Military Archaeology

I'm never in the right bloody place at the right time!

WWII P-38 Fighter Discovered in Wales | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited

While the Mail has a photo of the wreck-

Shifting sands reveal World War Two fighter plane lost for 65 years | the Daily Mail

 

as there is snow up in the Austrian alps I wanted just to post that some friends have found a missing SturmFw of IV.Sturm/JG 3 from the 23 August 1944 battle and have begun digs with some very interesting pieces found.........will have to wait till spring for more for obvious reason so will post some pics later as they come to me. I luv this type of stuff .........

E ~

 

Brilliant, Erich! Look forward to seeing those pics!

 

they have found some of the cockpit details as to gauges and some BMW engine pieces, several 2cm and 3cm round casings with good markings and unbelievable clean piece of 5mm plus armor plate off the fuselage that still has the greys camo intact in wonderful clean condition, found the pilot ID disc which is curious still in the area as the pilot was pulled out and buried soon after his crash in August of 44.

a very impressive work finding out through his ID and dating many pilots and air battles who the victim is

E

 

That sounds like it's going to be some recovery when the weather clears. Is the wreckage compacted or spread over a wide area?

 

well here a sampling of the SturmFw. note the Panzerplatten plate on the upper right still in the original camo. the pilot was from 16.Sturm/JG 3 when he was KIA. forget about the insignias especially the B-17 within the gun sight as that is not correct. we both are trying to find out what the extra hole in the 5mm armor is.

W. Moritz a/c done up by friend S. Schatz of Austria

 

That's a hefty chunk of fuselage!

 

Fascinating stuff ! Was the piece of armourplate unique to the Fw 190A-8...?

 

let me see if I can put this in real perspective, the area marked on the drawing in red is what he has possession of. the largest piece to the left of the area in red I have in actuallity 1/2 of that big angled plate from another SturmFw 190A of JG 4. The Panzerplatten or armored plate was used on the heavy bomber killer Fw 190A-8/R2's and R8's.

now hoping this makes sense, 1st pic from Lorant of JG 300 Sturm members note the forward fuselage plate on the left side.

2nd pic from Willi Unger to me shows him in a JG 3 StrumFw with his right arm near the plate in question .........

E ~

 

to add to the drama of the event of August 1944 mission with help from little ol me to my friend Kurt, they came up with this attack scenario though there was in this case twice as many Fw 190's attacking the US formation of the 451st bg............6 waves from the rear of 109's and Fw's according to US bomber crew vets. The LW pilot who lost his life and have found remnants of his a/c was on the left side of the attacking/defensive force in 16th staffel

 

What superb and painstaking research Erich.

 

another sad and sobering reminder. the pilots grave and another SturmFw pilot buried together, and note the candle as memory at the base of the cross

 

My apologies for wandering slightly off WW2 Otto, but a few others might also find this interesting.

It's not available as distance learning yet, unfortunately.

 

A new study has been launched on wartime aircraft crash sites at sea-
Aircraft Crash Sites at Sea

It seems to be run by Wessex Archaeology, probably best known from Time Team

 

This message was posted on histarch but it may be of interest to those
on
this list as well.

Sent: Friday, 28 December 2007 8:17 AM
Subject: Call for Papers: Conference on Coastal Fortifications

> Coastal Fortifications: From the Beginning to Modern Time.
> The VIII International Conference on Military Monuments, Faro,
> Algarve, Portugal. 27-29 November 2008 Sponsored by the Associacao
> Portuguers dos Amigos dos Castelos and the Universidade do Algarve.
>
> Call for Abstracts. Deadline 30 April 2008. Acceptances will be
> notified by 30 June 2008.
>
> Conference will consist of four thematic sessions: Historiography;
> Structural elements and construction; Restoration and protection of
> its environemntal and landscape context; and Cultural intervention
and
> re-use.
>
> Abstracts to be 250 words max, in English or Portuguese, and will be
> accompanied by a one-page Bio of the author. Abstracts must include
> author(s) name(s) e-mail conatct; title, a concise statement of the
> issue; and a smummary of the major conclusions, and an indication of
> the session in which the paper will be included. No communications to

> exceed 20 m.
>
> Send all correspondence to _congresso@amigoscastelos.org.pt_
(mailto:congresso@amigoscastelos.org.pt)
> Fax: +351 210 805 342
>

Tom Wheaton
_trwheaton@gmail.com_ (mailto:trwheaton@gmail.com)

 

Just learnt that Channel 4 will be screening a Time Team episode called Blitzkrieg on Shooter's Hill in Sunday 10th February.
No further details available, but there's something there according to Subterranea Britannica-
Subterranea Britannica: Sites: Shooters Hill - Air Raid Shelter

 

It might be one of those shelters for those British commandos to be used if Germany invaded...I've forgotten the name.

 

You mean operational bases, Joe? They weren't usually that substantial, but the Auxiliary Units are known to have used empty and derelict buildings as bases.
Here's something I just got on the feeder-
WW1 U-Boat finally located off Berwickshire coast-
After 90 years, sea gives up secret of sunken sub - The Scotsman

 

All,

I hope you find this interview with yours truly interesting from The Daily Telegraph of a couple of weeks ago.

UK Pillboxes in the News

All the best

Ian

 

Here are some battery photos from Kincraig Battery, Earlsferry, FIFE, along the Firth of Forth.

This location had a radar site, numerous Observation Posts, Two Searchlight Platforms and Military camps. Including trenches and bunkers. There were three large battery sites containing three 6-inch Mk XXIV/v Guns.

Any additional info appreciated.


















Under this modern looking cover was a rusty ladder to a very large room.









It's a dangerous site with tall grass and unseen trenches. Take care when you visit.

More here