Beaufighter blown up as shipping hazard

Also a Hampden

Slightly off topic, but does any one know of the Hampden that was similarly dealt with by the MOD ?. It was supposed to have been complete at the time it was found “I think it was somewhere off the Essex or Suffolk coast”.

Bob T.

I have just seen this all about the Beau and Haille Sands. I was one of those in the original picture taken in 1960 something and involved in the original dig which was abruptly halted by the Police because someone told them it was fully armed,well it wasn’t. Anyway the Navy did blow it up and what was washed ashore and recovered from the surface was taken to RAF North Coates where it was assumed to have been scrapped. There has never been any doubt that most of it still exists out there but I would strongly advise that if you done know the area, DONT GO. Haille sands can only be reached via paddling across a tidal stream. The problem is that when the tide turns that stream rapidly fills up to an 8 feet deep river. The sands themselves are treacherous with quick sands in various places and more than one person has lost their lives out there, never to be recovered by the way. If you are determined,follow the tide out, the wreck is situated on the sand bar before you get to Haille sands fort and about 50 yards to the right about a mile out from the shore,no doubt once again under two to three foot of sand. You will need a metal detector. You would be well advised to go to the Humber Mouth Yacht Club for advice about safety precautions and the precise location.

A picture showed the cockpit framing and fuselage of a Beau sticking out of estuary mud in a most inviting fashion. It was claimed to have been blown up by the Navy as a shipping hazard.

You would have thought that the mud would have been much more of a hazard to shipping than a few bits of alloy sticking 3 or 4 feet out of it …

A warning, watch the tides and quicksand . Not for the faint hearted 😮

More than likely – but my interest is for memories sake rather than collecting. If I seriously wanted to recover a Beaufighter, I’d be after the Naxos one.

Day trip to North Coates now in the diary.. 😀

…along with every other junk collector with a metal detector and a spare days holiday:)

Day trip to North Coates now in the diary.. 😀

Beaufighter blown up

T4800 a Fairey built MkIc ND-C of 236 Squadron was the Beau flown by Flt/Lt Gatward in June 1942 to leave tricolores over the Champs Elysees, this aeroplane, with a different crew, spun into the mouth Humber Estuary 6.2.43 and it too was also subject, at a much later date, to the attention of the RN Disposal team.

The wreck was featured in the aviation press think it was Fly Past !

I’ve not got a map ref yet, unfortunately. I’d be in the car already, otherwise. It only pops up occasionally though.

I’m up for another look for it, I thought for years the remains were in bits the size of keyrings.

Just reading some of the losses out of North Coates, I reckon you could get from one side of the Humber to the other on downed Beaufighters alone…

Shall I chuck me spade in the back of the car now Rich?! 🙂

:eek::eek:

ian_

I don’t suppose you can give me an idea of where to look her? I know the aircraft is off North Coates, but its a lot of sand to cover! It was 25 years ago I last went looking for that Beau!

Regards

Rich

Apparently covered up again but not completely destroyed by the Navy.

There is a picture of youths digging out around the cockpit area on Cleethorpes beach 1969 in “Lincolnshire Air War Vol 1 ” by Sid Finn. It states North Coates air station in the background.

This is the Tetney High Sands Beaufighter!

I posted ages ago about this under my previous username, as I recovered a piece of this aircraft many years ago… didn’t know what it was off at the time. I’d love to know exactly where the wreck was if anybody can point me in the right direction, to see if anything else can be found.

Kind regards,

Rich W

Thanks Ross, super quick! Was talking to bloke in a pub etc. who moored his boat near it and sent me a couple of pics. It’s disappeared again but there was on unmistakable Beau tail visible. Will check if I can post them.

Tetney,

Moggy posted a transcription of the article in this thread.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/archive/index.php?t-70627.html

Regards
Ross