Saturday 26 April 2008

Douglas Boston Mk.III Z2186


havoc
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Close to a location given in in this list for a bit of the Boston wreck (compiled we are told by the muppets who attempted to clear Snowdonia of plane wreckage) we found these fragments of aircraft wreckage. We think that they are therefore most likely from the Boston.

The only planes which crashed on this mountain which we can definitely rule out however are the Cessna and the Lincoln, as one of the bits here is a fired (not heat discharged) 0.303 cartridge. Lincolns have 0.50 calibre guns, and the Cessna was unarmed.

The photo is not clear on this, but the riveted component to the right of the cartridge was painted olive drab.

Location: SH 66552 63760

More info

7 comments:

William said...

I was on Carnedd Dafydd yesterday and spent around two hours just south east of the peak looking for any sign of the Boston. The only thing I found was a small patch of disturbed ground together with a strip of aluminium and other tiny metal fragments at SH 66732 62918.

This is also close to a location given in the list you mention although the pieces I found are too small to be identified.

William

Sean said...

What this bit? http://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.com/2008/07/douglas-boston-mkiii-z2186.html

William said...

No, the piece I found was at a height of about 960m. It was a strip about 2cm wide by 14cm length with a hole or two for rivets as well as some tiny metal fragments of the type you often see mixed in with the earth at an impact site. The disturbed ground I mentioned, although small, looks typical of an impact site, exposed earth and stones surrounded by the normal vegetation

The piece in your link is one bit I could not find when I was down in the valley in July looking for the Lincoln, Wellington and Boston. I did locate those Boston bits under that huge rock however.

William

Sean said...

Thanks William...the bit I have linked to is on top, close to where the 'plane used to rest, not in the valley...

William said...

When I was there in July it looks like I got the coordinates mixed up for that bit you linked to, placing it in the valley, not surprisingly I did not find it.

I see it is in fact a mere 80m from where I found the strip of aluminium and I must have passed it on my way to the summit of Daffydd.

I was also looking for the slate plaque, which is mentioned on other web sites and should be up there somewhere but failed to find it.

William

Sean said...

We tried too, and we had a damn good search to no effect....

William said...

Yesterday afternoon I went up onto the Carneddau. There were still a handful of snow patches on the eastern side despite it being a nice sunny day.

The main objective was to find the slate plaque relating to the Boston. Using the 6 figure grid ref given in Alan Clark’s new book "Aircraft wrecks, the walkers guide" I found it in the space of 20 minutes at SH 66934 62845. This is some 200 metres East of the patch of disturbed ground that I came across last September and further still from the piece you found, which I also located this time.

The plaque itself is in very poor condition having broken into several pieces and the writing is completely unreadable. A piece of wreckage, a 2 foot by 2 foot section of aluminium backed with steel plating accompanies the plaque.

William