Since the Plymouth Breakwater was built in 1830 a great many ships have come to grief along it’s mile-long expanse of stone and concrete. Ships and breakwaters seem to go together, but aeroplanes? Well hardly. However, at the west end of the Plymouth Breakwater lies the remains of a Lancaster bomber. How it came to be there is a grim reminder of those desperate days when Britain was engaged in a battle for her very survival, a survival that meant the destruction of the German U-boats. By 1943 the U-boat had almost brought Britain to her knees, and despite fifty-six bombing raids, Lorient, one of the most important submarine bases in Europe was still functioning.
On the night of 13th February 1943 a huge bombing raid was again due to take place on Lorient. Amongst all the bombers, which also included Halifaxes and Stirlings, was a Lancaster of 49 Squadron based at Fiskerton. The bombers attacked in two waves, and this time they caused such an enormous amount of destruction that the glow from the fires could be seen 160 miles away. Later reports confirmed the devastation and described the target area as a complete mass of flames. The price of success, however, was dearly bought, and amongst many others our particular Lancaster was severely damaged. Struggling across the dark sea, the pilot was desperately trying to make an emergency landing at R.A.F. Harrowbeer (just outside Plymouth). Unfortunately the Lancaster kept losing height and the pilot must have known that he would never make it.
In a last brave attempt the pilot tried to crash land in Plymouth Sound, but by now the plane must have been completely uncontrollable, and far to low. Falling from the sky, the Lancaster hit the Breakwater and completely disintegrated killing all seven crew outright; Their bodies were never recovered, and the official account of 49 Squadron recorded them as being “missing without trace”.
Today the Lancaster, or rather what’s left of it, lies at the base of the Breakwater in about forty-five feet of water. This area is made up of huge boulders and concrete blocks piled one on top of the other until they reach the surface. The division between these blocks and the sandy bottom is quite distinct, and the wreckage, situated just off the sand is quite easy to spot even if you are not right on the marks.
For the technically minded, the Lancaster was a Mark Three, powered by four Rolls Royce Merlin 28 engines, and it is one of these engines which first attracts the eye. Now a lot of this aircraft has already been salvaged, and this engine is soon to be raised by the Devon Aircraft Recovery Group. So what remains is obviously well broken up, and mostly trapped underneath the concrete blocks.
However, there is still a lot to see, and a search of the surrounding area will reveal other smaller pieces of wreckage, most of them stuck in the crevices between the blocks. The main pieces of wreckage, however, comprise an engine nancelle complete with battered propeller, a large amount of airframe, some undercarriage, and a complete engine. Apart from the wreckage the whole area is a joy to dive, with the contrast between the flat sand and the tumbling boulders providing the ideal environment for a host of different marine life.
Huge spotted wrasse, shoals of pollock and pouting, and even that most elusive of fish the silvery bass, all compete for your attention, making this a site that surely has something for everyone. On a personal note, I have always considered the remains of this Lancaster to be a small war grave, and try to treat it with respect. At the same time it is a wreck and I enjoy diVing on it. I am sure that “they” would understand, I hope you will too.
I am very grateful to Simon Raithby-Allin for the photo and poignant notes below.
Please find the attached image of my Grandad, Ron, navigator on the Lancaster in Plymouth sound. He is pictured with my uncle, John, who sadly died a few years ago. My father wasn’t born when Ron died, so there are no pictures of the three of them together. This picture is taken from the 49 Squadron web page, but my dad still has the original on his desk! Sadly, John used to wait at Nottingham train station daily for Ron to return, but he never did. John would then run back to Carlton, on the outskirts of Nottingham, kicking cars, very distressed, every day.
Mr David Houldridge says
Your photograph suggesting an item on the seabed as perhaps part of the undercarriage is in fact the front end of the crankshaft of one of the engines.I believe I recently saw one of the propellers at the Pathfinder Museun RAF Wyton Cambs from this aircraft. Your website was a pleasure to visit,keep up the good work. D H.
M. SEYMOUR says
I received a letter from Robin Hood of the Devon Aircraft Research and Recovery Team and I sent him some paperwork relating to the Lancaster wreck. I have not heard from him and am unable to elicit any response to letters, emails, or telephone calls. Does anyone have a contact for DARRT please?.
Regards
Simon Raithby-Allin says
My grandad was the navigator on this Lancaster, Ronald Allin. he died 3 months before my father was born. We visited the U boat pens in Lorient 2007 on a holiday to Brittany. they are still standing, a fitting monument really to the effort of my grandad and his crew, and thousands of others lost in Bomber Command. RIP Grandad.
Colin Urry says
Easter 1958 I was on Duty Crew at 49MU Colerne when we were called out to a wrecked aircraft beginning to show itself on Worthing beach. There was enough wreackage to identify it as a Lancaster when we started recovery work, the following day and the proprietor of one of the hotels on the Esplanade came over to tell us the aircraft had knocked a chimney pot off of his building. He said the crew had bailed out over land and I did a little research several years ago and the aircraft was from 49Sqdn and the pilot, who died was Polish ‘Per ardua ad astra’
tony bunn says
I actually have a piece of this aircraft which was given to me by someone who retrieved it from the wreck .to other people it is just a piece of worthless metal but to me it is priceless because of those brave guys who lost their lives to keep us free..
Steve Browning says
Further to Colin Urry’s response. This is a very tragic case. The Lanc was flown by a P/O Essenheigh. His plane took off on a raid (which my late father was also on – as a navigator). They had insufficient power to gain height and could not bail out because they were too close to the ground. They couldn’t ditch the bombs because they’d have been blown up.
They flew around for some 3 hours trying to think of something but would have known they had no hope whatsoever. The plane came down on Worthing Beach, narrowly missing the Dome Cinema, and exploded on the beach killing the crew. They are buried at Durrington Cemetery on the outskirts of the twon.
David Nichols says
The picture “The Boys At Fiskerton’ shows a Lancaster bomber and it’s crew. The pilot,wearing a cap is my first cousin,Russ Ewens. Russ was born in Plymouth in 1922,was educated at Froeble House School at Stuart Road and then Plymouth College from 1935 up until his joining the RAF in 1939. During the time he was at Plymouth College,and while his parents were in Malaya,Russ lived with my mother and father,and myself at PeverellTerrace Plymouth. He was in fact more like my big brother than my cousin. Manyears later in the 1960’s we lived about 3 miles from each other in Berkshire,and played golf together once or twice a week. He was a British Airways Captain and I was a Customs Officer at London Airport. I often gave him a lift home if his flight arrival coincided with my leaving to go home.
Sadly he died several years ago.
David Nichols.
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Steve says
Is any of the recovered wreckage displayed in a museum anywhere ? If not is it somewhere ?
Chorley tells us that 11 aircraft were lost on the Lorient raid.