[ARC5] Wreck sites

[Roger Basford]

Have been following the wreck postings with interest. Over here in East 
Anglia we had the biggest concentration of bomber bases in the UK during 
WWII and consequently quite a few aircraft came to grief in my area. The 
government has now made it unlawful to dig up wreck sites without a permit, 
I think this came about after incidents of human remains and munitions 
turning up. In one local case, a B-24 was excavated and found to have a full 
bomb load on board which the RAF had to blow-up in situ, due to bomb fuse 
damage. A few years back we had a national TV programme digging up two B-17s 
that had collided whilst forming up to land after a raid, they made an 
interesting story out of it with eye-witnesses and all.

Just recently, eBay UK had a lot of Lancaster bomber parts, including 
turrets, control wheel, rudder pedals and radio stuff, all sold for a LOT of 
money. This apparently came off a wreck in The Wash, a shallow area of the 
North Sea on the east coast, presumably before the ban was brought in. Some 
of the radio stuff that turns up from wrecks looks in good (but bent!) 
condition despite 60 years in the ground, BC-375 TU packs seem to be a 
common item! One famous pilot who "bought the farm" around here was Joseph 
Kennedy Jr, whose B-24 Project Aphrodite drone blew up about 15 miles from 
here at Blythburgh and which caused massive damage to the local area.

Most of the USAAF fields are now back under the plough or are industrial 
estates but most of them have a memorial and some have restored towers, etc.

Hope this is of interest, if a bit OT.

73,

Roger Basford, G3VKM.
Norfolk, England 



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