Chatting with a fellow member of our ‘Green Gym’ last week, he noted my interest in old aircraft.
Today he bought some aluminium ‘bits and bobs’ for me to see that he had picked up on the beach near Sizewell last year, where he has a holiday accommodation.
He mentioned that the nearby former airfield at Leiston had been used by the USAAF in WWII and wondered if they might be P-51 parts.
One piece was a heavy aluminium nose ring but not airframe. There were a couple of aluminium pipes, but imagine my surprise when the last piece was instantly recognisable as the hinge of a Spitfire door.
This begs the question how come this has just surfaced 70 odd years on and is there a known Spitfire crash in the general vicinity?
The hinge is not buckled and it appears the nine rivets that hold it to the datum longeron have just fizzed away.
Any clues?
Mark
By: ZRX61 - 25th July 2017 at 22:40
The only thing I’ve found that was Spitfire related happened when I was crabbing off a breakwater at Walton On Naze in 1968. Guy Hamilton wandered over to inspect my catch. I was 8 at the time.
By: AlanR - 25th July 2017 at 11:26
A view from the beach at Minsmere. Next stop Belgium or the Netherlands.
It doesn’t look very inviting.
An old customer of mine used to be on RAF Air Sea Rescue launches during WWII, spending
a lot of time on patrol in these waters. He had some sad stories of talking to aircrew who knew
they wouldn’t make it back The men who manned these small boats, have my admiration.
By: MacRobert's - 25th July 2017 at 00:17
In about 1970, I was a 10 year old on holiday with my parents in this area. I remember being present when one of the inshore fishing vessels was beached at Aldeburgh with a large section of aircraft wreckage caught in its nets? After much manhandling, the wreckage was beached and my dad (ex WW2 RAF engine fitter) and I got to examine it? I recall it being a section of wing or horizontal stabiliser and/or flap/aileron/elevator? My dad said he thought it was German, mainly because of the colour, but I can’t be sure that wasn’t the result of corrosion? The key to it’s origin was, I think, a fairly large swathe of parachute silk (as I recall, there were metres of it?) caught up in the hinge….a small section of which I still have in my possession? It is partially burnt or oil stained….and the stitching pattern is very distinctive….row upon row of rectangular stitching, around 3mm x 2 mm….any clues there? I remember being quite upset by the discovery…not least of all because my dad, who died very recently died, impressed upon me that the presence of that amount of parachute silk meant that someone had died whilst trying to vacate the aircraft? As he said at the time “this was somebody’s father, brother or son – never forget that?” I never have……
By: AlanR - 24th July 2017 at 22:51
We were at Minsmere last Friday, it was a bit blowy for walking on the beach though.
Then again, if I’d known I may have braved it 🙂
By: Arabella-Cox - 24th July 2017 at 19:37
Curious as to how we know ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that it was the aircraft detailed by Mark12?
I’m not disputing – just curious as to how we know, since that Spitfire was five miles out and it was not the only Spitfire lost off that stretch of coastline?
Is there some identifying feature on this part?
By: Trolly Aux - 24th July 2017 at 18:27
I know that bit of coast line and have been going up there since the mid 70s and the fishermen were always getting nets caught on the wrecks and lots used to be brought back and dumped in Aldeburgh, plenty of American stuff along with British.
I remember a nice lump of geodetic from a Welly some big spares that were B17. plenty of bits wash up still on the beaches there everytime there is a big storm also I remember B17 Oxy bottles being used a Buoys.
By: Dawid - 24th July 2017 at 13:42
Hello, This is my first post. I am greedy aviation history and story of pilots of the Second World War. I was looking for news about Stanislaw Elmerych because I know his family. I am amazed by your discovery. It would be great if this part of the spitfire went to the pilot’s descendant. What do you think?
By: Mark12 - 21st January 2017 at 08:31
Beyond reasonable doubt the Spitfire is Mk V AD124 that crashed in to the sea on 12 May 1943 some five miles of the coast at Leiston.
Image below of pilot Stanislaw Elmerych of 317 SQN who was killed.
With thanks to Helmut Terbeck and Wojtek Matusiak records.
Mark
By: TempestV - 20th January 2017 at 22:37
Interesting finds Peter,
Around 19 years ago, I was presented with a chunk of flying control, washed up from along the same stretch of coast between Minsmere and Aldeburgh. I didn’t have a camera at the time, so I drew the part in 3D from several angles. I’ll post it here with some measurements. There is probably quite a lot in the sands just offshore there.
The part I had was the leading edge of a flying control, with American rivits, and still-greased nuts! The leading edge was mass balanced ahead of the pivot, which made me think it could be an aileron?
By: Mark12 - 19th January 2017 at 17:31
…what the heck is a ‘Green Gym’…
By: TonyT - 19th January 2017 at 16:50
Forget the aircraft bits, what the heck is a ‘Green Gym’ do you have composting toilets or something? or are you all wired into the Grand Tours ( Proper Top Gear ) electric car charging kit???
By: Junk Collector - 19th January 2017 at 14:49
We had some storms a couple of months ago down this way. As a regular beach comber I am out hunting around several locations
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January 19, 2017 at 2:41 pm