After over thirty
years of collecting these V Bomber Cockpits and parts it has
been reluctantly decided now is the time for them to find them a
new home.
It was always felt
that these iconic cockpits should be displayed together as a
Cold War Tribute to these great aircraft and that is why we
sought to find examples worthy of restoration and display and
source the additional parts and equipment in order to make it
possible to make their restoration as complete and accurate as
possible, it is thought that ambition has been achieved.
We are therefore
inviting expressions of interest from organisations and
individuals that can demonstrate they have the necessary
resources to purchase and display this rare and unique
collection of all three V Bombers in one single collection. Some
Museums may have one cockpit or even parts of another, it is
however believed that this is the only opportunity where
substantially complete cockpits of all three types may be
acquired together making a readily available tribute to all
three types.
It has cost a
substantial amount to gather these cockpits and parts and it is
clear to see how much individual items command when offered for
sale. We would therefore invite indicative offers for these
cockpits but they need to be realistic and consider the value of
the cockpits and the parts represented here. Items such as
Controls, instruments, panels, ejection seats etc all command a
significant price when offered individually, this needs to be
recognised when considering potential offers.
The ultimate ambition
would be to see those who served on them, maintained them or
even those who just love them, could purchase them as a tribute
to the V Force, its aircraft and crews and then display them
together so that others may enjoy them. We were never in a
position to have them on public display the aim was only to
secure them and gather all that was required to make their
restoration and future display a real possibility.
It is hoped that
there may be an organisation or an individual who shares the
same vision of establishing a tribute to all three V Bomber
types will purchase them for display as a tribute to the people
who designed, built, maintained and flew these truly iconic
aircraft during their service with the Royal Air Force.
