Our project page. Some of the Aircraft we hope to find.
These are some of the projects we hope to do over the next couple of years:
ORKNEY
Defiant DR937 771 SQ. 5/31943 in Sea Wide Firth.
This Defiant of 771 Sqn crashed shortly after take off from Hatston having landed due to an overheating engine problem.During an exercise over Scapa Flow the pilot had noticed that the was engine was overheating so the aircraft landed at Kirkwall to sort the problem out. No immediate cause was found so after a short while the engine had cooled and DR937 took off again on route to Twatt airfield but after a couple of minutes the engine started to fail and bellowed out clouds of black smoke. The pilot S/L J.C. Patterson attempted to return to Hatston but did not make it, ditching the aircraft in Wide Firth
S/L J.C. Patterson was knocked unconsious in the crash and despite TAG L/A Stark's best efforts to save him he sank with the aircraft. L/A Stark was quite badly injured but managed to hold onto some floating wreckage until he was picked up by a nearby Torpedo recovery vessel the ''Phylis Mary'' and taken to Kirkwall. A search by the Air/Sea rescue launch from Shapinsay soon located a large quantity of floating wreckage including a wheel and fuel tank but failed to find any trace of S/L J.C. Patterson and his body was never recovered.
S/Lt Jack Patterson. RNZNVR L/Air Dickie Stark. RNVR
Spitfire BL253 899 SQ. 20/1/1943. Off Kirkwall.
This Spitfire Vb crashed into Kirkwall anchorage on 20/01/1943. The pilot S/L D.F.L Barber RNVR was killed and his body was found floating and recovered by the Drifter ''Plough'' within minutes then landed at Kirkwall Pier. S/L Barber is now buried in St Olaf's Kirkwall.
S/L Barber St Olaf's Kirkwall
Spitfire BL253 ?
Divers report seeing a Merlin engine and some other wreckage in Kirkwall Bay near to the Scargun Shaol. Two possible losses are listed that may account for this engine. It is planed to visit the site and establish which aircraft this is.
Mosquito HR133. 333 (Norwegian) SQ. 11/6/1944. Off Stronsay.
Motto(For King, country and the honour of the flag)
This aircraft was shot down by accident by two spitfires on 11th June 1944. The aircraft crashed to the south of the island of Stronsay. The pilot Lt Hans Engebrightsen survived and was picked up by the Shapinsay Air Sea rescue launch but unfortunatly his navigator Lt Odd Gjestrum Jonassen had been killed.
Lt Jonassen's body washed ashore at Huip a week later and was buried in St Olaf's. After the war his body was taken back to Norway.
Contact with a local man Mr Cooper who remembers seeing the aircraft crash has proved very interesting and has pointed us to an area to search for the crash site. As the aircraft was made of wood, only engines, undercarrage and other small metal items may still remain.
Above: Looking out over Bay of Housby on Stronsay towards Auskerry and Copinsay,where HR133 ditched in June 1944. Photo: Dave Earl.
Above: Members of ARGOS locate part number on Wildcat rudder trim tab linkage. Photo: Dave Ramsey.
Another photo of L2883
Fairey Barracuda II DB983
The Barracuda from 830 Sqn took from Hatston in 80 mph gale 20/04/1944 to embark HMS Furious but hit balloon cable while in circuit and waiting for permission to land. Ditched in Scapa Flow from a height of 400 ft . Crew escaped and were picked up by a 40 ft pinnace from HMS Rodney.
Aircraft sank Cat.Z. Write off.
HMS Furious
HMS Furious
Grumman Wildcat JV526. 882 SQ. 17/5/1944. N of Hatston.
This aircraft of 882 Sqn was in circuit waiting to land at Hatston on 17/05/1944 when it went into cloud only to appear in a near vertical dive. The pilot tried to pull out of the dive only to hit the water half a mile to the north of Hatston. The aircraft burst into flames then sank.The pilot,Lt S.W. Edney RNZN was killed and his body never recovered. The ORB for the Shapinsay rescue launch reports aircraft was already on fire before it crashed. A search of the area just after the crash reports wreckage found which included Lt Edney's logbook.
Diver Dan Wise has seen wreckage near to the Scargun Shoal which included a landing wheel which looks very much like its from a Wildcat. The wreckage is spread over a wide area and a further survey is needed.
Lt S.W. Edney RNZN.
Spitfire K9857
P/O A.W.T. Dixon of 8 OTU Fraserburgh was on an arial photographic training flight on 11/11/1942 when his aircraft Caught fire and was abandoned over the sea near the Orkney islands and crashed at 14:35 hrs into Fersness Bay, Isle of Eday. P/O Dixon parachuted into the sea between Eday and the Isle of Faray. He was rescued by small boat owned by Mr Leslie of Holland Farm, Faray, after being in the water for 30 mins. The pilot was taken to Faray. At 15.32 RAF HSL173 arrived in the area and started to search when a man rowed out in a small boat from Eday and informed them that the pilot had been saved. P/O Dixon was then transferred to 173 for transportation to Kirkwall. The fire was thought to have been caused by a Glycol leak. Mr Leslie was paid £1 for Saving the Pilot.
HSL173
Photo: Orkney Library (Archive)
Deep water and Offshore sites
Beaufighter Mk X. LZ415.
This aircraft of 144 Sqn was returning from an anti-shipping strike off Norway on 22/11/1943 and after an attack on a small ship off Svino was flying home on one engine, it is reported as having dived into the sea 8 miles NE of Stronsay, which puts it in Sanday Sound a mile or so off the Isle of Sanday depending on which point of Stronsay was used as a location to put it 8 miles NE.
Crew:
Pilot: F/Sgt P.G. Fletcher. RAFVR (Missing)
Nav: F/Sgt H.I. Shepard. RAFVR (Saved)
F/SGT Shepherd was rescued by the Shapinsay Rescue Launch
The ships attacked on this mission were:
Arcturus 1651 tons, Damaged then sunk by Norwegian Submarine ''Ula''
Gol 985 tons, badly damaged
Kari Louise 800 tons, badly damaged
SS Arcturus
Blackburn Skua L2951.
Heading home from Norway
Skua L2951 from 771 Sqn (Twatt) crash landed in the sea 6 miles west of Stromness on 26/04/44 killing both the crew. The body of the pilot Sub/Lt Louis .F.Weatherall RNZNVR was recovered from the sea and is now buried at St Olaf's Kirkwall, but the body of 19 year old L/A TAG Derrick Read sank before it could be picked up.
Sub/Lt Weatherall RNZNVR TAG L/A Derrick Read
UPDATE!
Ex-FAA 771 Sq Telegraphist Air Gunner (TAG) Bernie Hazelton recalled this event to Dave Earl and an account also appeared in a book of TAG stories edited by R.G. Fletcher entitled `Touch And Go`.
"It was April 1944 and I was flying in one of 3 Skuas on an exercise with battleship HMS Rodney. With the task finished the three aircraft had reformed for a flight back to base, I was in the leading aircraft with a Skua on either side, suddenly I notcied the aircraft to my port side break formation and slip away towards the sea, I was surprised by this manoeuvere and called up the TAG on my R/T for an explanation but got no answer and we watched as the aircraft vanished in the haze, our two remaining aircraft then dived towards the sea to conduct a search but we found no trace of the missing Skua. Subsequent searches located two bodies but that of the TAG Derrick Read went down with the aircraft before he could be recovered".
Grumman Tarpon/Avenger TBF 1 FN787
9/10/1943.
During a fighter evaision exercise Tarpon FN787 845 Sqn was in a collision with a Seafire from 801 Sqn 4500 feet over the sea off the Old Man of Hoy. The Tarpon crashed killing all three crew onboard. Non of the bodies were recovered and all are remembered on the Lee on Solent Memorial.
CREW:
Pilot Sub.Lt Peter C.A. Heath RNVR
Ob Sub.Lt Kenneth W Richter
TAG P/O Gavin Rough
Lee on Solent Memorial
Ju 88 A6+LH
Aircraft was lost on a reconnaissance to Scapa Flow on 04/03/1941 and spotted by 3 Hurricanes of 253 Squadron from Skeabrae flown by F/O Allan Henry Corkett, P/O Crowther and P/O Derek Sidney Yapp who attacked and shot it down in sea reported as either 1m east of Westray Island or 1m east of the Westray Firth, Orkney with the loss of 4 crew who are listed as missing. Time: 14.35 hrs.
Pilot. Fw. (Sgt) Johannes Mischke.
Obs. Fw. (Sgt) Helmut Schmidt.
Radio. Uffz. (Cpl) Christian Ingwersen.
Gunner. Gefr. (Pvt) Richard Priebsch.
http://www.hydro-products.co.uk/
For all your Sidescan and Magnetometer training !!! Real experts !
http://www.blacklaserlearning.com
The Home of the Seabotix ROV in the UK, Spares, repairs and training
