Welcome to the Aircraft Crash Sites at Sea project web pages
‘Aircraft Crash Sites at Sea’ is a new Wessex Archaeology project for English Heritage. We are keen for you to contribute information and your views to this project. Please go to the ‘About the project’ page to find out more about the project and the ‘How you can help’ page to find out how your contribution could help to make this project a success.
October 10th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
There is as far as I am aware still a complete Sunderland Flyingboat on the seabed off Calshot Spit, where it sank on it’s mooring during bad weather, I believe it’s tail was broken off as it was considered a danger to shipping.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Researcher Ross McNeill has suggested that this may be Sunderland Mk.III, ML883 of No.423 Sqn, which sank at its mooring in a gale on 17 December 1944. However he says that the mooring team was quite good at clearing the buoys and that it appears that the aircraft was quickly salvaged for scrap.
Ross says that two other Sunderlands are recorded as having been lost in the vicinity. Neither sank at its moorings. One broke up after hitting the sea in a turn off Calshot in 1946. Perhaps this could be the aircraft on the seabed?
November 19th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
There are also one – possibly up to three, Sunderland Flying Boats in Lake Windermere, Cumbria. At least one is considered very complete.
Some years ago I was also told by an ex-RAF engineer that there were “at least a couple” of Sunderlands/Catalinas sunk during & just after the war off the cost of Northern Ireland. I have no better details of locations though.