Evidence Of Loss

Date 18 May 1997

Event ID 585645

Category Recording

Type Evidence Of Loss

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/585645

This wreck is aligned roughly NNE (bow)-SSW (tail) at a depth of 23m on a near-level seabed of sand and shell in an area of high-energy environment (being profusely covered with anemones), and has suffered significant deterioration since it was described by Butland and Siedlecki. The shotline leads to the trailing edge of the starboard wing which has broken off; the wingtip, control surfaces and some of the surface are missing but the (rectangular) torsion box can be clearly distinguished at the inboard end. The after fuselage has been distorted and twisted to starboard, its construction of longitudinal stringers being clearly visible in the area around the former blisters. The empennage has been reduced to tangled metal and the port wing to a stump which is currently lying nearly-flat across the mid-section of the fuselage. The nose section has become separated but may survive some way away, unrecognised in the dark conditions pertaining at the date of visit; neither engine-bearers nor wheel-recesses could be identified.

The mark of aircraft could not be identified from the surviving remains, but the extensive damage to the stern may suggest loss through anchor-dragging, a common cause of seaplane casualties particularly when away from an operating base and without fixed moorings.

Visited by Edith Butler, Mike Hossack and Bob Mowat (South Queensferry Sub-Aqua Club, BSAC 1262), 18 May 1997.

W E Butland and J K Siedlecki 1987.