Scrapyards thread.

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The same aircaft WB797, seen here in better days.

Edit.. The Coley's airframe could also be WB781, the first prototype.

I would say it is YA.5 WB781, the rear canopy arrangement was longer on YA.8 WB788, and it appears to have the intake bulge on the lower nose of the Griffon engined B-54s that isn't on the D.Mamba powered B-88 YB.1 WB797

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Does this help?

Mark

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v634/Mark12/ColeysYard1958-PeterArnold.jpg

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Confirms WB781 for me, you can see that the canopy arrangement ends well forward of the wing trailing edge (unlike the two later 3 seater a/c), and the lower front intake bulge of the Griffon powered aircraft, fascinating that the jet pipe tubes seem to be fitted ready for D.Mamba fitment.

Great pic, imagine being a cockpit collector back then!

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Coles Scrap yard??

As a juvenile i used to ride my bike all around the industrial black country.

I recall in the early sixties there being a scrap yard between Great Bridge and West Brom on the right hand side of the road that had sliced up sections of Vulcans and other a/c bits.

Was this Coles? There certainly was a Coles of Bilston not a Million miles away!!

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15 years 7 months

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According to the add. below for Coley's, they had 3 locations in Hounslow, which was this one and did they all have aircraft scrap in ?
http://www.aviationancestry.com/Metals/Misc/Misc-RJColey-1958-1.html

Interesting that they have Canbury Park Rd, Kingston as an address, IRC the only industrial building's down there of any size were the Hawker factory ones.