We are requested to clean a short Stirling engine

A couple of years ago, the wreck of an airplane was found in the Markermeer, the Netherlands. 

It was identified as the Short Stirling BK716; an English bomber that carried out bombardments on German cities during the Second World War. 

In 2008, the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution by chance brought up an engine of the landing gear of a Short Stirling from the Markermeer. The foundation Aircraft Recovery Group 1940-1945 thinks it concerns the BK716. This aircraft carried seven crewmembers. During the recovery of the wreckage, one of the engine blocks was found. The registration number on this part of the airplane confirms the identity of the Short Stirling as the BK716.

The BK716 crashed in the night of 29 / 30 March 1943 during a return flight from a bombardment on Berlin. On their way home to Royal Airforce station Downham Market, the Short Stirling was shot by a German night fighter pilot.

The crew of the BK716 was formed by British and Canadian members: 

- Flying Officer John Frederick Harris
- Sergeant Ronald Kennedy 
- Flying Officer Harry Gregory Farrington 
- Sergeant Charles Armstrong Bell 
- Flying Officer John Michael Campbell 
- Sergeant Leonard Richard James Shrubsall 
- Sergeant John Francis James McCaw

In memory of the crew members, the municipality of Almere considers it valuable to have a work of art made. At the end of 2019, an appeal was therefore made to artists to come up with ideas. A jury made a choice from a selection of the submitted plans. They chose Laura O'Neill and her design Rise. 

Laura O'Neill is a British Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1990. Their work was featured in several exhibitions at key galleries and museums, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and the Griffin Gallery, London.

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Laura O'Neill's artwork consists of a wreckage on which a man-sized young pilot sits. The pilot can be recognized by his clothing as a World War II aviator. He looks at the flagpole on the memorial field, inviting current generations to commemorate. O'Neill was moved by the realization that the fliers were so young when they fought in the war. With Rise she wants to honour their commitment during the war and their sacrifice. The jury found O'Neill's design special because it portrays the crew. The artwork shows the vulnerability that it is not just a pilot, but a real person. A young man. According to the jury, that personal aspect is really emphasized in the artwork and thus gives the crew members of the Short Stirling a face.

We were requested by the artist Laura O'Neill to clean the engine that was recovered from the Short Stirling using Dry Ice cleaning technology.

Why ice cleaning with dry ice so effective?