Historic RAF aircraft Blackburn Beverley begins journey to Cumbria

It is being transported piece by piece to the Solway Aviation Museum near Carlisle's Airport following successful fundraising efforts that have so far amassed over £70,000. 

The aircraft, which has been stationed at Hull's Fort Paull, is the last of the original 49 that were built. 

Previously concerns loomed over the possibility of failing to secure a buyer, leading to the potential dismantling of the cargo plane, boasting a remarkable 162ft wingspan, for scrap.

Blackburn Beverley will be reassembled as such at the Solway Aviation Museum (Image: Solway Aviation Museum.)

Following continuous donations, the veteran aircraft will now join several other significant exhibits at the museum including the Avro Vulcan XJ823.

However, moving an aircraft that first took flight in 1955 will not be easy.

It will entail disassembling the Beverley XP259, transporting its parts, shifting it up the country, and reassembling them at the museum.

Blackburn Beverley has a wingspan of 162 feet (Image: DKerr)

All of this will be managed by a dedicated team of museum volunteers.

Solway Aviation Museum's chairman Dougie Kerr said: "Taking hundreds of rivets out of aircraft panels is hard work but needs doing to move the Beverley.

"Today we were loaned a forklift for free to move around the smaller parts of the aircraft so we can work on them to reduce the size to fit onto normal wagons. 

"The first of the Beverley parts are going back to the museum this weekend and then they will be shortly followed by some of the other parts."

Bit by bit, the Blackburn Beverley will be heading to Cumbria (Image: DKerr)

The success of this endeavour inspires hope for similar future projects for the museum. 

"We're thinking if we can do this, we can do other things going ahead," Dougie said. 

The fundraising campaign is still ongoing for anyone who wishes to support the project and contribute to preserving a piece of aviation history.

To contribute, click here.