In the RAF Registers, a number of Liberators have been shown as damaged beyond repair because the nose wheel collapsed.
This might seem an inadequate cause since undercarriage legs often collapsed without doing major damage and the aircraft was soon jacked up, towed off and repaired.
The sort of damage done by a nose wheel collapse in a Liberator is shown here and can be seen to be major. A factor was the construction of the deep nose on this type which was relatively unobstructed. This allowed a wayward nose wheel to penetrate into the navigator's space, taking most of the floor with it. The stress on the remainder of the fuselage distorted the airframe and with repair facilities stretched to the limit, major rebuilding jobs were unproductive. The damaged airframes were stripped for spares to keep other Liberators in the air.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Consolidated B-24 Liberator - СШАUSA - 1939

An early Gannet AS.1 over the Needles at the western tip of the Isle of Wight

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Fairey Gannet - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1949

The photograph comes from Barry Moores and was taken in mid-1956 on the edge of a gravel pit a few miles north of Lincoln. It is the remains of Manchester L7420 which was struck off charge on 19 November 1943 by No.1660 CU at Swinderby. Soon after he took the photo, the relic disappeared and it was rumoured that the Americans took it to Sturgate. How it got to the state it was in and what subsequently happened to it is not known and any information would be welcome. Could someone be re-building a Manchester for the Confederate Air Force?

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: Avro Manchester / Type 679 - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1939

The Mosquito FB.6s of No.75 Squadron RNZAF are on review at Ohakea in 1949.

Самолёты на фотографии: Aircrafts on the photo: De Havilland Mosquito F - ВеликобританияUnited Kingdom - 1941