UKDIVING
Matt Doggett describes the process from discovery of a new wreck site , to uncovering its story and documenting it for future generations
October 1940 , and for the Luftwaffe crews it had been a relatively quiet week after a long summer bombing campaign over Britain . For some , the war was about to take a dramatic turn .
Almost a week of wind and rain had forced a lull in bombing raids from either side . On 6 and 7 October the skies cleared of cloud , filling instead with wave after wave of bombers from both sides , renewing their cross-channel offensives .
Throughout the English southern counties , fighter squadrons were scrambled to defend the nation . The pilots had little chance of respite such was the intensity of the bombing . Losses mounted up on both sides . Fast forward to the 21st Century . Over the years Dorset-based diver John Coward has found various bits of isolated wreckage along the Kimmeridge Ledges . But in early 2019 , on a drift dive with almost 10m viz , John encountered several pieces together .
Two engines and the obvious remains of a fuselage and wings caused John to reach for his camera before the current ushered him off the site .
On returning to Kimmeridge , John met BSAC members Martin and Sheilah Openshaw . He showed them the wreck footage , wondering if they knew what plane it might be . They didn ’ t . But by good fortune their godson Matt Burleigh ( Matt B ), an aerospace engineer , has an interest in historical aircraft so they decided to ask him .
Naturally , a meeting was organised to plan the next steps . Just one problem – no-one had a GPS fix for the wreck .
Project plan
Located about 1km due south of Worbarrow Bay , Dorset in around 21m of water , the wreck site is within the MoD Lulworth Firing Range . This means any boating and diving activity is restricted to slack water on weekends and school holidays .
Around these challenges , John set about trying to relocate the wreck . Finding it again in late summer , he sent up a dSMB for a surface position fix .
While that was going on , Matt B had his head in the books to confirm the plane ’ s identity from John ’ s original footage . Martin , Sheilah , Lin and I ( Matt D ) hatched a plan to discover the story of the plane , film and photograph it , document the marine life on the site and organise publicity .
Wreck detectives : the plane
What we thought might prove an arduous task turned out to be almost child ’ s play for Matt B . After just 20 minutes of studying
John ’ s footage , Matt was convinced he knew the nationality of the plane .
A flat sump cover on the engines meant they were inverted V12s . One nation in particular used an inverted V-design : Germany .
Next , Matt checked a number of Luftwaffe aircraft that used inverted V12s . The Junkers Jumo and Daimler-Benz 600 series ( DB60X ) were particularly common V12 models .
Further research turned up a couple of reports on captured enemy aircraft and engines . The DB60X report included gearbox drawings of the engine , a dead ringer for our wreck . The most common , small , twin-engine German aircraft using these engines was the Messerschmitt Bf110 .
The main wing spar across the wreck structure also had a distinctive shape . The only match for this from various technical drawings was also the Messerschmitt Bf110 . We were now pretty sure we knew what the plane was .
A weekend in mid-September 2019 saw the first dives take place to inspect the wreck and confirm its suspected identity . Soon after , the autumn gales arrived but we stayed focused and planned our dives for 2020 … little did we know a global pandemic was brewing and lockdown was looming .
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