United Kingdom. Framed stringer and glass pieces of the Downed Halifax, April 1945

Two pieces of glass and two pieces of stringer (structural framework), contained in a glass frame with black wooden exterior. The interior shows a sheet below with reading: “The Halifax journey began when the almost new aircraft took off from Tarrant Ruston Air Base in Southern England, on the night of April 23,1945. Its mission - dropping supplies to Norwegian resistance fighters. The Halifax was returning home when it was hit by anti-aircraft fire over the town of Minnesund. A fuel tank caught fire. The pilot Alexan Thurbull decided to ditch his aircraft in Lake Mjoso. For decades, the downed Halifax a model Mark A VII Aircraft 7 No. NA337X lay undisturbed at the bottom of the lake, 750 feet deep and a mile from shore.” Accompanied by an embroidered RAF wing in black, white and red threads, measuring roughly 115 mm (w) x 45 mm (h), contained in the frame, very fine. Measures 386 mm (w) x 209 mm (h) x 20 mm (d), the reverse offers a wire hanger and is slightly bent to accommodate the glass and stringer pieces. Light wear, very fine overall. 

Footnote: Handley Page Halifax NA337 (coded 2P-X) was a Mk VII heavy bomber built in early 1945 and assigned to No. 644 Squadron, Royal Air Force, based at RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset. The squadron specialized in supply drops and glider-towing operations in support of airborne and resistance forces. On 24 March 1945, during Operation Varsity—the large-scale Allied airborne crossing of the Rhine—NA337 took off towing a Horsa glider carrying troops and equipment for the 6th Airborne Division. After releasing the glider near the target zone, the Halifax was struck by German anti-aircraft fire over Norway while returning from a subsequent supply drop to resistance fighters. The crew attempted to nurse the damaged aircraft back to base but were forced to ditch in Lake Mjøsa near Harestua. Three crewmen were killed and four survived, captured by German forces. Ultimately only one of six crewmen survived the war. 

The wreckage lay undisturbed at a depth of 750 feet until its discovery and recovery in 1995. Following an extensive ten-year restoration, NA337 was unveiled at the National Air Force Museum of Canada in Trenton, Ontario, in 2005, where it remains one of the only complete and original Halifax bombers in existence.