Missing Spitfire recovered In France
Discussion
Interesting discovery near Caen Normandy
Riddle of missing Spitfire ace shot down after D-Day is solved after being found in Normandy estuary
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327575/Mi...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327575/Mi...
Riddle of missing Spitfire ace shot down after D-Day is solved after being found in Normandy estuary
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327575/Mi...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327575/Mi...
What riddle?
Lots of aircraft went missing in WW2.
Looks like a Mark IX.
In fact, reading the article, there was no mystery whatsoever. The crash and its location was witnessed. An incident like that in WW2 would have been unremarkable, if obviously sad. No real effort would have been made to recover the aircraft if it was in an inacessable location. There were plenty more Mark IX Spitfires where that came from..
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
Lots of aircraft went missing in WW2.
Looks like a Mark IX.
In fact, reading the article, there was no mystery whatsoever. The crash and its location was witnessed. An incident like that in WW2 would have been unremarkable, if obviously sad. No real effort would have been made to recover the aircraft if it was in an inacessable location. There were plenty more Mark IX Spitfires where that came from..
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
Edited by Eric Mc on Monday 8th November 13:08
'Their report said: ‘He continued to glide in a westerly direction towards Ouistreham. His aircraft finally struck water and skidded for a short period and then nosed into the water, finally turning over comparatively slowly on its back.’ No one saw the cockpit hood open, suggesting that he never managed to escape.'
Knocked out on impact then drowned most probably. Or worse, conscious but couldn't open the canopy.
Knocked out on impact then drowned most probably. Or worse, conscious but couldn't open the canopy.
Eric Mc said:
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
'After the wreckage was towed ashore, the remains of Flight Lieutenant Smith were found in the cockpit. They were placed in a coffin and will be handed to the Australian Embassy in France today.'Simpo Two said:
Eric Mc said:
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
'After the wreckage was towed ashore, the remains of Flight Lieutenant Smith were found in the cockpit. They were placed in a coffin and will be handed to the Australian Embassy in France today.'Simpo Two said:
'Their report said: ‘He continued to glide in a westerly direction towards Ouistreham. His aircraft finally struck water and skidded for a short period and then nosed into the water, finally turning over comparatively slowly on its back.’ No one saw the cockpit hood open, suggesting that he never managed to escape.'
Knocked out on impact then drowned most probably. Or worse, conscious but couldn't open the canopy.
The fact the canopy was shut when it hit the water suggests the poor lad was either unconscious or incapacitated before the ditching. Hopefully he didn't know a thing about it. Knocked out on impact then drowned most probably. Or worse, conscious but couldn't open the canopy.
Eric Mc said:
What riddle?
Lots of aircraft went missing in WW2.
Looks like a Mark IX.
In fact, reading the article, there was no mystery whatsoever. The crash and its location was witnessed. An incident like that in WW2 would have been unremarkable, if obviously sad. No real effort would have been made to recover the aircraft if it was in an inacessable location. There were plenty more Mark IX Spitfires where that came from..
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
The riddle was not about the aircraft but of what happened to the pilot after he radioed in that he was landing in a field !.Lots of aircraft went missing in WW2.
Looks like a Mark IX.
In fact, reading the article, there was no mystery whatsoever. The crash and its location was witnessed. An incident like that in WW2 would have been unremarkable, if obviously sad. No real effort would have been made to recover the aircraft if it was in an inacessable location. There were plenty more Mark IX Spitfires where that came from..
Was his biody recovered at the time or was it still in the recently relocated wreckage?
Edited by Eric Mc on Monday 8th November 13:08
very brave man and at least he will receive a decent burial
The Aircraft according to records for RAAF 453 Sqaudron iun 1944 was a Spitfire 1X b
January 1944 -July 1944 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXb
http://www.thesoutheastecho.co.uk/Squadrons/453_sq...
From what I read it seemed his ditching was witnessed - so that means there was no mystery as to where he crashed.
During WW2 thousands of aircraft crashed into the sea and sank. The vast bulk of these were not recovered at the time, mainly due to the fact that there was no opportunity or time to do so. There were far more pressing matters to deal with. Since the 1970s, there has been a massive increase in interest in locating and recovering aircraft such as this. If you read "Flypast" or "Aeroplane Monthly" magazine you will find that a significant airframe is located or recovered somewhere in the world almost on a monthly basis.
This months editions featured the recovery of a Curtiss SBC Helldiver from a lake in California. A few months ago we had the RAF Museum announcing that they had found a Dornier 17 in the Channel and had plans to recover it. In the big scheme of things, finding another Spitfire is not that big a piece of aircraft recovery news.
Having said that,I would love someone to see if they could find the Spitfire V of Dubliner Paddy Finucane DFC, which ditched in the Channel on 1942. At the time, Paddy (real mname Brendan) was the leading RAF air ace in Northern Europe and the youngest Wing Commander in the RAF. He's still in his Spitfire, sadly.
During WW2 thousands of aircraft crashed into the sea and sank. The vast bulk of these were not recovered at the time, mainly due to the fact that there was no opportunity or time to do so. There were far more pressing matters to deal with. Since the 1970s, there has been a massive increase in interest in locating and recovering aircraft such as this. If you read "Flypast" or "Aeroplane Monthly" magazine you will find that a significant airframe is located or recovered somewhere in the world almost on a monthly basis.
This months editions featured the recovery of a Curtiss SBC Helldiver from a lake in California. A few months ago we had the RAF Museum announcing that they had found a Dornier 17 in the Channel and had plans to recover it. In the big scheme of things, finding another Spitfire is not that big a piece of aircraft recovery news.
Having said that,I would love someone to see if they could find the Spitfire V of Dubliner Paddy Finucane DFC, which ditched in the Channel on 1942. At the time, Paddy (real mname Brendan) was the leading RAF air ace in Northern Europe and the youngest Wing Commander in the RAF. He's still in his Spitfire, sadly.
Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 9th November 12:10
I used to work with a chap, a real character, who ran his own salvage company in the 60's before getting into subsea construction for the oil industry (as a welder diver). Interestingly, he was an extra in Thunderball.
Anyway, he owned a DSV (A Dive Support Vessel, a ship with a moonpool and diving bell) in the '70's and was working salvaging tin from ships in the war. He tells a great story about finding a HE-111 in the Channel, pretty much intact. He left a buoy on the site to mark the grave and told the coastguard but no action was taken. I suppose there must be hundreds of them.
Anyway, he owned a DSV (A Dive Support Vessel, a ship with a moonpool and diving bell) in the '70's and was working salvaging tin from ships in the war. He tells a great story about finding a HE-111 in the Channel, pretty much intact. He left a buoy on the site to mark the grave and told the coastguard but no action was taken. I suppose there must be hundreds of them.
Lefty said:
I used to work with a chap, a real character, who ran his own salvage company in the 60's before getting into subsea construction for the oil industry (as a welder diver). Interestingly, he was an extra in Thunderball.
Anyway, he owned a DSV (A Dive Support Vessel, a ship with a moonpool and diving bell) in the '70's and was working salvaging tin from ships in the war. He tells a great story about finding a HE-111 in the Channel, pretty much intact. He left a buoy on the site to mark the grave and told the coastguard but no action was taken. I suppose there must be hundreds of them.
Generally, aircraft that came down in the sea are not worth recovering. Salt water plays havoc with aluminium. If, however, the airframe was covered in mud and silt fairly quickly after it sank, then there is a chance that a large part of the structure will have survived. On the whole. fresh water (preferably Arctic) lakes are the best source of underwater wrecks. It's amazing how well preserved airframes can be in these conditions. Anyway, he owned a DSV (A Dive Support Vessel, a ship with a moonpool and diving bell) in the '70's and was working salvaging tin from ships in the war. He tells a great story about finding a HE-111 in the Channel, pretty much intact. He left a buoy on the site to mark the grave and told the coastguard but no action was taken. I suppose there must be hundreds of them.
Look what the Canadians have done with a Halifax recovered from a lake in Norway -
eharding said:
The fact the canopy was shut when it hit the water suggests the poor lad was either unconscious or incapacitated before the ditching. Hopefully he didn't know a thing about it.
I too was trying to run through the options; normally opening the canopy would have been SOP. Maybe it was jammed, or maybe he was concentrating too hard on the landing to remember. We'll never know, but he must have come close to surviving. As has been documented many times, unfastening the straps for a quick exit often misfired as they were thrown forward into the gunsight on impact. And has Eric said Paddy Finucane went the same way. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_FinucaneGassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff