Appeals made after WW2 plane crash discovery

On 6 August 1945, the aforesaid time the US dropped a atomic weaponry connected Hiroshima, an English worker mislaid his beingness successful a level clang connected the Sperrin mountains.

Petty Officer Douglas David Smith was a 21-year-old from Exley Head, Yorkshire, serving with the Royal Navy’s Fleet successful Eglinton, County Londonderry.

He died erstwhile his Grumman Hellcat level crashed into the acme of Sawel, the highest highest successful the area.

Wreckage from the clang was precocious recovered by aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee, assisted by a radical of pupils from Foyle College.

An entreaty has been issued to hint the relatives of the fallen soldier.

Mr McNee told BBC News NI that PO Smith died whilst preparing for further imaginable conflict.

"He was with his aerial squadron, grooming to alert carrier-based craft successful anticipation of them being sent to transportation connected the combat against the Japanese successful the Pacific."

The level successful which PO Smith was flying was "a superior limb of the warfare successful the Pacific".

"Little did helium cognize the Americans were astatine the past stages of the Manhattan task that subsequently helped extremity the warfare successful the east."

Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the countries surrender 9 days aboriginal connected 15 August 1945.

Following an appeal, connected BBC Radio Leeds, to observe relations of Doulgas David Smith, BBC News NI spoke to 1 comparative with a distant transportation to the soldier.

Jill Anderson, from Exley Head, heard the entreaty connected BBC Radio Leeds, her gramps joined Douglas David Smith's mother, who astatine this signifier had mislaid some her lad and husband, earlier remarrying.

"My dada and Douglas besides knew each other, they were of a akin property earlier helium died. Exley Head is simply a tiny place, the benignant of country wherever everybody knows everyone."

"Knowing that his wreckage has been recovered is bully and important," Jill said.

"There is besides a memorial for 'Dougie' successful Exley Head, we spell each twelvemonth connected Remembrance day. I conscionable privation my dada was astir to acquisition the unsocial quality we've conscionable heard."

For the past 7 years Mr McNee has been moving alongside pupils astatine Foyle College successful Derry to excavate and retrieve wreckages of level crashes successful NI.

He has issued an entreaty to assistance find household members and relatives of PO Smith.

Mr McNee added: “The pupils, each aged 16 to 17, person a large involvement successful their section aviation history."

The schoolhouse and its pupils person undertaking licenced projects with Mr McNee for 7 years, including respective for BBC programmes specified arsenic Digging for Britain and being portion of the archetypal licensed excavation for a WW2 craft successful NI.

Mr McNee besides mentioned his efforts successful bringing household members to clang sites implicit the years, which helium said is "always a large acquisition to beryllium capable to springiness them the accidental to spot these sites."

Northern Ireland, peculiarly the northbound west, was the tract of galore subject formation training.

"We were truthful adjacent to the Battle of the Atlantic, yet being strategically retired of scope from German aircraft, it offered cleanable grooming routes and locations to clasp aircraft.

"A communal way for grooming was to alert from Scotland implicit the apical of Rathlin Island, either landing astatine Eglinton, adjacent Londonderry, oregon completing the loop backmost to the British mainland."

He said that owed to the hilly scenery that surrounds Eglinton airstrip, the measurement of level crashes were "high" and galore "fatal".

Douglas David Smith is laid to remainder astatine St. Canice’s Church of Ireland successful Faughanvale, County Londonderry.