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In the 1950s, a major project was underway to restore some fallen stones at Stonehenge. This included an entire trilithon that had fallen in 1797. Even with the technology of the day, it proved to be a huge challenge and one of the largest cranes in the country had to be brought in for the job.
The specialist crane, known as a Curran crane, was built for lifting an aircraft up to 60 tons and there happened to be one nearby at Boscombe Down. The heaviest of the stones combined with its cradle weighed around 60 tons, so it was right on the edge of its maximum capability.
Crane operator David Healy remembers when he got the call to help with the restoration work at Stonehenge:
‘At RAF Boscombe Down we were preparing numerous aircraft for the Cold War … I was asked to help the crane operators at Stonehenge … I knew about cranes from the aircraft … We got into the main circle … one of the main sarsen stones had fallen down … we got it up into position and the other workers packed stones round the bottom … we got one of the lintel stones up and put up a blue stone on the way out.’
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