World War II Wellington bomber ditching in iconic Loch Ness recalled in plaque unveiling on A82
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE ditching of a Wellington bomber in Loch Ness during World War II and its subsequent discovery decades later have been recalled in the unveiling of a new plaque.
The ceremony took place yesterday in the Wellington layby on the A82, close to where the ill-fated aircraft crashed on Hogmanay 1940 after running into a snow storm.
One member of the crew, 20-year-old Sgt JS Fensome, was killed when his parachute failed to open and although the other seven members of the RAF aircrew survived to fly another day, four of them were killed in action before the end of the war.
The installation of the new plaque was organised by the Loch Ness Wellington 2020 Project and concludes a programme of 80th anniversary commemorations which had to be altered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The plaque, which replaces an older one, highlights the initial discovery of the wreckage by an American-led team of researchers and has been designed in collaboration with the Academy of Applied Science in Boston, Massachusetts.
It was unveiled by Adrian Shine, of the Loch Ness Project based at the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition – 40 years to the day he was on board a vessel as part a follow-up expedition to gather further information on the submerged aircraft.
“It was fascinating and rather ghostly when we came upon it,” he recalled.
“We were disappointed to see the amount of damage done subsequent to its original discovery.
“There were sections of framework torn and missing.”
He thought the damage had occurred during diving activity.
The wreckage was first discovered in 1976 by Martin Klein and Charles Finkelstein during a side scan sonar for a scientific survey in collaboration with the Academy of Applied Science led by Robert Rines.
But it was only after studying the images later that they spotted what seemed to be an aircraft.
A team from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh led by Robert Holmes later made another search and established the aircraft was Wellington N2980, ‘R’ for Robert, which was finally raised in 1985.
To mark yesterday’s occasion, Mr Klein sent a recorded message from the US to those taking part.
“Today is not about me,” he said.
“Today is about the Wellington Bomber. It is about the people who designed it, and Barnes Wallace, and the people who built it at Brooklands – and the amazing people who had the courage to fly this incredible aircraft.”
Also taking part was Ian Benzie, the retired headmaster of Drumsmittal School on the Black Isle, while the plaque was dedicated by Len Black.
