Wellington MKXIII wreck in Aegean Sea. Seems there's no interest salvaging it?

Because 75m is deep for diving? Hence the cost of recovery would be extravagant.

Whilst it does depend on skills and experience, for most a 75m is a very significant dive indeed.

Do all of the original drawings for the Wellington still exist…. ? One rather presumes that Brooklands had access to drawings when they renovated theirs….? If there are no drawings, then that really does make it a very impractical project. If the drawing have survived, it’s all down to money.
Finding an ID wouldn’t be that hard – look at how many of certain types have been resurrected from a handful of original parts.

Depends upon the salinity and temperature of the water.The visibility was excellent for 75 metres so possibly the structure is in good shape.I have dived on an aircraft wreck that crashed in 73 and this was twenty years after ,only 40 metres and it was completely covered by corals and corroded in places.

I don’t like to be a nay-sayer, but with regard to the RAFM Dornier the most important point is perhaps that it spent much of the time in the seabed rather than on it. The parts that crumbled away on recovery (tail and outer wings) were those that had been most exposed in the open water. A wreck that has been sitting in a tropical sea for the same period would surely be worse off for corrosion and consumption by sea life?

I suspect there’d be a lot more enthusiasm about recovering it if it was a Stirling. But as we have two examples of Wellington’s, it unfortunately lacks a ‘unique selling point’ and I assume we’d be talking about needing several million pounds?

Having said that; if the conservation and display of the Do17 goes well, it may provide some impetus to recover this aircraft. I hope so anyway.

I can’t really comment on how the crews of the Wellington felt about it but most crews of bombers during WW2 felt a lot of affection for their aircraft.

My comments were directed at how the Wellington is thought of today; ‘unappreciated’ sums it up nicely.

“…the Wellington is the most ‘unloved’ of the British wartime bombers.”

I would say most unappreciated rather than unloved – hence my book. It was certainly not unloved by the men who flew and maintained it.

MP,

It was discussed on Facebook by a group that are trying to resurrect a Wellington with a view to creating or rebuilding a flying example. I don’t know how far their enquiries went.

It would certainly be worth raising in its own right – some of the Med recoveries (P40, B24, Blenheim, Spitfire..) have proven to be in exceptional condition compared against North Sea and Channel wrecks.

Regards,

Rich

Recovery of sunken items costs a huge amount of money to do properly and in the case of historic objects it is wise to have the next stage ready to go…otherwise it all will crumble away. If it is one of a kind then I can understand the effort and also understand when it is an intact small aircraft in fresh water for eventual rebuild to fly.Otherwise there is little interest..sad but true.

Thanks for the replies chaps.
Rich, sorry I should’ve searched for similar threads but didn’t think to.

I have to be honest and say that although it is unloved. the condition appears to be incredible considering the sal****er it has lain in. When you say “I believe there’s one group sniffing around at it, maybe more” is this unconfirmed or is this public knowledge/discussion elsewhere? The lack of Wellington’s in the world I would think would make this a prime example of a necessary recovery project for a museum somewhere?

Cheers, MP

I started a thread on it in July. I believe there’s one group sniffing around at it, maybe more.

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?131198-Wellington-wreck-near-Naxos&highlight=

I still maintain that the Wellington is the most ‘unloved’ of the British wartime bombers (given that most have never even heard of the Whitley, Hampden of Albemarle); on the whole people just aren’t interested in them!

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Only TWO pictures over a (what) = 70 year period ?

Come on, get real, do you really think no-one else is interested to either hear or “see” more about it ?

Your quote ; “If it’s not being recovered there is nothing more to tell.”

Try telling that to folks who ‘wanted’ to see SOME of ‘more’ pix of the 1940’s Ark Royal etc.

I also DON’T recall insinuating that (quote) “Just because a wreck exists does not mean it has to be recovered”

Someone pissed in your Weetabix this morning then ?

Why would you hear any more of it?

Just because a wreck exists does not mean it has to be recovered. If it’s not being recovered there is nothing more to tell.

Moggy

I saw this about a month ago and didn’t think to post it here and that’s remiss of me as I feel this is hugely important.

From the web-page of the divers who discovered it:

Vickers Wellington World War II bomber aircraft resting in about 75 meters of crystal clear Aegean water.

“As far as we know the aircraft has been located a few years back but was never dived. Some preliminary research has enabled us to identify the aircraft which flew on a sortie against shipping in Naxos during 1943. It was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and was ditched at sea. All crew were saved.”

I just wonder why, with so few (barely any) Wellingtons in existence, why this news hasn’t been of more interest once it was found?

http://www.wreckdiving.gr/wreck/wellington Cheers, MP

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M.P ~ Seeing your post stirred interest & reminded me of what appeared to be an even more ‘mint’ example in the Aegean
(or elsewhere in the Med’ ?)

This (similar thread) on a ‘seabed’ Vickers Wellington came up some 6 years ago…. (mine is post # 4 with pix)

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?79454-Another-Wellington-Found-in-the-Depths&p=1231298&highlight=#post1231298

Doesn’t appear to be (anywhere near) the same condition-wise, but, WHY did we not hear any more of it ?

I’d be interested to hear “if” the two are even remotely linked in any way ~ (similar region)

Anyone “know” anymore about what’s happened to the one I linked pix to back in 2008 ?

Seems like the vastly better candidate (for rescue, “if ever”), rather than the one in this thread !

Much rather see ONE of these then ANY ten-Spitfirezzzzzz’ (yawn) above ground 😀 (Heretic)

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I think recovery would be a very difficult proposition; this one has been in salt-water for thirty more years than the Loch Ness Wellington and that one virtually disintegrated when it was brought to the surface.

Cosford seem to be doing a pretty good job with the Dornier… And this Wellington looks far more substantial that that did.

I would imagine recovery and stabilization would be too much for anyone to take on…

The two parties most likely to want a Wellington already have them. Would be great at Duxford or Elvington, but I doubt either party have the funds required, even with Lottery heritage assistance.

I suppose the best chance would be through someone like Wargaming.net, but I’m not sure they’d have the appetite after the Burma expedition.

Plus, nobody is interested in the Wellington…..relatively speaking!