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| The Last Beaufighter by Rob Rondeau (March 25, 2008) |
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 Little is remembered today about "Coastal Command." It included air squadrons from across the Commonwealth, including Canada's 404 Squadron. They flew the small fighter/bomber aircraft, the Bristol Beaufighter, described as the finest all-around twin engine aircraft of the war. From northern Scotland, they attacked enemy shipping all along the European coast throughout WWII. On February 9th, 1945, ten Allied aircraft were shot down in Norway during the raid on an enemy flotilla made up of a German destroyer and several other warships. Six of the planes shot down were from the RCAF's 404 Squadron. Of the 14 Allied airmen who died that day, ten were Canadian. It was the worst loss in Coastal Command's history. Bert Ramsden, of Victoria BC (85) is the last surviving Canadian Beaufighter pilot from "Black Friday." In February 2005, Rondeau and a team from Canada and Norway first dove a Beaufighter wreck from Black Friday. It was PL-Y, a British Beaufighter from RAF 144 Squadron. Both its pilot and navigator survived the crash, after being shot down, and were taken prisoner by the Germans.  The first expedition of 2008, conducted during the last week of February, was a huge success. In addition to accomplishing its main objective of identifying an aircraft, the team was able to make progress in other areas of study. Beaufighter E0-W (RCAF 4-04 Squadron)  We were able to positively identify wreckage belonging to the aircraft, E0-W, which was flown by pilot Philip "Rex" Myrick of Tillsonburg, Ontario, and navigator Claude Berges of Quebec City, Quebec. Both men died when their aircraft crashed into the hillside overlooking Forde Fjord near Steinhein. It broke apart on impact and pieces of it tumbled down into the fjord - coming to rest on the sea floor at 132 feet / 44 metres.A debris trail of wreckage on the bottom is clearly evident. Divers observed both wheels and wreckage belonging to the rear and middle parts of the aircraft. The most significant was a section of the rear fuselage, just forward of the rear aileron, including the tailwheel assembly. The hydraulic header tank for the tail wheel was lying with other debris in front. Divers made three dives on the site and were able to make out part of the aircraft's "N" letters, NE761, painted in white on the starboard side of the fuselage. Also evident was black and white paint from its D-Day markings. After an initial survey by myself, the plan was to remove the entire section of rear fuselage. But, on closer inspection I determined that the section was solidly embedded in the mud. And, that it was too fragile to lift. Instead, I decided to remove just the tailwheel. The hydraulic header tank was also recovered by the expedition's co-leader, Tore Solbakken.  Both artifacts are now undergoing conservation. After being properly preserved, they will go on display at the Black Friday Museum in nearby Naustdal. Under the terms of international marine salvage law, the aircraft parts still belong to Canada. An official "hand-over" ceremony is being planned for this June, with representatives from the RCAF's 404 Squadron on hand. This will be the first time that the Squadron has been back to Norway since the War. The wreck site presents many challenges for divers. In addition to being deep, the mud bottom stirs up easily. More dives are planned for June, when a detailed site survey will be undertaken. Beaufighter EF-0 (RCAF 404 Squadron)  Because of the location of EW-0's final resting place, at the bottom of the fjord, WWII historians were unable to positively identify two aircraft from Black Friday. The other crash site is high up the mountainside overlooking the community of Naustdal to the west. Matching up Canadian aircrews with the two wrecks sites was the main priority of this year's expedition.By a process of elimination, we now know who the second aircrew was. Pilot Charles Smerneos from Hamilton, Ontario, and navigator Norman Cochrane from Toronto, Ontario. The remains of all four airmen, from both crash sites, were recovered and initially interred in the cemetery beside a church in Forde. After the war though they were re-interred at the Allied War Cemetery at Haugesund. Beaufighter E0-V (RCAF 404 Squadron)  The expedition was able to confirm the wreck site of another Canadian beaufighter in Forde Fjord near Holmeset. The remains of the aircraft's pilot, William Jackson of Winnipeg, Manitoba, were never recovered. Now that the wreck's location is known, a more detailed survey of the site is planned for in June.Beaufighter PL-Y (RAF 144 Squadron) I first dove this wreck in 2005. Revisiting the site allowed me to assess how it's fared over the past three years. Most notably, the aircraft's tail fin had collapsed. Otherwise, the wreck's overall condition is good. Its rate of deterioration has been slowed given the cold water temperature and the depth, 80 feet / 27 metres. Archaeology to Continue  More archaeology will be undertaken in June. In addition to continuing to study the above wreck sites, another expedition will try to locate two additional Black Friday aircraft. One is Canadian (E0-Q1), the other Australian (UB-0). The remains of E0-Q1's aircrew, pilot Harry Smook of Senkiw, Manitoba, and navigator Murray Duckworth from Angus, Ontario, have never been found.Television Documentary On the expedition was a t.v. production crew from Arcadia Entertainment of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It included noted wreck diving specialist and underwater cameraman, Mike Fletcher, who's best known for his work with Clive Cussler's "Sea Hunters." The expedition will be the topic of an episode of the t.v. series, "Go Deep," which airs in Canada on History Television and internationally on National Geographic. 
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