We are urgently seeking volunteers to help rebuild the Hurricane wings and the Fury aircraft, with or without experience as training will be given.
We also need financial help to keep the restoration going in these challenging times. If you can spare a few ££££, it will make all the difference to the Society’s future.
When the Hurricane and Fury restoration is complete, approximately 7 years, we have been negotiating with the CEO (Alan Winn) and the Committee at the Brooklands Museum to have these aircraft in the CBFS/Rogers Gallery in a new hangar which has been built on the site. It gives me the reassurance that the aircraft will be displayed in a manner that we have negotiated together with other criteria that has been discussed. It makes me happy that, at last, we have found an organization that is true to their word and so helpful in the process in getting us forward, unlike other premier museums that are full of hot air. As far as we are concerned, the Brooklands Museum and CBFS have made a contract – regardless of change of management – and agreed by Brooklands to have these displayed upon completion.
CBFS Open Day 2024
We will be opening our facility to visitors on Sunday 25 August 2024 between 10.00am and 5.00pm in conjunction with the Little Gransden Car and Air Show for Children in Need. There will also be military vehicles, classic cars and vintage aircraft flying throughout the day. There will be an information and museum section dedicated to 85 and 43 Squadrons together with other audio visuals. Please telephone Paul Rogers on 07703 832099 or alternatively complete the form on our contact page to book your visit whether a group or an individual. Booking is necessary to enable proper co-ordination for this event. Tickets will also be available on the day from the CBFS marquee.
These vehicles are available for parties, weddings, filming, corporate events, hen and stag parties, school proms, any promotional work etc.
The jeep is a M-38 Ford Willy full restored to working condition and insured. The interior is fully fitted out with working radio, with M1 and M50.
2023
2022
Above photo of Paddy at 103, reminiscing about his younger self at Debden in Essex, circa. 1940. We are doing a tribute to him with a fully fitted out Hurricane cockpit of the aircraft he flew with 85 Squadron – VYX.
Volunteers from the Brooklands Museum will be returning to assist on the Hurricane and Fury projects during October and beyond.
Work continues on the Fury – we have just finished the main planes and centre section wing. We have started to fit the ribs and the long distance fuel tank in the centre section. We are in the process of fitting the main fuel tank in the fuselage, together with the header tank. We are continuing to fit the wing ribs on to the main planes.
Recently fitted the Fury firewall and associated brackets.
Also finished the Merlin II (1938) as a display engine:
For the Hurricane, we have finished the gun bays on the wings plus a 51 series camera on the left hand side wing with original gun port covers. We have also fitted the outriggers, wing tips and outer flaps. We have just started to complete the extra trailing edge, nearer the centre section of the wing and also starting to produce the box sections that hold the flap on.
Just recently we have finished and fitted the tail plane, elevators, rudder and rear quarter panel in the fuselage, under the tail plane. Our next job is to fit all the control wires which have been made, ready for fitting.
The Paddy Hemingway cockpit section is three-quarters finished and will be displayed at one of our open days.
2021
Just recently we have fitted a tail plane, elevators, rudder on to the Hurricane framework with locating pins for tail plane to fuselage. We are now in the process of fitting the all original cover plates on the tail plane ribs and outer panel for the tail plane tip. We still have yet to make the wooden hinge covers.
The Hurricane has been moved over so that we can work on the wing tips. The Merlin II is coming along nicely which will mean we will have four engines on display.
We have found a company that will CNC the wooden formers for the Fury wings. Peter and Gist are in the process of making the wing sheer plates. All the struts have been made and will soon be fitting the adjusters. The main single fuse board on the right-hand side near the seat has been fitted. The Fury rudder is on permanently.
This year there should be an article about Paddy Hemingway (Battle of France and Battle of Britain pilot) in the national press.
Almost finished the Hurricane cockpit P3408 which is a tribute to Paddy Hemingway (85 Squadron). My next job is to make aluminium cockpit side panels and place it on the trolley, ready to be moved to the main hangar at Little Gransden.
The left- and right-hand Hurricane wings are taking shape, with the wing tip, outriggers, and main outer flaps. Tim and Peter have nearly finished both gun bays – all original parts.
2020
This year has been financially difficult and delayed progress in operations.
Just recently, we have been contacted by Brian Hemingway who is helping us with promotion of the 85 Squadron Hurricane and national media attention.
We have been working on the port wing internal rib work and laying out the wing tip. The aerolons for the wings are almost complete and also the set of drum drives for the control wires. The reserve tank for the Fury is finished, ready to be fitted. The main wing fuel tanks are in the process of being made. Most of the wing spars for the Fury are now complete. The centre section spars will be worked on in the near future The tail plane for the Fury is three-quarters finished.
While the COVID-19 lock down is in place, Paul has been working in isolation on a new Hurricane late Mark I cockpit, which will include canopy, instrument set, control column, wooden dog kennel and framework on a mobile support. This cockpit is dedicated to Paddy Hemingway P3408. This will be ready for visitors to sit in the cockpit and take pictures as an added attraction for the Open Day in 2021.
2019
This has been another bumper year for volunteers as fourteen have signed up to work on both aircraft.
We would like to thank Mark Langley at Cambridge Roof Exchange for his excellent workmanship and professionalism on the new roof at Little Gransden, despite the lack of support from the owners to resolve the leaking roof. We would highly recommend Mark and his team for this type of work. Well done chaps.
We have made good progress on the right-hand side wing of the Hurricane, with most of the internal linking spars nearly finished. The tail plane and elevators are finished, ready to be fitted when we move the aircraft around. We have also made the control wire fair leads section which holds the main flap control to the wings.
The two main wing flaps are nearly completed, new ribs and leading edge replaced – one of which is 98% original. The Fury right-hand side wing is nearly finished and we are progressing on the left-hand side and after that, the centre section wing.
The reserve fuel tank for the Fury is almost finished, it just needs painting and fitting into the fuselage. In the next few weeks we will be making in-roads to the main fuel tanks for the Fury. We will also be removing the engine frame and fitting the firewall.
2018
As 2018 draws to a close, we have finished the Hurricane tail plane; all wing spars for the Fury bi-plane; rudder for bi-plane; seat adjuster; secondary panel; guns and gun mounts; instrument panel; undercarriage leg bracing wires; fuselage bracing wires; radiator and brackets; and basic engine cowlings.
We have also made progress on the main wing bridge construction plus the main fuel tanks and the oil tank.
On the Hurricane we have fitted the right-hand side main wing spars and fitting out the cross brace spars. The wing tips have now been rolled and the wing nosing ribs have been completed both sides. The remainder of the instruments have been cleaned and re-faced ready to be fitted in 2019. A de-icer tank and associated fittings has also been completed together with the hydraulic box selector and control rods. The main 28 gallon fuel tank has now been fitted permanently as well as the main side and front screens with metal surround.
Paul will continue his lectures throughout 2019.
Membership steadily increases throughout 2018. We have now completed the tail plane and the wheel house assembly on the Hurricane which will be fitted in due course. The running boards are now being permanently fitted. The right wing has now been fitted and the inter-spars are now being made. The last cockpit cowling panel and landing lamp assemblies are in the final stages of completion.
As you can see by the images below, the reserve tank and early front and side screen with support brackets have been fitted to the Hurricane along with the top A2 panel and original header tank.
The Fury is progressing nicely. We’ve just made up the two engine side cowlings and also top of the nosing cover. All the bracing wires and anti-vibration pads are in place as is the rudder and wiring. The Kestrel engine is finished and ready to be fitted in the engine bay. Most of the bottom and top wing spars are now ready to be fitted and the wing bridge to be assembled.
On the 21 July, a party of volunteers from CBFS visited the Brooklands Museum and found it very interesting. They were given a talk on the history of the Brooklands Hurricane and the Director General of CBFS was treated to a private inspection of the whole site by Andy. However, we would like to thank David and Steve for their hospitality, however we were disappointed not to meet the management of the museum.
2017
The Hawker Fury is now in place and was on display at our Open Day in August. We have just recently refitted the instrument panel into the cockpit. This is a standard RAF instrument panel for the bi-plane. We have just fitted the primer pump and the firewall is nearly finished, awaiting fitting. The radiator has now been fitted and a rudder has been finished. Skinning of the front engine cowls and nosing are in progress. The bracing wires and anti-vibration washer are in the process of being fitted. The seat has now been permanently fitted with the adjuster. The front and rear gun mounts have now been completed, along with the associated half-moon panel. Most of the wing spars have been put together.
The wheel house panels and assemblies are almost finished and are ready to be fitted.
Lecture time is almost upon us with 3 lectures during 2018.
We have made steady progress on the control tube for the Hurricane. Most of the control wires, plus adjusters, have been made for the Fury and the Hurricane. All fuel tanks are now finished for the Hurricane and covered in the fabric, ready to be fitted.
All of the fair lead and block mounting plates for the control wires are almost complete. Wing spars for the other wing are now in place. the complete tail plane, with elevators, is nearly finished, ready to be fitted. The radiator cowling has also been finished. We have just taken delivery of the all-in-one side and front screen. The front screen and surrounding assembly is nearly complete. The Kestrel engine is also finished ready to be fitted in the engine frame. The front windscreen and assembly has been painted and permanently fitted on the Hurricane. The hydraulic selector box and control arms are now fitted. The hydraulic pump and brackets are ready to be fitted, along with the de-icer box and brackets (all original).
2014
With reference to the new book, Hurricane Survivors (in which we are included) it is rather inaccurate.
Membership is on the increase, which is encouraging.
The rudder is now complete and ready to be fitted.
We are in the process of finishing off the control wires and have also finished the blast tubes for the brownings. We are in the process of making nosing ribs for the wing.
We will soon be fitting the remaining three instruments in the instrument panel which will make that complete. The wheel house panel work is nearing completion. The oil tank and adjacent fillet panel has now been fitted. We are hoping to extend the workshop size so that we can work on the wings properly.
The Artists Guild visited the workshop in June along with other
organizations throughout the year.
We have just started to restore the three tail planes and also removing the elevator control tubes/ribs ready to refurbish the whole assembly.
The radiator scoop has now been finished and ready for fitting to the brackets.
The right-hand side quarter panels and fillet panels plus oil tank nosing, tank cover and front clips are now in place. All the woodwork on the Hurricane is now completed and painted.
The main early windscreen and surrounding clips/stays are now on the way to be fitted (see photo on workshop page).
Blast tubes for the replica brownings are also ready to be fitted.
We are also carrying on with the last remaining cockpit cowlings which we are making.
Membership has continued to grow this year which is very encouraging. The 2014 AGM will take place at the end of November.
Progress on the Hawker Fury continues as we have nearly finished the engine frame. Most of the woodwork is now complete apart from the two hatches which cover the radio equipment. The rear inspection panel is fitted around with the fasteners and we are now making inroads with the rudder assembly. We will shortly be refitting the instrument panel complete with the appropriate instruments. The engine for the bi-plane is near completion and will be fitted in the summer of 2016. We also have the Watts propellor for the bi-plane and the attachment assembly.
The Watts propellor hub has now been delivered ready for mounting with the engine later on. The Hurricane will be moved round slightly so we can accommodate the right-hand side wing assembly, ready for the interspar to be fitted.
2013
We had a good attendance at the AGM in November 2013. Membership is on the increase again with several new younger members.
In the November 2013 issue of FlyPast there was a small update on our Hawker Fury project. Most of the woodwork is now finished, the rear fin has been fitted and the rear inspection hatch/surround is nearing completion. Our engine frame is now ready to assemble and instrument panel is now being fitted out with instruments and labels. Control grip and control mechanism will be fitted along with cable connections in due course.
We are making progress in finishing off the Kestrel engine. We are in the process of fitting the RT hatches. The fin is now in place plus the rear inspection hatches. The engine frame is three-quarters finished.
We have been concentrating on the main centre section fuel tanks – 33 gallon. These are now ready to be covered in fabric. We are now positioning the tank mounts onto the main framework. You will see these in the new pictures on the workshop pages.
We are now firming up the cowling rails and fasteners for the panels to be secured to.
One of our new members has started to make the wheel house panel work for under the centre section.
It was nice to see that we often get war time veterans visiting us. They are always full of interesting and historical facts about their time in the Royal Air Force (see picture left). He flew L1639 across London to another squadron.
Our 2013 Open Day was another complete success. I would especially like to thank Dick and Maureen and their friends for their support and energy in selling the Open Day tickets throughout the day. Many thanks to all the other volunteers that worked on the day and behind the scenes in preparation for the event. A personal thanks to all the people that worked in the CBFS marquee – Scott, Steve, Simon and his wife, Phil and Sonia.
We have been working on the nose oil tank which is now on its way to being fitted.
We have had some young University members that are proving very valuable to the project.
The Griffon engine – note the new rocker cover, freshly painted and a new set of older style exhausts with the engine mount alongside.
Getting back to the Merlin for the Hurricane, this will go in to Vintec at Little Gransden to have its checks done properly and also test the engine in a running condition, ready to put into the aircraft. Paul at Vintec is taking on this project for us.
Recently we have been refurbishing the port and starboard 33 gallon wing tanks, ready for covering in the sealing sheets followed by labelling and fabric. The tanks are now ready to be labelled and fitted into the centre section.
One or two other cockpit panels and the rolled quarter panel are in the process of being made.
This is the type of aircraft that Townsend’s flew at 43 Squadron during the 1930s.
Thomas Gower Studios has kindly painted a typical set of pictures of 85 Squadron Battle of France scenes at Seclan, Abbeyville and Lille which are available on our Open Day and other events throughout. These are brilliant paintings and will be available as a limited edition to help fund our restoration work.
PLEASE NOTE: Paul can be contacted at the Workshop on 07703 832099.
Membership and Constitution
Cambridge Bomber and Fighter Society (CBFS) was formed by several aviation enthusiasts. Its aim is to restore and perpetuate the advancement of aviation preservation in the UK. We are mainly concerned with fighter aircraft at present: the rebuild of our very early Hurricane and Fury will be a tribute to 85 and 43 Squadrons and especially to Squadron Leader Peter Townsend. We are currently looking for volunteers (male or female) with or without mechanical/ engineering backgrounds (great enthusiasm is all that’s needed), to assist with restoring and refinishing components.
We have two workshops – one at Little Gransden, the other in the Warboys area. Work on both the Hurricane and Fury takes place in either workshop.
In each workshop, our Constitution is displayed concerning policy and membership.
Aviation Heritage UK
Mr Brian Dixon, Membership Secretary, Tel: 0191 259 9800
85 Squadron Association
Peter Randell, Secretary
Membership to Cambridge Bomber and Fighter Society is available to any individual with a keen interest in aviation (and who doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty)!