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The
Grumman Avenger
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Not all wrecks are shipwrecks. The Grumman Avenger is a
plane! The sits just a mile offshore from Aberdour, and
was discovered by the divers of the Dive Bunker. Like the
Saucy, the Grumman Avenger is almost intact.
Grumman Avengers were used by the Royal Navy during the
Second World War as part of an anti-submarine patrol. As
we saw from what happened to the Royal Archer, this was
very important to protect any military or shipping vessels.
However, this plane was not brought down by enemy attack.
On the 17th of December 1945, the pilot was on a training
mission. He was a part of the 785 Squadron from Crail. Crail
was where pilots were trained to fly torpedo bombers such
as this one. Unfortunately the Grumman Avenger suffered
engine failure, and the pilot ditched his plane in the water.
Luckily, he survived.
It seems the many young men were not as fortunate, and a
lot of soldiers, sailors and airmen were killed during training
missions. Mrs. Donaldson (one of the behaviour support teachers)
had an uncle who was killed on a training mission for the
RAF in Canada, at the age of 20.
The Grumman Avenger was undiscovered for 50 years. This
means that it was undisturbed, and the divers said this
could be seen from its condition. The aluminium body and
wings are still in a very good conditions. Although partially
buried, the propeller is still intact. Like all the other
wrecks it is now covered with life, particularly large plumose
anemones. |
The divers allowed us to use photos taken by Mark Blyth
of the Dive
Bunker, so that we could show people what the wreck
of a plane looks like under water. You can see all the different
types of anemones on it. |
This picture is also by Mark Blyth of the Dive Bunker. He
let us have it so that we could see how intact the plane
actually was. This picture shows the propeller of the plane,
again with plenty of life. |
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©
Created by Fife Council with assistance
from Dysart Primary School.
Published by the Scottish Library
& Information Council. |
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Projects 
Projects
. WWII
Timeline . Dysart
War Generation index 
