£3.5m plan a memorial to pilot shot down over Germany
APPEAL: FAMILY RETURNING LANCASTER BOMBER TO SKIES
A HISTORIC bomber considered one of the most famous aircraft Britain has ever produced is being restored with the aim of putting it back in the air.
The Lancaster – called Just Jane – is undergoing a mammoth restoration which involves taking the aircraft almost to pieces, checking every component and then putting it back together again.
Costing around £3.5m, the project’s aim is to have the Avro NX611 taking to the skies again by 2020.
Andrew Panton, who runs the East Kirkby Aviation Centre in Lincolnshire, said the aim is to see Just Jane fly again to pay tribute to Second World War pilots – including Christopher Panton, who was shot down on a bombing raid
It’s important work for the memory of Bomber Command. Andrew Panton, who runs the aviation centre where the bomber is being restored.
in Nuremburg, Germany, in March 1944.
Christopher’s brothers, Fred and Harold, saw Just Jane for sale and bought it as a memorial to their brother and the endeavours of Bomber Command. They set up the museum in 1988.
Andrew, Fred’s grandson, said: “The work is quite easy in the grand scheme of things, it’s quite standard stuff – it’s just having the knowledge to do it.
“It’s important work for that aircraft, and for the memory of Bomber Command, and the nation.”
A fundraising club has also been set up for people wishing to make a regular donation towards the restoration. The plane was built by Austin Motors in Longbridge near Birmingham in April 1945 and was due to become part of the RAF’s Tiger Force in the Far East.
The surrender of Japan meant Just Jane did not see service and went on to be used by the French Naval Air Arm.