Supermarine Walrus displayed in Plymouth Aquarium

Excellent idea. what a fantastic memorial.

Most of the Uk wrecks that I have dived on suffer from poor visibility. It is really neat when an artist creates the whole of the wreck in one view when I have seen it in 5 foot sections of view.
http://www.divernet.com/Wrecks/wreck_tours/

This is a really great idea, I have always found intact underwater aircraft wrecks to have an ethereal beauty and silent dignity about them.
The american artist Randal Scott has produced several paintings of warbirds on this theme, some examples can be seen here amongst his wildlife work.
http://www.freespiritart.com/art-prints-by-Randall-Scott-143.php
I have often wished that someone would produce a book filled with photos of underwater warbirds as there are a lot out there and not everyone has the oppotunity to dive them in person.

When I visited bristol a decade ago there was “Sealife” with a large scale mocked up B17 wreck among the sharks

Cheers

Cees

Brilliant idea that. I hope others can follow suit as this is a nice way to remember them.

The Plymouth Aquarium is well worth a visit anyway, but this latest idea is a brilliant idea and a good way of reminding people of the losses suffered by Walrus crews.

Captain Hope, were buried in the village of Ploudaniel and the graves carefully tended by the local citizens throughout the German occupation until permanent headstones were erected in 1946

The locals certainly seem to show more gratitude than that arrogant ***** De Gaulle ever did.

He never forgave the allies for liberating France.

Moggy

Very interesting.

The aircraft being commemorated would be the 10 Sqn RAAF Walrus of Flt Lt J N Bell, RAAF.

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=15442

On 17 June 1940, the day her husband escaped to England, Madame De Gaulle and her children were at Carantec on the north coast of Brittany. They had taken refuge there with an aunt after leaving the family home at Colombey Les Deux Eglises about a month before. The Germans were advancing fast towards Western France, and when General De Gaulle reached London, he asked that urgent steps be taken to rescue his wife and family.

The decision was taken with Winston Churchill’s agreement to send a plane with an SOE intelligence officer who was fluent in French to carry out this rescue.

On 17 June, Captain Norman Hope travelled with his orders to a Coastal Command base near Plymouth, and was directed to a Supermarine Walrus, an amphibious aircraft with a crew of three, Flt Lieut John Bell, RAAF, Sgt Charles Harris, RAAF and Cpl Bernard Nowell, RAF. The purpose of the flight was so secret that none at the base knew where the aircraft was going. Norman’s briefing was to the crew only. They took off at about 0300 on 18 June with the intention of reaching Carantec at first light. They crossed the Breton coast about 20km west of Carantec, and it is believed they were fired on by the Germans or possibly the French. Having been hit,the pilot was attempting to land in a field close to Ploudaniel, about 18km inland, when the plane hit a low embankment, burst into flames and all four men were killed.

Madame de Gaulle knew nothing of this attempt to rescue her. She and her children found room on the last boat to leave Brest before the Germans arrived.

http://cas.awm.gov.au/PROD/cas_disp_pkg.pr_detailed_scr?surl=1806091035ZZZPLOXRMQED&acid=2000&pi_query_id=27015333&pi_umo_id=322957&ps_selected_coll=ALL&ps_view_type=BRIEF&current_page_number=1&ps_access_level=Public

ID Number: 044446
Date made: c February 1939
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: Aboard HMAS Canberra. c. February 1939. Portrait of Flight Officer John Napier Bell RAAF of No. 9 (Fleet Cooperation) Squadron RAAF embarked on the “County” class cruiser HMAS Canberra of the RAN. Bell joined the RAAF as an Air Cadet on 15 July 1935 and after training as a pilot was posted in September 1938 to No. 5 (Fleet Cooperation) Squadron RAAF at RAAF Base Richmond equipped with Supermarine Seagull V (Walrus) amphibian aircraft. On 1 January 1939, the squadron was renumbered to No 9 Squadron and in February 1939, Bell and one of the squadron’s Supermarine Seagull V (Walrus) amphibian aircraft embarked in Canberra to operate in the Fleet Cooperation role. Bell remained in Canberra until August 1939 during which time he completed eighty catapult launches from the ship in fulfilling his role of fleet cooperation duties. On completion of his tour of duty in Canberra, Bell was posted to No. 10 (General Reconnaisance) Squadron RAAF based at RAF Station Mount Batten, Plymouth, Devon, England, operating Short Sunderland flying boats in the anti submarine role. Arriving in January 1940 he completed a conversion course to Sunderland aircraft and went on to fly as a captain in a number of patrols in the Bay of Biscay area. Because of his experience on Walrus aircraft, Bell was directed to carry out a secret mission on 18 June 1940 to evacuate Madame de Gaulle and her children from the Brittany area of occupied France. Tragically the mission ended in disaster when the aircraft crashed and burnt while Bell was attempting to land in foggy conditions near Ploudaniel and all occupants of the aircraft were killed. With evacuation by air now impossible, Madame de Gaulle was forced to seek other means of transport and was fortunate to secure passage for herself and her children on a British destroyer for the voyage from Brest to Britain. Bell, his wireless operator, Sergeant C. W. Harris, a RAF wireless mechanic, Corporal Nowell, and a British Intelligence Officer working with the Admiralty, Captain Hope, were buried in the village of Ploudaniel and the graves carefully tended by the local citizens throughout the German occupation until permanent headstones were erected in 1946.

No info on a replica. Let’s hope it’s not G-RNLI! 😮

What a really ‘different’ memorial.

Excellent.

Anyone know the history of the replica?

Moggy