Somewhere near Lincoln War Artist Frances Macdonald 43 group Liberators and Halifax repair

Hello John,

I have just received a reply from the IWM Head of Art,she consulted a colleague who found out that "43 Group Airframe Repair Service" was part of 58 M.U.which had several sites in Newark until it moved to Skellingthorpe in November 1945...One of the sites had two hangars but these were not permanent types.as apparently shown in the paintings and I still think the location is a mystery-Perhaps 58 MU farmed out some work to other sites ?..The M.U. was responsible for retrieving crashed aircraft from over one third of the country...Parts would be salvaged for spares and the residue would be scrapped.

She also sent me a link to 58 MU records in the Public Record Office(sorry,N.A.!) I will check these and the 43 Group records when I visit Kew later this year...They are not digitised at present.
All the Best,
Tony.

Look like Liberators to me. The hangar windows suggest a C-type, which precludes any of the Newark MU sites.

Thanks,
I feel sure the aircraft shown in the picture posted by John are Liberators.The Artists other work about 43 Group on the IWM site shows airscrews and the caption states that a Halifax is being worked on in the background-this may be an error as both were of similar configuration.The said aircraft does seem to have a Halifax feel about it , the nacelles are circular as per the Halifax and a mix of circular and oval nacelles are shown also on the ground....I thought all Liberators had oval nacelles but Marks 1 and 11 had circular versions.....The plot thickens and you take your choice...Anyone live near to Kew!!
Cheers.

I have had another look at the "Airscrews" painting that is part of the set. I am of the opinion that both aircraft in the image are Liberators, with no evidence of a tailwheel altitude. This could be the view from the right of the first image. Clearly the caption is incorrect or very misleading. Perhaps Lincoln is where she was based for the assignment, and from where our post war air force flew her onto the location where the Liberators were being worked on.

I have had another look and I too think all the aircraft shown are Liberators....The only Civilian Repair Organisation site that serviced/repaired Liberators near Lincoln was Tollerton Aircraft Services at Tollerton about 30 plus miles away.I believe she kept a daily diary but I have not yet found its whereabouts....

I think she also kept a diary,but I have yet to locate its whereabouts-Thanks for the tape info.