Westland Lysander
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SS Thistlegorm was sunk in 1941 and contains a number of aircraft parts (see below). Some of the are Westland Lysander parts. The Westland Lysander was used by RAF to support the 8th army. A STOL aircraft - due in part to its unusual wing design - it was the perfect “spy” plane, used to pick up and drop agents behind enemy lines. Now, all these parts lie submerged in the Red Sea.

Westland Lysander wing
Westland Lysander wing ribs

Leading edge of wing - covered in aluminium - rest of wing originally covered in fabric as in Lysander

Westland Lysander wingWestland Lysander wing structure

Distinctive shape of leading edge of Westland Lysander - looking back towards wing root.

Interior of wings stacked on top of each other - showing tubular structure of Lysander wing.

View of showing internal structure of part of one wing - again typical of Lysander

Arco Lysander (5)

Internal structure of Aircraft Restoration Company’s Lysander at Duxford..

Arco Lysander (2)

Many thanks to the Aircraft Restoration Company engineers who helped me with these identifications, especially Colin, Mike and Smudge.

Thanks also to the specialist at the Royal Air Force Museum, London who provided the extracts from the Lysander’s technical manual that helped to confirm the identification of these aircraft parts.