Back to News Archive

Members of the Defence Forces were on hand to assist in the disposal of ordnance during the recovery of the wreckage of an RAF Supermarine Spitfire IIa which crashed in a bog at Moneydarragh, on the Inishowen peninsula in Co. Donegal in 1941. The aircraft P8074, which was part of 133 Eagle Squadron (code BD-?), based at RAF Eglinton, now City of Derry Airport, went down on Sunday morning 30th November 1941 after developing engine trouble. The pilot, Roland 'Bud' Wolfe, an American Eagle pilot from Nebraska parachuted to safety, was interned in the Curragh detention camp for two years and survived the war. He went on to fly in Korea and Vietnam and died in Florida in 1994 aged 76. The one-day dig on 28th June, was the first licensed excavation of a second World War aircraft in Ireland and involved some of Britain’s top aviation archaeologists. It was organised by Northern Ireland aviation historian Jonny McNee, who began searching for the Spitfire six months ago, following numerous failed attempts by others. While the Spitfire was “pretty smashed up”, it was remarkably well preserved in the peat, according to English aviation archaeologist Simon Parry and part of the fuselage along with six Browning .303 machine guns, two magazines, hydraulic controls, 450 rounds of ammunition, a propeller, tyres, landing gear, seat belts and the pilot's helmet complete with oxygen mask were recovered.