"Trailering" airplanes ...

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7815

The British Queen Mary trailers were a British semi-trailer combination designed for the carriage and recovery of aircraft. The trailer was made by Tasker Trailers of Andover, with Bedford or Crossley Motors tractors.

An RAF lorry with a Tasker Queen Mary trailer attached.

Queen Mary trailer carrying a dismantled Spitfire.

A Tasker Queen Mary trailer carrying an RAF Wellington fuselage.

Tasker Queen Mary trailer carrying a dismantled P-38.

Recovering an RAF Spitfire. Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7815

And some other "funky" trailer designs.

Recovering an RAAF P-40.

This one's called an "Autocar trailer" I believe.

Anyone know what this setup is? Looks like a load of B-29 props.

Snake45 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:49 pm **Posts:** 864

Put a giant red bow on that bubbletop Spit and park that trailer in my driveway this Christmas, please. Thanks! :wink:

AG pilot · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:13 am **Posts:** 553

Looks like a Wirraway behind the tail of the P-40.

Hooligan2 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:11 am

I was in a pub in Grantham (UK) a few years ago; there was a lovely pic on the wall of an RAF bomber fuselage (Whitley or a Wellington as I recall) being manoeuvred through the town square on a Queen Mary.

(Saw a documentary on the Airbus A380 a few years ago - the wings are built in the UK at Chester and, being too big to be flown in the Belugas, are transported by barge down the River Dee when the tide is out to fit under several bridges, towed to somewhere along the western French coast (Bordeaux or Biarritz?), then taken by road to Toulouse where the big bus is assembled. Somewhere along those French roads they have to be squeezed through a small village and positioning has to pretty much inch perfect to get past the buildings! Alas no more as the last few are being completed as production comes to an end.)

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1594

Hooligan2 wrote:

(Saw a documentary on the Airbus A380 a few years ago - the wings are built in the UK at Chester and, being too big to be flown in the Belugas, are transported by barge down the River Dee when the tide is out to fit under several bridges, towed to somewhere along the western French coast (Bordeaux or Biarritz?), then taken by road to Toulouse where the big bus is assembled. Somewhere along those French roads they have to be squeezed through a small village and positioning has to pretty much inch perfect to get past the buildings! Alas no more as the last few are being completed as production comes to an end.)

Last one delivered a couple of weeks ago

junkman9096 · **Joined:** Mon Aug 16, 2010 11:44 pm **Posts:** 255

Great to fly in, did it once from Paris (CDG) to San Francisco. I guess they weren't so much fun to operate.

JohnB · **Posted:** Fri Dec 24, 2021 3:53 pm

Judging by the look of the tractor pulling the trailer with the bubble top Spitfire, I would guess that shot (#5) is a more recent photo....'50-70s.

Perhaps a BoBMF aircraft being taken somewhere for service or more likely, a museum example being taken to a new home.

quemerford · **Joined:** Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:19 pm **Posts:** 1594

Many thanks for posting Mark, and many thanks for all your awesome posts in 2021. Best wishes for 2022 and keep 'em coming!

L-188 · **Joined:** Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:20 am **Posts:** 164

Someone more computer savvy than me should colorize some of those pic's perhaps photo shop a contemporary background and get some tongues wagging about the heretofore unknown Spit rebuild, or the that Wellington restoration.......

Hooligan2 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2021 1:26 pm

JohnB wrote:

Judging by the look of the tractor pulling the trailer with the bubble top Spitfire, I would guess that shot (#5) is a more recent photo....'50-70s.

Perhaps a BoBMF aircraft being taken somewhere for service or more likely, a museum example being taken to a new home.

Might be one of the two RAF Exhibition Flight Spitfire XVIs which used to be trailered to events - I never saw them enroute so can't say if the Queen Mary pictured is typical of how they were moved!. They ended up with BBMF and TE311 now flies again - the other one was gutted for airworthy parts and the remains sold for private restoration. I gather she is with Airframe Assemblies and in the queue for rebuild.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7815

More recent "trailering" ....

These pics were taken recently from the wrap ups of the Hanks / Spielberg "Masters of the Air" production. These are a couple of the B-17's on flatbeds near Brome, Suffolk.
For those who do do Facebook. Link here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/873968469854049/media

Cubs2jets · **Joined:** Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:12 am **Posts:** 311

135 missions? Must be a record and the reason she looks so beat up!

C2j

Rick65 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:37 pm

My favourite trailer
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=66248&p=600319#p600319

Kyleb · **Posted:** Sun Feb 06, 2022 9:51 am

What is the history of that airframe? It is beaten to pieces and appears to be assembled with pop rivets.

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"Trailering" airplanes ...

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