Yorkshire soldier’s war plane recovered from Sperrin’s

On August 6, 1945, the same day the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, an English soldier was killed in a plane crash on the Sperrin Mountains.

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

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

The wreckage from the crash was recently recovered by aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee, assisted by a group of students from Foyle College.

An appeal has been made to locate the relatives of the fallen soldier.

Mr McNee told BBC News NI that PO Smith died while preparing for further potential conflict.

“He was with his air squadron training to fly aircraft on aircraft carriers in anticipation of their deployment to continue the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific.”

The aircraft in which PO Smith flew was “a major weapon of the Pacific War”.

“He didn’t know that the Americans were in the final stages of the Manhattan Project that subsequently helped end the war in the East.”

Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced nine days later, on August 15, 1945, that the countries would surrender.

After appeal, op BBC Radio LeedsTo discover Doulgas David Smith’s relationships, BBC News NI spoke to a relative with a distant connection to the soldier.

Jill Anderson, from Exley Head, heard the call on BBC Radio Leeds. Her grandfather married Douglas David Smith’s mother, who had lost both her son and husband at this stage before remarrying.

“My father and Douglas knew each other too, they were the same age before he died. Exley Head is a small place, the kind of area where everyone knows everyone.”

“Knowing that his wreck 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 wish my dad was around to experience the unique news we have just heard.”

For the past seven years, Mr McNee has worked with students from Foyle College in Derry to excavate and recover aircraft accident wrecks in NI.

He has appealed to help find family members and relatives of PO Smith.

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

The school and its pupils have been undertaking licensed projects with Mr McNee for seven years, including some for BBC programs such as Digging for Britain and being part of the first recognized excavation for a WWII aircraft in NI.

Mr. McNee also mentioned his efforts to take family members to crash sites over the years, which he said is “always a great experience to give them the opportunity to see these sites.”

Northern Ireland, especially the northwest, was the location of much military flying training.

“We were so close to the Battle of the Atlantic, but being strategically out of reach of German aircraft provided perfect training routes and aircraft retention locations.

“A common training route 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 because of the hilly landscape surrounding Eglinton airstrip, the number of plane crashes was “high” and many were “fatal”.

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