Underwater Footage Captures World War Two Bomber Wreck

An aircraft from the Second World War, which crashed into the North Sea over eight decades ago, has been captured on video in its underwater resting place for the initial time. Rob Spray, a diver based in Suffolk, discovered the Handley-Page Hampden near Salthouse on the north Norfolk coast during a session of filming marine organisms. The Royal Air Force bomber experienced fuel depletion while on its return journey from a bombing mission over Berlin on 1 September 1940. Geoff Mandale, son of Sgt James “Jimmy” Mandale, who served as the aircraft’s rear gunner, described the footage as “incredible,” further stating: “He’s done a really good job, that diver – I have to thank him.” Sgt. Mandale survived the event, along with British national Sgt Harry Logan and Canadians David Romans and Donald Stewart, who were the aircraft’s pilot and navigator, respectively. Mr. Mandale, residing in Whitehaven, Cumbria, noted that his father, despite completing 47 missions, never encountered enemy aircraft to engage. He remarked, “You would call him lucky.” Regarding the footage captured by Mr. Spray, he stated: “I had no emotion because nobody lost a life.” “I think if one of my dad’s mates had lost his life and he’d survived, that would have been a touching point.” Sgt. Mandale lived through the war and passed away four decades ago at the age of 63. Mr. Spray, who chairs the Marine Conservation for Norfolk Action Group, located the aircraft resting approximately 23 feet (7 meters) beneath the surface. He commented, “I was looking for interesting bits of seabed and this loomed out of the slight murk.” “The clincher was ‘that’s an aircraft engine with a propeller on’. It was quite a big piece of wreckage and it’s got to have been there since the war, so these are 80-year-old artefacts hanging around on the seabed.” Paul Hennessey of Norfolk Wreck Research assisted in identifying the aircraft as bomber P2123; however, the identification process was complicated by the presence of only a single engine. Subsequent investigation revealed that the second engine had been retrieved in 1975 after fishermen’s crab pots became entangled with it, and it has been housed at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum in Flixton, near Bungay, Suffolk, since that time. He explained, “Basically, we just put all the pieces together and came up with the conclusion that the aircraft Rob had was the Hampden.” According to aviation historian Bob Collis, affiliated with the museum, the Handley-Page Hampden is “a largely forgotten” aircraft. He noted, “There were over 1,000 built, but only three examples left in museums.” This bomber represents one of numerous wrecked aircraft scattered across the seabed near the British coastline, though its recovery is improbable. Information regarding Norfolk news is accessible via BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. This content is copyrighted by BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for material on external websites. Details on the approach to external linking are available.