By love-89.com On August 6, 1945, as the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, a tragic event unfolded in the Sperrin Mountains where an English sailor lost his life in a plane crash. Petty Officer Douglas David Smith, a 21-year-old from Exley Head, Yorkshire, was serving with the Royal Navy’s fleet based in Eglinton, County Londonderry, when his Grumman Hellcat aircraft crashed into the summit of Sawel Mountain, the highest peak in the area.
Recently, aviation archaeologist Jonny McNee recovered wreckage from the crash site with the help of students from Foyle College. Currently, there is an appeal to trace the relatives of the fallen sailor.
Mr. McNee shared with BBC News NI that PO Smith was preparing for potential conflict at the time of the crash. “He was with his air squadron, training to fly carrier-based aircraft, expecting to take part in the fight against the Japanese in the Pacific,” he explained. “The Hellcat was a primary weapon in that war. Little did PO Smith know that the Americans were nearing the end of the Manhattan Project, which would soon bring the war in the East to a close.” Just nine days later, on August 15, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the country’s surrender.
After a recent appeal on BBC Radio Leeds to uncover the family of Douglas David Smith, a relative emerged. Jill Anderson from Exley Head was intrigued by the call. She found that her grandfather had married PO Smith’s mother after both her son and husband had passed away. “My dad and Douglas knew each other; they were of a similar age before he died. Exley Head is a small community where everyone knows one another,” she said. “Knowing that the wreckage has been found is significant for us. There’s also a memorial for ‘Dougie’ in Exley Head, which we visit every year on Remembrance Day. I just wish my dad could have experienced this poignant news with us.”
For the past seven years, Mr. McNee has collaborated with Foyle College students, aged 16 to 17, to excavate plane crash sites across Northern Ireland, fostering a local interest in aviation history. He has placed a call out to find any relatives of PO Smith, expressing the importance of connecting families with their history. “The students have shown a great interest in their local aviation history,” he said. Their projects have included collaborations with BBC programs such as “Digging for Britain” and the first licensed excavation of a WWII aircraft in Northern Ireland.
Mr. McNee has taken family members to the crash sites over the years, stating, “It’s always a meaningful experience to allow them the opportunity to see these sites.” Northern Ireland, particularly the northwest, has a rich history of military flight training. “We were close to the Battle of the Atlantic yet strategically out of range from German aircraft, which made it an ideal location for training. A common route was to fly from Scotland over Rathlin Island, landing either in Eglinton or returning back to the British mainland.”
He noted that the hilly landscape surrounding Eglinton airstrip contributed to a high volume of fatal plane crashes. Finally, PO Douglas David Smith rests at St. Canice’s Church of Ireland in Faughanvale, County Londonderry.