Blackburn Skua L2892 - Belmont - 2nd February 1943

New on 08.10.2003

The distinctive lines of the Blackburn Skua

Very little documentary evidence has come to light regarding the circumstances surrounding the loss of this unusual aircraft type, one of only three thought to have crashed on the mainland of Britain. As with all Fleet Air Arm losses, no records of the incident have survived and the only primary source available today is the record of the recovery operation carried out by No.75 M.U. shortly after the crash.

On the 2nd February 1943, Blackburn Skua L2892 of 776 Squadron was apparently flying from RAF Woodvale to Speke, piloted by Sub. Lt. A.J. Newton, when it suffered an engine failure and attempted a forced landing with its undercarriage retracted on high ground above the town of Bolton. Unfortunately the aircraft skidded across the field and over the edge of a flooded disused quarry, used as a mill lodge, exploding on impact and sinking immediately. Both crew members were thought to have been killed by the impact and their bodies remained trapped in the wreckage in some 60 feet of water.

The recovery operation began the next day and proved to be tricky to say the least and had to be carried out using shear legs, pulleys and cables as the ground around the edge of the quarry was too boggy to allow a crane to get near. Though by demolishing part of a stone wall they were able to get a hawser fixed to the crane to help drag the fuselage once it was lifted clear. By the 5th February, both bodies had the bulk of the aircraft had been recovered, though the engine was abandoned as it was too deeply embedded in the mud at the bottom of the reservoir for divers to attach hawsers. All fragments of the plane were collected from the field and any damage to the ground and wall made good.

The site of the now filled-in quarry	The rebuilt section of wall

An interesting post-script to the story is that the Bolton Sub Aqua Club successfully recovered the engine in 1974 and following cleaning and conservation at the Bolton Institute of Technology it was passed on to the RAF Museum & placed in store at Cardington. Sadly its subsequent fate is not clear and enquiries to date have not managed to track it down. The quarry has now been completely filled in and made into a park and children's playground, though there is one section of the original wall that has been rebuilt at one time, but not recently, as it has weathered considerably.

Acknowledgements:

D. Williams, D.Stansfield, O.R.B. No.75 M.U. R. Sturtivant - Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939 - 1945

Email: lait@ukonline.co.uk

This page & all articles on this site Copyright © Nick Wotherspoon 2003