Excavations > 2006>

	Seafire - Shaftesbury, Dorset

The Merlin engine from Seafire III NN411 has been unearthed from Margaret Marsh, near Shaftesbury, Dorset.

The Seafire, from No.761 Squadron H.M.S. Dipper, Henstridge, went into a spin during air combat practice, on 23rd June 1945. The pilot, Sub-Lieutenant Gordon Edward McLeod (Royal New Zealand Navy) was killed. He was from Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand and is buried in Sherborne cemetery.

The aircraft fell into marshland with a ‘dead’ engine and was not deeply buried, but conditions in 1945 meant that the Merlin was not recovered. The excavation revealed a remarkably preserved Rolls Royce Merlin 55 Serial/No M209055.

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The crash site at Margaret Marsh which was drained after the war.

	Although there was little evidence on the surface the engine was accurately located.
	Care was taken not to further damage the engine casing with the digger's bucket.
	Digging a Merlin out of the mud by hand is no easy task......
	.......Almost done.
	Even the rocker covers, usually smashed on impact are intact.
	Pressure washing 62 years of mud away reveals the 4 bladed propeller hub.