Thread: Stratford Aircraft Collection, Long Marston, Warks 1/92

Just a few pictures of this derelict aircraft museum that had failed to take off a few years earlier.Most of the aeroplanes were just slowly rotting away and falling victims to vandals.In the case of the shackleton it had never being fully reassembled from its road trip from Raf Cosford.
At the time of my visit a new group had formed called the Vampire Preservation Group who were working on a single Vampire T.11.This group would later change its name to the Jet Aviation Preservation Group and expaned its collection of airframes that at its peak featured three hunters.JAPG ran a museum up until 2008.It was the some what neglected look of this museum that made it a popular site for explorers in later years as it started to look more like a graveyard as the problems that seem to befall small aircraft colllections seemed to be happening here.The bulk of the aircraft were taken on by the East midland aeropark in 2008 when th J.A.P.G closed down.Some of the larger aircraft that were beyond the means of the East midland aeropark to rescue from the site,still remain exposed to elements.


Sea Venom XG629

Sea Prince WM735/G-RACA

Canberra T.4 WT483



Meteor WL332:
Service History
dd Anthorn 18/04/52 - Ford Station Flight 07/05/52 "FD/905" - 806 NAS Brawdy 02/03/53 - Ford Station Flight 23/04/53 "FD/905" - 781 NAS Lee-on-Solent 10/07/53 - Airwork Jet Conversion Unit St Davids 25/09/53 "BY/418" - accident at St Davids 05/04/54 - Flight Refuelling Tarrant Rushton 17/05/54 for Cat.4 repair - AHU Lossiemouth 21/09/54 - Lossiemouth Stn Flt 21/06/55 "LM/905", "LM/935" - Flight Refuelling Tarrant Rushton 01/02/57 for Cat.4 recon - AHU Lossiemouth 15/05/57 - Airwork St Davids 27/05/57 "BY008" - AHU Lossiemouth 22/10/57 - AHU Hal Far 21/02/58 - 728 NAS Hal Far 27/03/58 "HF/571" - stbd u/c failed to lower and a/c swung to stbd after landing 18/05/60 - ARS Hal Far 20/05/60 for repair - 728 NAS Hal Far 28/10/61 "HF/571" - electrical failure and wheels-up landing 27/04/62 - NARIU Lee-on-Solent 21/09/62 - RNAY Fleetlands 22/10/62 - NARIU Lee-on-Solent 20/11/62 - 728 NAS Hal Far 11/12/62 "HF/571", "HF/860" - stbd tyre burst on landing 29/11/66 - shipped to UK - 5 MU Kemble 27/04/67 - Airwork FRU Hurn 03/06/67 "860" - sold to Moston Technical College, Woodford 12/02/69 - SoC RN 11/03/69 - sold to The Aeroplane Collection 74 - Royal Umpire Museum, Croston, Lancs 29/06/74 - to WAM by 08/77 on loan from The Aeroplane Collection - coded "-/888" - to Gordon Yates 03/90 and displayed at the Stratford Aircraft Collection, Long Marston, Warks - Collection disbanded c.91 - to display with the Jet Aircraft Preservation Group at the same location - current


Dragonfly WG718:
Service History
c/n W/H/49 - Fleetlands - Culdrose School of Aircraft Handling Class II instructional airframe A2531 18/02/65, used by Air Command Driving School - downgraded to Class III 25/01/68 - allocated to FAA Museum 08/70 - to Yeovilton 24/02/71, used as a spares source for WG719, in a derelict state by 07/72 - to WAM 13/06/79 by road - sometime repainted as "-/934" - to Stratford Aircraft Collection, Long Marston, Warks by late 92 - to Dragonfly Restoration Project, Elvington, N Yorkshire 08/07/95

how sad to see a vampire (or is it a sea venom?) and shackleton in such a state.

im not surprised with the shackleton, they are a good source of RR griffon engines for spitfire rebuilds. 1 derelict plane= 4 reasonably good engines for spits.

@1.25-1.5£m per spit it makes economic sense, sad though it is.

there is still an airworthy shackleton, based in canada/south africa, vids here:



YouTube - Avro Shackleton


YouTube - Shackleton WR982 Anniversary engine run


YouTube - Avro Shackleton WR963 at Cosford 1991




.......bring back the contrarotating prop!

Originally Posted by Coumarin

how sad to see a vampire (or is it a sea venom?) and shackleton in such a state.

Its a Sea Venom.That particular aircraft found a new home at Stone,Staffs.
A few more from summer time 1993.




The same shackleton while in use as an Instructional aircraft at RAF Cosford.
Avro 696 Shackleton MR3/3, 8103M, Royal Air Force

The sea venom while on display at the now long defunct Torbay aircraft museum.
De Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom FAW22, XG629, Torbay Aircraft Museum