Source : Paul McTaggart (News & Star)
A CUMBRIAN museum has launched a fundraising appeal to help rescue and preserve one of the last surviving RAF transport aircraft of its kind.
The Solway Aviation Museum, near Carlisle, hopes to raise £60,000 to add the Blackburn Beverley XB259 to its fleet.
If successful, the plans will see Beverley XP259 dismantled and transported from its present location at Fort Paull, Hull, to Carlisle Airport to join the museum’s vast collection of historic aircraft – including the enormous Avro Vulcan XJ823.
The idea entails disassembling the Beverley XP259, transporting its parts, and reassembling them at the museum – all overseen by a seasoned team of museum volunteers.
The aircraft is the last of the original 49 that were built.
Previously, concerns loomed over the possibility of failing to secure a buyer, leading to the potential dismantling of the cargo plane, boasting a remarkable 162ft wingspan, for scrap. Such an outcome would mark a poignant milestone, with it becoming the first post-war British aircraft with no surviving examples.
The appeal has been launched to help fund the lifting and transport costs for the huge sections of aircraft, as well as ground preparation of the new site.
This is a last-gasp rescue mission for the Beverley
Dougie Kerr
Museum chairman, Dougie Kerr said: “This is a last-gasp rescue mission for the Beverley, and once it is here it will form an important part of our collection of iconic British-made aircraft.
“Blackburn Beverley XP259 has faced an uncertain future since the closure of the small museum at Fort Paull in 2020.
“It was saved from the scrap man by a private individual, but the road towards finding it a new permanent home has proved difficult.
“With uncertainties continuing, the intervention by Solway Aviation Museum has at last provided an opportunity to see the Beverley saved as part of Britain’s heritage,” he said.
When it first entered the service in 1955 it was the RAF’s biggest plane and was designed for carrying bulk loads and operating from rough runways or dirt strips.
Those eager to share in the rescue mission can donate to the museum’s Blackburn Beverley XB259 JustGiving donation page.