DetectingWales.com

By Dan Bloom

A tyre from a wartime bomber which crashed on a beach 74 years ago has been rediscovered after strong winds and high tides swept back the sand.

The storms which have been battering Britain revealed the huge black rubber tyre on the shore of Fairlight, East Sussex.

A historian believes it was attached to a Wellington bomber which crash-landed less than 100 yards away after running out of fuel as it returned from a raid on Dusseldorf.

A piece of history: Amateur historian Andy Saunders with the giant tyre from a Wellington bomber
Downed: The tyre was found less than 100 yards from where N2767, from 99 Squadron based at Newmarket, Suffolk, downed after it ran out of fuel on November 9, 1940. Incredibly, all six crew members survived


Incredibly, all six crew members of N2767, from 99 Squadron based at Newmarket, Suffolk, survived the crash on the night of November 9, 1940. According to records, they were unable to find an aerodrome to land at so made a calculated decision to ditch the plane in the sea, rather than try to land normally in darkness.

The aircraft broke up as it landed in the sea, and only the main fuselage was later recovered.

However, the recent storms have created a new tourist attraction on the beach near Hastings, with dog walkers and aviation enthusiasts flocking to see a piece of history.

The tyre has a hole about the size of a 10p piece that may have been the result of flak damage from the time.
Iconic: Together with the Spitfire, the Wellington bomber was one of the most recognisable of the 1940s

The plane (centre) was also used in a flypast over Buckingham Palace on the 60th anniversary of the war's end

Historian Andy Saunders said he was almost completely certain of the tyre's history.
'The tyre is almost certainly from the Wellington bomber that came down about 50 to 100 yards away from it,' he said.

'The plane broke up in the sea and they dredged quite a lot of it up.
'The tyre must have been covered up by the sand at the time and the recent storms have just exposed it.
'It is about 6ft wide and it has a small hole in it that may have come from flak.'

1 big tyre that is I thought it was someones new coil at first tho  ;)

Great read neil

Yep beaches are looking good ;)




http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-25943369 (http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-25943369)

very interesting post well found  ;)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25917404 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25917404)
this too ;D

Amazing things coming up after these storms :)

That bloke looks tired.  :D :D
Good read that.

I didn't even realise Wellington had bombers....no wonder he won at Waterloo then ::)

OUCH !  ;D ;D

So excited bring on the storms!

Great post - interesting read.

Enjoyable read Neil good slice of aviation history  ;)

wow surprising how much sands been stripped