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Volunteers gradually removing mud from the cockpit area of the Spitfire. In the very humid, 45 degree temperatures, working waist-deep in stinking, the efforts of the entire team are to be commended.
The Great Spitfire Dig
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Rubber tyres in near perfect condition. An almost usable face mask, shining chrome suspension struts, and hydraulic oil still under pressure. Hard to believe they were part of a Spitfire which had been sitting in the mud for 44 years in the remote north west of Western Australia.
It was the most efficient fighting machine of its time. The bane of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. The plane flown by the few whom so many owed so much. The plane which helped bring the Blitzkrieg of London to an end. And two years after the Battle of Britain, several squadrons were brought to Australia to defend against the Japanese Zeros.
And so it was in 1943 on Christmas Eve of that year, that a young British pilot, Flying Officer D W Grey, based in Darwin was out on patrol. No doubt wished he could be back home in England for Christmas rather than sitting in the cockpit in the sweltering heat. Luck wasn’t with him though on this day. He became hopelessly lost and was fast running out of fuel. As he. found himself flying over the rugged but beautiful Prince Regent river north of Derby, his fuel tanks finally ran dry. He had only one choice, to ditch the spluttering Mark Five in the cool clear waters below. Had he seen the huge man eating crocodiles, he may have had second thoughts.
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