The Manx Aviation and Military Museum at the Airport has recently acquired four unique photographs of a crashed Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber plane near Douglas Head in 1945.
Ivor Ramsden, museum director, described how the photographs turned up:
“One of our members, John Qualtrough of Port St Mary, is constantly searching for old Manx photographs and he called me recently to tell me about these photos which had appeared for sale on the Ebay internet auction site. I had a look and quickly realised that the photographs were of one of the Fairey Barracudas which were based at Ronaldsway during 1944 and 1945, when it was a Royal Naval Air Station where torpedo bomber crews were trained. I put bids on all four pictures and was lucky enough to buy them. I can’t explain how they came to be in the south of England in private hands but they are now back in the Island after 70 years and they are safe for the future. Although the price we paid was rather eye-watering, these historic photos are an important addition to our collection. Stamps on the back show that they were taken by the Navy’s official photographer from Ronaldsway, and coincidentally the reception area of the museum is the old photographic dark room where these pictures would actually have been developed and printed back in 1945, so they really have come full circle. The Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton has an album of some 400 photographs taken by the photographic section at Ronaldsway but it doesn’t contain any crash photographs like these so we are fairly sure that they are unique survivors. We have a good relationship with them and we shall be letting them have copies.
“This particular aeroplane was on a training flight on the afternoon of 9th August 1945 when it caught fire. The smoke from the plane caught the attention of the hundreds of people on Douglas Promenade that summer afternoon and many of them watched as two of the crew baled out and parachuted into the sea from which they were quickly picked up by the Royal Air Force Air-Sea Rescue boat which was stationed in Douglas harbour, none the worse for their adventure. Rather than baling out himself, the pilot bravely crash-landed the blazing aeroplane just inland from Marine Drive. By crash-landing rather than baling out he might have been making sure that the plane didn’t come down in Douglas, risking the lives of local people on the ground. As soon as it came to a halt he jumped out, suffering only minor injuries, but the wrecked plane soon became engulfed in flames and by the time that the Royal Navy firefighters arrived from Ronaldsway the plane had been destroyed.”
Ivor went on to comment on the alarming number of accidents to Ronaldsway’s Fairey Barracuda planes:
“At the museum we have got records of over 30 incidents involving Barracudas during 1944-45 and sadly 24 young Naval airmen lost their lives in the more serious accidents. Some of them, whose aeroplanes crashed into the sea, were never found. The crew of this particular aeroplane were some of the lucky ones.”
One of the new photographs shows a small boy sitting by the Navy recovery crew’s kettle looking at the wrecked plane. Maybe he is still around and Ivor would love to hear from him and anybody else who remembers this or any other wartime incidents. Ivor can be contacted on 454596 or 822695.
Today no evidence remains of the startling events of that summer Thursday afternoon. The burnt area of ground where the plane ended up was destroyed during the development of the motocross site on Douglas Head.
Enlarged copies of the photographs and more information about the crash will be on display at the museum from Saturday 27th February onwards.
The museum is open during half term and every Saturday and Sunday through the winter from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission is free.
(Culled from www.isleofman.com)
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