Greetings to all our Halifax Project members, donors, and supporters. A hectic last few weeks with many “irons in the fire” — as we recover and restore all we can for our Halifax bomber for our headquarters, the Bomber Command Museum of Canada (BCMC).

We had some good fortune in Sweden where SCSC and River Thames Association (RTA), our Divers and tug boat team , were contacted by an American company tasked with looking for a missing B-17 in the Baltic Sea.

Our Swedish-Danish team helped in the successful search for the B-17 with high tech equipment and as a return favour the high tech equipment was loaned at no cost for the Halifax HR871 location. We got a survey with an AUV robotic sonar sub over the entire site to enhance the search for any more parts of HR871 still laying in the sand. This special survey is being processed soon to help us with future dives on HR871 to find even more parts. Standby to hear more on these developments for our Sweden Halifax.— Well done SCSC and RTA!

Also, in my last report on May 1, I told you about how we urgently needed to ship 2 outer wings, propellers, cowlings, rudders, rear fuselage, landing gear and tail units we have acquired across the ocean to 2 locations in Canada.

One is BCMC in Nanton, Alberta (engines, cowlings, and propellers), and the other is the Halifax “REBUILDSHOP” in Arnprior Airport (wings, rudders, tail unit) in Ontario.

I have been told by the RCAF HQ that the C-17 planned to haul our 2 outer wings from the UK to Trenton, Ontario is in the final planning stages and we should hear from them soon in the coming weeks.

Thanks to “POTTERS PLANT HIRE” in Thirsk, Yorkshire we have a lorry – big rig – transport company sponsor to haul and donate the cost of getting our 2 wings from Thirsk to RAF Brize Norton. THANK YOU Giles Potter and company! 

QUESTION: Once the outer wings arrive at RCAF Trenton, HOW will we transport the 2 wings in cradles – each cradle is 25 feet long, 10 feet high and weighs 2,500 pounds – and how much will it cost to get both of them 150 miles to our REBUILDSHOP?? I will let you know the cost but I need you to understand that this giant wing transport is NOT “Bob’s your Uncle” and I figure several thousand dollars minimum!

Do you want us to have wings for our Halifax!!? That is the pressing question and we will rely on you on how to help and give us that answer with your support.

Why do we need these 2 wings so soon? Well look at the wing rebuild progress of Scott at Knox Tech. in Arnprior – see the photos of the exact copies of rear wing ribs built and added by Scott to finish the rear wing and then see them installed on the center wing.

NOTE above, on the wing photo the GREEN arrow on the top of the wing pointing to my H57RC hat — so you understand the scale of just how big – thick the center wing is.

The NEW propeller blades for our Hercules-engined Halifax are being shipped over in crates – 3 blades at time, the 3 blades alone are a total of 250 pounds + crate = 370 pounds! We still have another 7 blades still in the UK.

(BTW – I found another set of NEW Halifax blades in a crate north of London – still dealing on that ! )

See photo below, of 3 NEW Halifax propeller blades in a crate, in the van, going to Heathrow on May 20. Note, on the right,  the Halifax rear wing flap section I picked up for the REBUILDSHOP.

Then see them above, just today in Nanton, with all components ready to assemble on the prop stand with the prop dome and hub, on the left, waiting for those little darlings to join them. More later as we begin assembly of our first Halifax propeller units. ( Lanc props are dime-a-dozen compared to the rarity of these Halifax type blades and hubs)

So with all the pressing and pending Halifax parts crating-shipping-transporting, I once again travelled to the UK from May 11 to 21 to prepare all the parts we have for shipment over this summer to Canada.

I did NOT do this lightly, spending over $200/day with hotels and hire van, driving 6 to 8 hours per day, to pick-up, move parts, crate parts, and deliver to the Air Canada air cargo office at Heathrow. So by the time I finished this recent trip I had spent almost $3,000. to crate, prepare and launch this  shipment of 3 Halifax blades and smaller Halifax parts.

And we only have ANOTHER 3 crates (will be around 2,100 pounds of Halifax parts), later this summer in July and Sept. to ship back to Canada!!

I must shout a “bravo” to UK Air Canada Air Cargo Manager Dan Osborne and his staff for the AC support and  sponsorship of shipping our crates of historic aircraft parts to Canada as he is a keen historian and knows how valuable and important these parts are to all of us.

So all the other Halifax parts stored in the UK must soon come to Canada as they are vital to the continued rebuild of the Halifax.

So see ABOVE the photo of Halifax parts, in the UK, going to the REBUILDSHOP later this summer.

# 1. lower rear Halifax fuselage 9 feet long with tailwheel axle still in situ – see RED dots showing where the rear turret cupola bolts to the rear fuselage – we already have a complete Boulton- Paul tail turret in Nanton – being rebuilt as we speak.

# 2.  Halifax center horizontal stabilizer (14 feet long including main spar) that bolts to rear fuselage – going to REBUILDSHOP in July.

# 3.  LEFT partial rudder for Halifax to ship in July, to add to left rudder section from Sweden, already stored at Knox Tech “REBUILDSHOP”.

Another accolade must be directed at HUGO LOUDON at Henley-on-Thames for his great support of transporting all our Halifax parts from Holland to the UK with his truck and trailer, with Hugo donating storage for all these Halifax parts above, at his home. Thank you sir.

Finally, to review, our finances are ok but not great, as donations have been slow but have Not stopped, thank goodness.

Remember, that $167, 000 we have raised at Fundrazr is over 8 years of operation, so we are averaging only $20K per year of charity donations for operations including finding, gathering, shipping, rebuilding, and restoring a big 4 engined heavy bomber.

It is a champagne idea on a beer budget and we are making it happen with your support. How many other bomber rebuild charities are finding engines, propellers, wings and super rare parts that others say do NOT exist??

Halifax 57 Rescue is doing just that!

We are doing it for all our Bomber Boys who ever strapped on a Halifax and went to war. Most spent their entire lives, literally, protecting our Freedoms. It is the least we can do to spend our time and money, perhaps over months and years, building them a 65,000 pound glorious aluminium sword that they flew, as a tribute to their lives, which were so short for so many thousands of them.

So please support us, DONATE NOW, to keep the Halifax dream going.

Every day brings more rewards for our Halifax project, faith and perseverance are those vital common denominators in our success, so let us “press on regardless …”, whatever it takes!

WE LEAVE NO HALIFAX BEHIND.

Regards, KK