Beaufighter JM333

The wreck has re emerged over the Bank Holiday weekend and received much publicity which is not good. The wreck to to the South west of the fort but Haille sands is notoriously difficult and dangerous to reach with a shallow creek to cross to get to it. Once the tide turns that creek fills up rapidly, the only way out is to head for Tetney marshes where there are hidden pockets of quicksands en route. In short if you value your life dont go there.

Re the tallboy bomb, I discovered the remains of this on the marsh in the late 1960s  deep in a gully, it was only the rear of the bomb not the warhead which would have probably have sunk very deep into the mud . It appeared to be constructed of plywood and was rotting away. One of 617 Sqdns  Lancasters did land North Coates whilst operating off the nearby Theddletthorpe bombing range and I understand that was in connection with the loss of a practice Talllboy although there is no mention in the 617 ORB or the North Coates ORB There was also a Beaufighter undercarriage leg and wheel not far away

I know it’s an ancient thread, but just for the record…

“Hidden wreck of RAF fighter emerges from sands on Cleethorpes beach 76 years after it crash landed”:

https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/gallery/pictures-h…

A well meaning but completely uninformed member of the public told the
Police the aircraft was loaded with rockets and a torpedo and could go off
bang any minute. Subsequently the Royal Navy were called, blew it to
pieces with personnel from North Coates scouring the beach for bits when
the tide receded.

There’s always one isn’t there… 😡

There was a report and a pic in ‘Control Column’ magazine, some time in the 1970’s.

Mark

Richard – I think the person is confusing the Tallboy with the example at Tetney. It’s on display at the entrance to a crane company – it’s not a dummy though .

Thanks for all the quick replies!!!

Moggy: thanks for the aerial view.. it certainly yies in with the sandbar mentioned in the article from the North Coates flying club.

Old Eagle: Do you have any rough pointers for where it was when you visited..? It would narrow my search area considerably.

Apparently there’s also a dummy Tallboy hiding in Tetney Marshes…

Thanks again!!

From the information above I’d put the wreck somewhere in the circled area

Moggy

Blast From The Past

This lifted from the N Coates Flying Club Publication here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/northcoatesflyingclub/Web%20Bloodhound/Aug-06.pdf

All copyrights acknowledged

On 21st April 1944 Bristol Beaufighter MkIV serial JM333 of No. 254 Sqdn
took off from RAF North Coates on a flight test. The 2-man crew hardly
had time to put the undercarriage up when one of the engines failed. They
were over the Humber and had just turned towards Haille Sands Fort when
the second engine failed, all hope of an emergency landing on the
north/south grass runway was
abandoned and the pilot had no
option other than select a suitable
stretch of sand. Seconds later the
aircraft belly flopped onto a sand
bar on Haille Sands.
There was no fire and the 2 men
vacated the aircraft taking with them maps and other valuable removable
items. Neither man was injured and because of the treacherous sand they
had little option other than to walk to Humberston Fitties.
The aircraft was covered by the incoming tide, which deposited a thick
layer of sand over the aircraft. There were
no bombs, rockets, torpedoes or even
ammunition on board except a number of
recognition flares. Within days only the
cockpit, prop tips and tailplane were
visible and the wreck became the
plaything of local boys before it
disappeared beneath the sand and from
memory.
That winter the fire brigade was called to
a cottage on fire at Tetney Lock. The
occupants’ young son, it appeared, had
removed the flares from the aircraft and
Page 8
used one as a firelighter. The front room was gutted as a result.
In 1966 the hull of a boat became damaged when it hit an underwater
obstacle. When the tide went out it revealed the obstacle to be the propeller
tips protruding from the sand. Over the next few days the tide revealed
more and more of the aircraft, which appeared in reasonable condition.
Very soon the local press got hold of the story and souvenir hunters were
surrounding the aircraft.
A well meaning but completely uninformed member of the public told the
Police the aircraft was loaded with rockets and a torpedo and could go off
bang any minute. Subsequently the Royal Navy were called, blew it to
pieces with personnel from North Coates scouring the beach for bits when
the tide receded. What was gathered was taken back to North Coates where
it was scrapped. Bits of the aircraft still remain though and subsequent tides
have revealed the remainder of the aircraft, which was under the sand.
Andy tells me he intends to make some more trips out there.

IIRC there was a pic of this aircraft in an old flypast article. Is this the same wreck a group of ATC cadets tried to dig out as well. Could it be Tetney Sands as well?

From memory mind you

Cees

Might check and see if there are boating charts available for the area that may list known obstructions/wrecks? A GPS position would bu much better though!

Nev Franklin and I visited 1970 ish. A single prop blade approx 2ft was all that was visible sticking above the sand.
Sea (water) level an inch or two below the sand surface and very rapid tide in / out meant an extremely short “dig”, and totally a waste of time as the sand kept slipping into the hole……remember building sandcastles as a child ? Not possible to do much more than note that there was apparently some of the fuselage under the sand.
I often wondered what happened to it, but guess that sea water & tide / sand movement render it useless over time, even if RN did not blow it up ?