Photo: Facebook/Egmond '40-'45
The ocean is mysteriously tied to aviation, as so many aircraft were lost at the bottom of it throughout history. Once in a while, the deepest waters will bring back to the surface another piece of history, smaller or larger, bringing back memories and realizations about important events and the part that was played by the massive metal birds.
It was on the night of December 17, 1942, when a British Short Stirling was getting close to home after a bombing mission. The Dutch coast was a friendly sign that the crew would soon make it back home to safety, as this was considered an area with fewer anti-aircraft guns. But instead of safety, they found death. All seven crew members, some of which were on their first flight, lost their lives after their aircraft got shut down by a German night fighter.
Eighty years later, debris pieces of this aircraft would show up at the beach at Camperduin, close to Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. After storm Eunice quieted down, a large piece of the fuselage was found on the beach, entangled in a fishing net, Dutch News reports. It wasn’t easy identifying the bomber and finding its exact place in history. The wreckage was initially found back in February, and only now it was officially identified as belonging to a British Short Stirling MK1.
“Holding it in your hands after it’s been on the bottom of the sea for eighty years is astounding,” Martijn Visser of the association Egmond ’40-’45 told NH Niews. He added that it’s rare to have such a big piece show up on the beach. To identify it, specialists from the association compared the wreck to the fuselage of another Short Sterling at the aircraft museum in Deelen.
This appears to be one of the three MK1 bombers that crashed near the Dutch coast during that time. Relatives of the crew members who passed away that day were notified, and it was an emotional moment. All of them, as well as future visitors, will be able to take a closer look at the historic piece of fuselage soon, as it will be exhibited at the bunker museum Jansje Schong, in Egmond aan Zee.
Eighty years later, debris pieces of this aircraft would show up at the beach at Camperduin, close to Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. After storm Eunice quieted down, a large piece of the fuselage was found on the beach, entangled in a fishing net, Dutch News reports. It wasn’t easy identifying the bomber and finding its exact place in history. The wreckage was initially found back in February, and only now it was officially identified as belonging to a British Short Stirling MK1.
“Holding it in your hands after it’s been on the bottom of the sea for eighty years is astounding,” Martijn Visser of the association Egmond ’40-’45 told NH Niews. He added that it’s rare to have such a big piece show up on the beach. To identify it, specialists from the association compared the wreck to the fuselage of another Short Sterling at the aircraft museum in Deelen.
This appears to be one of the three MK1 bombers that crashed near the Dutch coast during that time. Relatives of the crew members who passed away that day were notified, and it was an emotional moment. All of them, as well as future visitors, will be able to take a closer look at the historic piece of fuselage soon, as it will be exhibited at the bunker museum Jansje Schong, in Egmond aan Zee.
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