After more than a decade of conservation efforts, one of only two surviving Second World War-era Wellington bombers has been restored to its former glory - and is finally available for the public to see in Shropshire.
Curator Tom Hopkins , conservation centre manager Darren Priday and the Wellington bomberof a new Bomber Command exhibition opening this month at the RAF Museum.
Tom said: “Designed by Barnes Wallis, who designed the bouncing bomb, it has a geodetic airframe structure, which is this overlapping series of diamonds arranged in a spiral to form the fuselage and the wings. Tom explained: “From that point, we see Wellington’s withdrawal into secondary loads, and that’s when the Wellington shone again. It was very versatile and very capable.”
After almost 40 years on display at the Museum’s site in London, the aircraft was transported by road to Cosford’s Conservation Centre in July 2010. The restoration effort required a complete replacement of the bomber’s fragile Irish linen outer skin, which covered the geodetic aluminium structure.Conservation Centre manager Darren Priday explained: “Across the UK there’s maybe around 10 people who still have the skill to do this. It’s a very unique, olden-day skill that we are very lucky to still have within the museum with our surface finish technician, Clive Roberts.
The aluminium frame was treated for corrosion, and after Clive was done replacing the fabric, about a dozen layers of dope were applied to the craft. Dope, a mixture of cellulose dissolved in nitric acid, solidifies and tautens the fabric over the airframe.Keen to avoid a situation similar to Trigger’s well-maintained broom, the team worked hard to keep as much of the original plane as possible.
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