Artefacts from a Spitfire that crashed in Cambridgeshire during World War Two have been unearthed by archaeologists. The plane, a Mk 1A Spitfire X4583 from the Rhodesian Squadron Royal Air Force, crashed at Holme on 22 November 1940.
Pilot Officer Harold Penketh, from Brighton, died in the crash while on a training mission. The cause was never fully established, but investigators suggested either oxygen system failure or a physical failure of the plane.
Among the items recovered are the pilot's rubber headrest with its leather cover, a starter motor, parts of the wing and canopy, bullets, and aircraft wiring. Lead archaeologist Stephen Macaulay of Oxford Archaeology East said the artefacts held "an awful lot of significance".
The crash site, located by geophysicists, has been preserved in peat. Mr Macaulay noted that the wet conditions meant the plane did not disintegrate on impact, raising hopes of recovering the Merlin engine intact. A specialist digger is expected to be used later this week.
The artefacts are expected to be put on public display in due course.
