After that fateful day , Dundas was only to live another 52 days . On 28 November 1940 , having already shot down a dozen Luftwaffe planes over the preceding months , Dundas shot down flying ace Major Helmut Wick ( Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves – Germany ’ s highest military decoration of the time ) who himself was credited with shooting down 56 RAF planes . Wick ’ s wingman then shot Dundas down and he crashed into the Channel off the Isle of Wight . A memorial to Dundas was unveiled at Freshwater , IoW in 2000 .
Our project ’ s findings have been verified by RAF Air Historical Branch .
The wreck today
Being of largely aluminium construction , much of the original airframe has corroded , leaving only the structural framework .
Key components remain visible , such as the main wing spar , some of the fuel tank support structures and the nacelles which housed the engines . Some components are sited a few metres from the main airframe . For the engines , this is likely a result of the landing impact , while others may have shifted due to continued tide and wave action , or from entanglement in fishing gears present on the site .
Together with Martin , I completed a day ’ s workshop in 3D photogrammetry courtesy of Martin Davies of Southsea Sub Aqua Club . This gave us the confidence to tackle 3D imaging of the site to show the wreck ’ s layout in a single image and capture the engines in greater detail .
Our video and 3D model were featured on BBC ’ s The One Show on the 80th anniversary of the plane and its crew being shot down .
Wreck life
The wreck site plays host to a diverse and colourful array of life . Sponges are abundant and include the goosebump sponge , orange crater sponge and various encrusting species . Shredded carrot sponges and small branching staghorns can also be found .
Bushy bryozoans and wonderful worms form dense turfs across the wreck , while colonies of the potato crisp bryozoan grow in the cockpit . The sandalled anemone adorns various sections , being particularly noticeable on the main wing spar , which is also punctuated with plumose anemones .
Larger structures provide shelter for lobsters and fish including cuckoo , ballan and goldsinny wrasse , bib and cheerful tompot blennies .
Between the wreckage the seabed is mainly a thin layer of coarse sediment over rock . In early summer we found black bream nests amongst the wreckage – a nice link to our black bream project .
A male cuckoo wrasse ( Labrus mixtus ) peers out from the starboard tyre .
A lobster takes shelter in its burrow beneath the port wing .
Martin Openshaw inspects the starboard V12 DB600 series engine .
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