Title: |
Frythens Farm, St. Erth, Cornwall: archaeological excavation of a WW2 Spitfire crash site |
Series: |
Cornwall Council Historic Environment Service unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
cornwall2-292297_1.pdf (13 MB)
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Download
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
On the evening of 24th March 1942, Squadron Leader Cremin RAF and Sergeant Norman RAAF of 66 Squadron, RAF Portreath, Cornwall, flying Spitfire Vcs during a night flying exercise were involved in a mid-air collision over west Cornwall, crashing into adjacent fields near St. Erth. The pilots were killed on impact and their bodies were retrieved for burial. The remains of the aircraft were salvaged and the crash sites returned to agriculture. In 2017 a researcher illegally investigating one of the sites found human bones which he reported to the local police. The Cornwall Coroner instructed Cornwall Archaeological Unit to excavate the site to recover the human remains. The work was undertaken under a JCCC licence, and was observed by a Defence Infrastructure Organisation Archaeologist. The human remains were passed to the Cornwall Coroner; the pilot's identity will be determined by DNA matching. Surviving artefacts were recovered from the site for analysis. The archaeological investigation suggested a low angle ground impact consistent with the account of S/L Cremin's plane spinning in. The absence on site of the aircraft's engine block, wings, and rear section indicated that the aircraft had broken up catastrophically on impact; the relatively shallow impact crater excavated on site contained only a small part of its cockpit - this had been smashed beyond recognition during its violent burial. A report on the findings of the investigation was prepared for the Coroner; copies were also supplied to the JCCC and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Archaeologist. |
Author: |
A Sharpe
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Publisher: |
Cornwall Council Historic Environment Service
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Historic Environment Record (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2017
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Locations: |
Site: |
Frythens Farm |
County: |
Cornwall |
District: |
Cornwall |
Parish: |
ST ERTH |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 154563, 33413 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
cornwall2-292297 |
OBIB: |
2017R051 |
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Note: |
A4 double sided, comb bound, 49pp, full colour. Word and PDF formats.
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
12 Feb 2018 |