A radial engine and propeller recovered from the Milford Haven waterway in Pembrokeshire, is likely to have come from a wartime Catalina flying boat, it has been revealed

The Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp was brought up by the Port of Milford Haven and has been donated to the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre. Research by the Heritage Centre team has identified three Catalinas which crashed in the Haven within weeks of each other in 1941/42.

The location of the engine suggests it is from Catalina AH530 of the RAF’s 209 Squadron which crashed on take-off on December 14, 1941. Only two of the 11-man crew survived.

Heritage Centre Trustee Rik Saldanha – who is also a diver – said: “It is remarkable what has survived after over 80 years in seawater. We have a lot of conservation work ahead of us and will display the engine as a tribute to the crews of all three Catalinas lost locally.” With thanks to John Evans