Fairey Firefly remains on Meikle Bin
Last Sunday I went for a walk in the Campsie Fells, starting just north of Queenzieburn and walking directly up the escarpment of the Kilsyth Hiils, going via the Birkenburn Reservoir towards the 570m summit of Meikle Bin. It was a gloomy day and the moorland of the Campsie Fells is a pretty desolate and featureless place, even though there are views towards the centre of Glasgow from the high ground.
My route took me past the site of two air wrecks; a civilian Percival Prentice that crashed on the Kilsyth Hills escarpment in 1961 (see my photos of this wreck site on my website here), and a Royal Navy Fairey Firefly that crashed on the summit of Meikle Bin in 1950 (see my photos of this wreck site on my website site here). There are only a few pieces of each aircraft left at each site but they are unusual in being so close to urban areas.
James
There is more wreckage of this plane on the other side of the hill behind the trees in the valley below, between Meikle Bin and Little Bin little looking north towards reservoir
Jamie
There was also a light aircraft crash in 1990 close to this area. 2 men killed near to Lurg farm.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11942244.two-die-as-plane-hits-hill-summit/
Eddie
Interesting James, I’ll have to go back to Meikle Bin and see if I can find this other wreckage – do you have a grid reference for it?
Eddie
On a visit to Meikle Bin today (28th May 2011) I discovered the wreckage mentioned in the preceding comments – see my web page about this wreck site:
http://www.edwardboyle.com/wreck29.html
barry
there are several aircraft part scattered all over the place, i have found undercarraige flaps, doors, light aircraft port windows, put this into google maps 56.010283, -4.148862 this entire area has scattered parts, the trees also have some scattered remains.
James Gracie
tMeikle Bin visited crash site easter 1951 then occasionally over some yearsI here seemed to be less wreckage over time Also visited site below and west of Garrel Hill late1961 For years you could see the wreckage from the A803 at Inchterf if it was a bright sunny day this would be from the alluminium fuselage
James Gracie
I should have mentioned a light plane crashed in a field behind Berr i Berryhill farm above Kilsyth about 6 years ago My uncle who lived their at the time was amazed at huge amount emergency services in his yard as he was stone deaf and didnt here the commction The pilot was not seriously injured thankfilly
Eddie
Thanks for your very interesting comments James.
If you visited the RN Fairey Firefly crash site on Meikle Bin in Easter 1951 this was only just over a year after the crash, there must have been a lot of wreckage remaining at the site compared to now.
The site you mention to the west of Garrel Hill is the civilian Percival Prentice, the plane crashed in July 1961 so you must have seen the wreckage very soon after the crash, again, there is very little remaining now.
I think the light plane crash you mention near Berryhill Farm was this one, that happened in November 2010 – this news article says the crash site was near High Banton, which is very near Berryhill Farm – or maybe there have been two crashes in the same field? It’s possible!
http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/208174-plane-crash-light-aircraft-comes-down-near-kilsyth/
James Gracie
You were right the crash in 2010 was below Berryhill in an area called the risk very apt by th is time my cousin had taken over the farm but previous incedent was 06 or07 also a lot of people were disappointed about the lack of Luftwaffe wreckage my grandad farmed here during the war and was told by a shepherd that he saw a germam flying very low above the Doups when a lot of Stuff fell he made his way to the top of the Birns above Denny muir as he thought a pilot may have landed later the story was that the plane had ditched in the Firth of Tay at that time it was known about the Luftwaffe taking photos of clydeside and the plane possibly developed problems whentold this about 1951 my pals and scoured the area we did several deep holes in the ground filled with water but its boggy so most of the Stuff would have sunk down
James Gracie
my cousin and i spent many happy ? ? days roaming the Kilsyth hills searching for my uncle s stray sheep before winter so i knew the area like the back of my hand Several bombs and land mines were dropped in thearea during the Blitz to lighten the load one dropped atTownhead farm near Banton loch the other at Lammerknowes farm About 300m from where i lived none exploded i m still here !!! i climbed Tomtain on the 4 th sept was nearly blown down again Jim
Gordon Baxter
I farmed the land around Townhead reservoir,my father remembered a parachute Bomb landed between Shawend Farm and Townhead Farm. It was taken away and detonated in the nearby river I’m not sure where.I also believe another bomb fell beside the railway bridge on the back road to Banton slightly to the North side of the bridge.
He remembered lots of pieces of shrapnell would land in the village from the AA Guns,which the Kids would gleefully collect.
Dave Fleming
There used to be a lot more Firefly, but someone from down south ‘recovered’ the rear fuselage. (I’d say stole) in the late 80s or 90s. It was eventually sold with other parts as a rebuild project
Craig Houston
I remember a plane crash in the Kilsyth Hills. Must have been the 1961 crash. I was 9. Not long after we moved away