A visitor to the museum showed me a brass engine plate that they are convinced a relative removed from an aircraft that had crashed near their school as a child. I am at a bit of a loss as to how to confirm this or not but said I would look into for them. The plate has the following text stamped on it: ENGINE TYPE ENGINE NO. S10899 F SERIES NO. 18 A.M. NO. 19626O F If anyone can help confirm that this indeed came off an aircraft I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Confirmed AM as Air Ministry. Probably a Pegasus 18 and possibly from Sunderland (S for Short), Wellington or Hampden. If you can give the area of crash eg village and have a stab at date I may be able to confirm the probably and possible. Ross
Hi Ross Thanks very much for the swift response. I live in County Fermanagh, N. Ireland and I believe the boy who found the brass plate was a pupil at Portora Royal School so its probably from a Sunderland.
They were pretty vague on the date and any details relating to the plate except a relative found it as a schoolboy and they were told it was from a WWII plane crash. It may be very hard to pin down to any specific plane as I know quite a few crashed here during the war. I am aware of a Sunderland that crashed only a few miles from Enniskillen at Trory, Short Sunderland Flying Boat W6028 but there were probably many others I am not aware of.
On further reading another Sunderland crashed near Irvinestown (17 miles from Enniskillen) registration NJ183 (Feb 11th 1945). I think most of the other planes that crashed in the vicinity of Enniskillen hit the Lough and its unlikely a schoolboy would have salvaged the engine plate from any of those! The crash at Trory is recorded as taking place on 19th November 1944. I am not sure if any of the above is useful but thought I would add it in just in case. It would be great if the brass plate could be attributed to the exact Sunderland from the engine stamps shown in the photo. Many thanks again
Yup that was my thinking - not too many crashes he could have accessed. Couple in 1943 if it was not local to the school - but as you can see from the F1180s attached the recorded engine serials eliminate these. That leaves Feb 1945 - NJ183 that had an engine fallout due to the fire. - No engine numbers recorded in the F1180 ML743 is also an outside possible but not local to school - again No engine numbers recorded in the F1180 On the balance I would (edit -not) say the plate came from NJ183. Ross
Ross That is great thanks so much for your help with this one, I had a gut feeling it was W6028 as I think its the closest crash site on land to the school. By pure coincidence I know the nephew of the local landowner at Trory who saw that plane coming down. He recalled seeing the plane flying unusually low and followed it in his tractor and helped to rescue some of the RAF personnel who were trapped in the plane. It is mentioned in a book by local historian Breege McCusker. If I can find my copy I'll scan it and upload it if anyone is interested. Many thanks again Ross .
Short Sunderland W6028 took off from RAF St. Angelo, Co. Fermanagh on 20th February 1944. It was to take part in a training exercise simulating a battle with a Bristol Beaufighter from RAF 235 Squadron. This squadron had come to Co. Fermanagh to cover Atlantic convoys from Luftwaffe attacks. The training exercise involved Short Sunderland W6028 and the Bristol Beaufighter flying low and fast. The Flying Boat approached RAF St. Angelo from the north-east following the line of the main road. The crash occurred as the plane attempted to avoid a low hill at Trory, Co. Fermanagh The Sunderland was flying so low that its movement caused a wing to cut telephone lines before it came down in fields at 1250hrs on 20th February 1944. Wreckage burned across fields near RAF St. Angelo, not far from where the ferry to Devenish operates. A memorial to Sergeant Reginald William Bodsworth and Pilot Officer Leslie Arthur Hebenton stands near the site. Local resident Mr. James Lunney received a bravery medal for his work in helping survivors. Of the 10 members of the aircrew, 8 sustained injuries.
I can't find my copy of Breege McCusker's book but did come across the above online via a website called www.wartimeni.com It is amazing that there were any survivors from the crash when you look at the black and white photo of the wreckage. Thanks again Ross you're a star.
