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Seafire III engine dig in Dorset

Published

Supermarine Seafire III
RAF Serial: NN411
761 Squadron
Pilot: S/Lt. Gordon Edward McLeod (killed)
Date: 23rd June 1945
Place: Margaret Marsh, near Shaftesbury, Dorset

The Seafire, from No.761 Squadron based at H.M.S. Dipper, Henstridge, went into a spin during air combat practice on 23rd June 1945. The pilot, Sub-Lieutenant Gordon Edward McLeod (Royal New Zealand Navy), was killed. He was from Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand, and is buried in Sherborne Cemetery.

Supermarine Seafire III with wings folded

NN411 fell into Margaret Marsh (near Shaftesbury, Dorset) with a ‘dead’ engine and was not deeply buried, but conditions in 1945 meant that the Merlin was not recovered.

The crash site at Margaret Marsh, which was drained after the war
Although there was little evidence on the surface, the engine was accurately located
Care was taken not to further damage the engine casing with the digger’s bucket
Digging a Merlin out of the mud by hand is no easy task…
…Almost done!


The excavation revealed a remarkably preserved Rolls Royce Merlin 55 Serial/No M209055.

Even the rocker covers, usually smashed on impact, are intact
Pressure-washing 62 years of mud away reveals the 4-bladed propeller hub

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