Bristol Hercules Engine Runs in Former RAF Base for the First Time Since WWII

PRESS RELEASE

A former World War II RAF air base near York has reverberated to the sound of an iconic British bomber engine for the first time since 1945. The Bristol Hercules engine, as used on Halifax heavy bombers, was fired up at the Yorkshire Air Museum—formerly RAF Elvington—on October 12. It was part of Thunder Day, a twice-yearly event where aircraft at the museum run their engines for the public. The 14-cylinder, two-row radial engine was produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939, and were used in a varitety of aircraft including the Brisol Bulldog, Beaufighter, Vickers Wellington, and various other Handley Page designs.

Halifax bombers flew from Elvington from 1943 to 1945 and while the museum has a reconstructed Halifax (the only example in Europe) in its collection, its engines do not run. Museum spokesman Jerry Ibbotson takes up the story: “For Thunder Day this Autumn we wanted to do something special, so we spoke to Patric Smart from Thirsk who has a rebuilt Hercules engine in a rig that he demonstrates at events and displays. This was the type that carried Halifaxes into action night after night from bases such as Elvington. It makes an incredible sound and one that has not been heard here at Elvington since the last Halifax left at the end of the war. To hear it booming around the site gave us goosebumps. And what makes it all the more poignant is that Patric Smart’s father flew the most famous Halifax of all—Friday the 13th—which completed 128 missions in World War Two. Our Halifax is painted up as ‘Friday’ so it’s a special connection to the Museum.” The Yorkshire Air Museum’s next Thunder Day will be in Spring 2025.

Emma Quedzuweit

Emma Quedzuweit is a historial researcher and graduate school student originally from California, but travels extensively for work and study. She is the former Assitant Editor at AOPA Pilot magazine and currently freelance writes along with personal projects invovled in the search for missing in action aviators from World War I and II. She is a Private Pilot with Single Engine Land and Sea ratings and tailwheel endorsement and is part-owner of a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub. Her favorite aviation experience was earning a checkout in a Fairchild PT-19.

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