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    #271
    DW110 of 228 Squadron.

    On 31st January 44 Sunderland DW110 of 228 Squadron whilst returning to Pembroke Dock was diverted to land at Castle Archdale.
    the aircraft was approaching from the North overflying the Bluestacks in Co.Donegal closing on the beacon which would take them up the corridor to Castle Archdale.
    Unfortunately she hit a peak in the Bluestacks and 7 out of the crew of 12 were killed.
    A few more feet and she would have cleared.
    The nose gunner warned his pilot that he could see land and seconds later she crashed.
    Over the years scrap dealers cleared the site but today some large pieces of the aircraft still remain , alot of it has found its way into gullies and has fallen down the steep mountain side.
    Some of the uninjured crew walked 5 miles to a nearby farmers house and they came back to aid the crew , some of the crew are buried in irvinestown Church of Ireland.

    Part of the tail section.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by behblc; 11-14-2007, 09:56 AM.

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      #272
      In terms of flying time she was about half an hour away from Archdale when she crashed after this peak she was home and dry - a few feet was the difference between life and death.
      Another view of the tail section - roots for the tail plane and rudder sections can be seen and the hull lines made out , this looks "towards" the rear turret which would be just beyond this section.
      Attached Files

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        #273
        Section as seen in the aircraft.

        A view towards the tail section , the structure on which the tail was built can be seen in situ , just beyond it the rear turret and what on occasions must have been a really wonderful and at times peaceful view.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by behblc; 11-13-2007, 05:40 PM. Reason: Repost.

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          #274
          Myself

          With part of the nose section the forward turret would have run out and been retracted on this when mooring the aircraft .
          Less weight and more hair when this was taken.
          Attached Files

          Comment

            #275
            Bomb rack.

            A bomb rack found some distance from the impact site , still in really good condition , the arms still clean and greased.
            Extremely heavy - this was made to shoulder quite a load and to be able to deploy that load quickly - see photo below.
            Attached Files

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              #276
              Bomb rack.

              The bomb rack when fully loaded and ready to be run out.
              The charges were carried internally and when deployed would be run out from the fuselage to the wings side doors being openned in the hull to allow them out.
              When deployed for action they would have been close to the hull , the point of no return for the aircraft , its crew and for the guys on the bandstand trying to shoot the aircraft down .
              If you saw this thing bearing down on you with its charges out - the bastard meant buisness !

              Whatever way you look at it it's a long way from the bomb dumps seen at the start of this thread to the seas off Iceland or the waters of Biscay.

              I have a book which details the settings and spacing for the charges.
              Attached Files
              Last edited by behblc; 11-13-2007, 06:03 PM.

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                #277
                Engine.

                A Pegasus XVII 965 hp engine , now smashed on an Irish mountain side .
                At present ( as far as I can recall ) all the engine are still there in various states of damage.
                Attached Files
                Last edited by behblc; 11-13-2007, 06:08 PM.

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                  #278
                  Another section of the aircraft - no idea what this one is, wing perhaps ?
                  Attached Files

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                    #279
                    Some more wreckage , I get the impression that some large part was cut here and all we see now are scraps left behind.

                    To me it seems undignified that such a mighty machine in which men died was reduced to be icked over by scrap merchants out to make a quick shilling or two.

                    The 201 Sunderland which crashed above Killybegs ( March 1945) went the same way and as the crow flies they are only a few miles apart .

                    As they rest in Irvinestown the crew members of both aircraft are within yards of each other.
                    Attached Files

                    Comment

                      #280
                      422 Aircaft down over Biscay.

                      As you may well judge from the type - this one I didn't copy today or yesterday

                      This is a report made on the loss of a 422 RCAF Sunderland over Biscay - she had a failure of the reduction gear on a prop which broke off ( the prop could not be feathered in the Pegasus0 it broke off lodged in afloat and the aircraft became uncontrolable and they were forced to ditch.

                      The crew all made it into their life rafts and after several days adrift were rescued by a 228 Sunderland which landed and picked them up.
                      The take off was a close run thing but they got airborne and made it back , one of the few occasions were a flyingboat was able to land and effect the air sea rescue of a downed aircrew from the Atlantic.
                      This same crew rescued the 422 crew later crashed on the Bluestacks in County Donegal as per the photos above.
                      Attached Files

                      Comment

                        #281
                        The report continued.
                        Attached Files

                        Comment

                          #282
                          Last part.
                          Also see 422 RCAF Website
                          at http://www.georgian.net/422sqdrn/44.htm

                          I am pretty sure there is a photo of the crew on this site which holds an excellent selection of photos and recollections.
                          422 Asociation has been very active for many years , perhaps more so than many associations.


                          When the squadron was last over I gave Bud Crookes a selection of crew photos ( mostly formal ones) and a copy of the squadrons ORB which given what he intended to do was going to be of more immediate use for Bud.
                          Attached Files
                          Last edited by behblc; 11-14-2007, 04:59 AM.

                          Comment

                            #283
                            Some more engines.

                            These engines belong to 201 Sunderland DD848 which crashed on Mount Brandon on 22nd August 1943 one of several Castle Archdale based Sunderlands sent to Biscay that day .
                            This one is located on the side of Brandon , a mountain which claimed several aircraft including a BOAC Sunderland , a Wellington and a FW-200.
                            I have a photo of a memorial plaque set up by the War virds Research group of Ireland on the wall of the pub beside which the engine shown in the lower photo is now located.
                            Another 201 aircraft following them down tracked them on their radar set.
                            A few years ago Jim Wright told me how he saw the aircraft simply "disappear from the set" and in that instant they were gone.

                            In recent years Maureen Ingram and her husband Les (an ex merchant seaman) have returned to visit Co. Fermanagh on several occasions visiting her fathers grave in irvinestown and presenting a memorial plaque to the local Church of Ireland Church - they have plaques from almost all the operational squadrons set up around the war memorial lisiting local men killed in WW1 and 2 . ( On the left at the rear of the church when you enter).

                            Guy Wilkinson is buried along with a number of his crew adjacent to the Commonwealth cemetery marker at the front of the church - some photographs taken at their funeral are poste earlier in this thread.
                            Attached Files

                            Comment

                              #284
                              201 Sunderland from Mount brandon.

                              The second engine now mounted beaide a local public house.
                              You can imagine the efect of the prop mount and reduction gear shown in the photo would have on the flying trim of an aircraft if it lodge in a float or the side of the aircraft.
                              At last three Sunderlands from Archdale were lost due to this happening.
                              for the weight carried the Sunderland was underpowered when fullyloaded , three engines could not produce enough power to keep her in the air or get her off the wter if an engine failure occurred when she was "well down the flarepath".
                              Attached Files

                              Comment

                                #285
                                Catalina wing section.

                                This section from the wing of Catalina A/240 AM265 is still close to the site of her demise , a few yards above this a small stone buit shed exists , built shorty after the crash an outer ( upper) secton from a wing was used to make the roof.
                                This section still has the yellow paint as per the USN and the bold white and blue bnavy star on it , soem evidence of the RAF over paint still to be seen.

                                Gent holding this is Mr Seamus Gormley from Enniskillen.

                                This was taken some years ago , I have a photo of the shed roof somewhere , but will have to go back to this location in the coming months.

                                The site of the crash is marked by a wood cross errected in the early 1980's.

                                The Irish intelligence report makes interesting reading as they allowed the RAf to come over the border and asssist in dealing with the wreckage and to identify the bodies - all of which were badly burned , the fire was immediate and all consuming - traces of it mark the section shown.

                                The G2 Intelligence officers records points of the conversation - evidently asking about armament , range and preformace of the aircraft.
                                They reported that the catalina was able ( from lough Erne) to partol as far as newfoundland and return to Lough Erne.
                                The office either misunderstood or was deliberatly given misleading informaion by the RAF officer.
                                the graves of these young mean have been shown earlier.
                                P/O Seward , the only man not buried locally has been shown in an earlier photograph.
                                Attached Files

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