A SPITFIRE fighter aircraft that crashed in a Co Donegal bog during the second World War is to be excavated next week with the help of an Army bomb disposal team.
The British fighter was piloted by an American who parachuted from the aircraft before it ditched at Glenshinney bog, Moneydarragh, on the Inishowen peninsula in November 1941.
The pilot, believed to be Roland “Bud” Wolf, was subsequently held for two years at the Curragh detention camp amid a diplomatic row between the Irish and British governments.
Locals are preparing themselves for next Tuesday’s operation involving the Defence Forces, the Garda, archaeologists and haulage lorries. The excavation is being undertaken as part of a BBC programme.
The fighter was carrying ammunition and up to seven Browning machine guns when it crashed.
Defence Forces spokesman Comdt Neil Nolan yesterday said the bomb disposal unit was being deployed to make safe any live munitions. “A bomb disposal team will attend when the plane is dug out, to ensure that any ordnance or munitions that were on board the aircraft don’t pose a threat to public safety.
“They will check the weapon systems to make sure they are not loaded or if they are loaded, to unload them and make them safe,” Comdt Nolan added.
“They will check the condition of the munitions because, despite the fact that ordnance might have been buried for many years, it can still be live or active and can still pose a threat to public safety.”
It is understood that Wolf was recruited to fly Spitfires in Northern Ireland and was based at RAF Eglinton in Co Derry. It is thought his aircraft suffered a coolant leak but the Nebraska native managed to bail out before it crashed.
A Garda spokesman yesterday said there may be traffic restrictions between Redcastle and Gleneely for the operation that will begin at first light next Tuesday.
The excavation team, which found the Spitfire in the last few weeks using metal detectors, is expected to be in the area for three days. The fighter will then be taken to Derry to be cleaned and conserved for future display.
Tommy Lafferty (72), a farmer from Moneydarragh, was two years old when the aircraft went down. He recently helped to pinpoint its location.
As a child, Mr Lafferty remembered the locals going out to see where the fighter crashed. “They used metal detectors to find it and they think it’s about 17 feet below the moss. They’ll have a fair bit of digging to do,” he said.
While he has “no interest in items of war”, curiosity will bring him out next week to see the aircraft raised after 70 years.