Crash site of a Second World War aircraft, Hawker Hurricane P3966, at Fobbing, Pitsea Marsh (EHER 80892)

The crash site of Hawker Hurricane P3966 flown by John 'Paddy' Hemmingway of 85 Squadron. The aircraft was shot down during combat on the afternoon of the 26th of August 1940; Hemingway bailed out and landed on Pitsea Marsh. The crash site was originally located in 1987 and attempts were made to recover it in 1988 by the Essex Historical Aircraft Society. The site was revisited in 2019 by Gareth Jones and team, and the crash crater was machine excavated. A range of material relating to the airframe, the engine block, the cockpit armour and the control mechanisms was recovered, and much of it remains in recognisable condition.

March 2019. Archaeological excavation. The crash site of Hawker Hurricane P3966 near Fobbing at Pitsea Marsh in Essex. The aircraft had been flown by one of the few surviving Battle of Britain pilots still alive (at the time of writing <1>, aged 99). John ‘Paddy’ Hemmingway of 85 Squadron had intercepted and attacked part of a formation of 15 Do215s during the afternoon of the 26th of August 1940. During the ensuing combat he was shot down, bailing out and landing in Pitsea Marsh. Hemingway's Hurricane was originally located in 1987 and attempts were made to recover it in 1988 by the Essex Historical Aircraft Society. Undercarriage legs and two Browning machine guns were unearthed together with various small pieces, but the main wreck was buried too deeply in the mud to be recovered. The site remained undisturbed until 30th March 2019 when a major excavation was organised by Gareth Jones and his team. At a depth of approximately 2m it was possible to observe the extent of the previous excavation, including the shoring used during this work. Beyond this depth, it was observed that the remains of the aircraft were broken into reasonably small parts. The force of the crash badly damaged the engine block with was in a similar condition. The lower reaches of the excavation became progressively more contaminated with engine oil and burnt material, with occasional material dragged from nearer the surface by the impact of the crash. The overall diameter of the crash site impact was approximately 5m. The nature of the crash site and the recovered remains of the aircraft suggests an event that is consistent with a high-speed, near-vertical impact in relatively soft silt-clay marshland. Material from the Hurricane is contained within a relatively narrow impact crater that is most obviously defined by a dark grey contaminated area extended to a depth of 7-8m. Material was distributed within this impact area in a way that corresponded very broadly to where it was located on the aircraft, with elements of the engine block at the greatest depth, cockpit material behind this and various parts of the fuselage above this and nearest the surface of the crater. Artefacts recovered from the crash site included a variety of material relating to the airframe, both internal and external, the engine block and associated mechanicals, cockpit armour and control mechanisms. In addition, there were elements of the undercarriage present. Little material relating to the wing structures was found, confirming the eye-witness testimony that these were seen on the surface at the time and removed by the recovery team. <1>