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Spitfire fragments recovered

The Spitfire XII had "clipped" wings to allow better manoeuvrability

A Flemish salvage group last week recovered fragments from a unique Spitfire which crashed in September 1943 in a field in Beveren-Ijzer in West Flanders. The Spitfire XII was a prototype of which only 100 were constructed. Its design was intended to break the dominance of German fighters by flying faster and lower than the existing model. The plane flown by Australian pilot Flight Sergeant Stan May was escorting American fighter-bombers on a mission over Lille when it was shot down.

Flt. Sgt. May bailed out and returned to the crashed plane intending to set it on fire to prevent the Germans recovering the new technology. However when he saw how deeply the plane was buried in the ground, he realised there was no need. He was later hidden by a resistance group in Oostvleteren, and helped to escape back to England via the Regina hotel in Ypres.

The recovered fragments, including pieces of engine, the propeller and guns, will be transferred to the Flanders Aviation Society museum in Wevelgem.

ah
(July 8, 2024)

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