Appeals made after WW2 plane crash discovery

Part of the cockpit of the Grumman Hellcat

On 6 August 1945, the same day the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, an English sailor lost his life in a plane crash on the Sperrin mountains.

Petty Officer Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head, Yorkshire, serving with the Royal Navy in Eglinton, County Londonderry.

He died when his Grumman Hellcat plane crashed into the summit of Sawel, the highest peak in the area.

Wreckage from the crash was recently recovered by aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee, assisted by a group of pupils from Foyle College.

An appeal has been issued to trace the relatives of the fallen sailor.

A memorial for the airmen that have perished on Sawel mountain

Mr McNee told BBC News NI that PO Smith died whilst preparing for further possible conflict.

"He was with his air squadron, training to fly carrier-based aircraft in anticipation of them being sent to carry on the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific."

The plane in which PO Smith was flying was "a primary weapon of the war in the Pacific".

"Little did he know the Americans were at the last stages of the Manhattan project that subsequently helped end the war in the east."

Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the country's surrender nine days later on 15 August 1945.

'Wreckage find is important to our family'

Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head serving with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm

Following an appeal on BBC Radio Leeds to discover relations of Douglas David Smith, BBC News NI spoke to one relative with a distant connection to the sailor.

Jill Hudson, from Exley Head, heard the appeal. Her grandfather married Douglas David Smith's mother, who at this stage had lost both her son and husband, before remarrying.

"My dad and Douglas also knew each other, they were of a similar age before he died. Exley Head is a small place, the type of area where everybody knows everyone."

"Knowing that his wreckage has been found is nice and important," Jill said.

"There is also a memorial for 'Dougie' in Exley Head, we go every year on Remembrance day. I just wish my dad was around to experience the unique news we've just heard."

Pupils at Foyle helping to recover the wreckage of the Hellcat

For the last seven years, Mr McNee has been working alongside pupils at Foyle College in Derry to excavate and recover wreckages of plane crashes in Northern Ireland.

He has issued an appeal to help find family members and relatives of PO Smith.

Mr McNee added: “The pupils, all aged 16 to 17, have a great interest in their local aviation history."

The school and its pupils have undertaking licensed projects with Mr McNee for seven years, including several for BBC programmes such as Digging for Britain and being part of the first licensed dig for a WW2 aircraft in NI.

Mr McNee also mentioned his efforts in bringing family members to crash sites over the years, which he said is "always a great experience to be able to give them the opportunity to see these sites."

Northern Ireland, particularly the north west, was the site of military flight training.

"We were so close to the Battle of the Atlantic, yet being strategically out of range from German aircraft, it offered perfect training routes and locations to hold aircraft."

"A common route for training was to fly from Scotland over the top of Rathlin Island, either landing at Eglinton, near Londonderry, or completing the loop back to the British mainland."

He said that due to the hilly landscape that surrounds Eglinton airstrip, the volume of plane crashes was "high" and many were "fatal".

Douglas David Smith is laid to rest at St Canice’s Church of Ireland in Faughanvale, County Londonderry.