Chance to see Nazi bomber wreckage
THE wreckage of a Nazi bomber shot down in Banks during World War II has gone on display in The Atkinson centre in Southport.
The Lord Street attraction will play host to the Junkers 88 which was uncovered on Banks Marsh by members of the Lancashire Aircraft Investigation team last year.
On April 7 1941, an RAF Defiant of 256 Squadron, based at Blackpool’s Squires Gate, shot down the Ju88 over the Ribble estuary as the German aircraft was making its way to drop bombs over Liverpool.
The Defiant aircraft, flown by Flight Lieutenant DR West and Sergeant RT Adams, were on a night patrol against German raiders heading for west coast ports.
The German bomber had been due to hit Greenock, near Glasgow, but was forced to turn back because of bad weather – the docklands of Liverpool being its secondary target.
The Ju88’s pilot and observer survived. They were apprehended by Home Guardsmen – and, therefore, essentially saved from a lynch mob that had assembled, though a gold swastika pendant and crucifix were ripped from the observer’s neck.
They were treated for their injuries in Lytham Hospital.
Last year, a documentary aired on the History Channel followed the progress of the excavation by the Lancashire Aircraft Invesigation Team of parts of the aircraft buried in the saltmarsh, and part of a landscape which has changed considerably over the decades.
Viewers saw how work was temporarily halted during the excavation when an unexploded 500kg WWII bomb was found. The Army bomb disposal team was called to the scene but it was found that the bomb’s fuses had burnt out, rendering it harmless.
Some of the finds are now on show in a temporary exhibition in The Atkinson’s foyer.
Emma Lloyd, principal manager for programmes, audience development and enterprises, said: “The Atkinson is proud to currently have on display the wreckage of a Junkers 88, a German bomber that was shot down over Banks, Southport on the evening of April 7, 1941.”
The display was unveiled on Monday and will remain in place until Friday, September 28.