Talk: Saving Amy (Airspeed Oxford)

Join Eric Watkiss for a fascinating talk on the Saving Amy Airspeed Oxford Project at Hangar 42 Spitfire Visitors Centre in Blackpool. This presentation explores the restoration of a rare Royal Canadian Air Force Airspeed Oxford Mk V Serial Number EB 518 to static exhibition condition, created as a memorial to Amy Johnson, the pioneering aviator who flew from Blackpool Airport in an Airspeed Oxford on the day she went missing in 1941.

The restoration project aims to represent Oxford Mk.II V3540, the aircraft in which the famous aviatrix was lost on 5 January 1941 after departing from RAF Squires Gate (now Blackpool Airport). Beyond honouring Johnson's legacy, the exhibit serves as a permanent memorial to all RAF and Commonwealth crews who flew the Airspeed Oxford during the Second World War.

The substantial remains of EB518, built in 1943, were recovered from Canada where it had served with 35 Service Flying Training School at North Battleford as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After being struck off charge in August 1946 and left in storage, the aircraft was recovered by the Midland Aircraft Recovery Group in the late 1990s. Due to deterioration of the wooden airframe structure, significant reconstruction work has been necessary to restore it to exhibition standard.

The talk is held in the NAAFI function room at 1:30 pm. Admission to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is not included in the ticket price but can be purchased separately if desired. Tea and cake will be served from 3:00 pm following the presentation.