The Flying Fortress | |||
| A Flying Fortress crashed off Burton
Beach near West Bexington during the war. Most of the wreckage has eroded away
but there are still some recognisable features. In fact much of the plane has
been colonised by sea creatures and these still pictures and short movies show
the site in 2001. Some times the wreck is covered with silt and at other times
fairly exposed. We are grateful to Richard Edmonds for these shots. | |||
 |
This simple plan (which is not to scale) shows the current layout of the aircraft in relation to the beach. There is no evidence of the main fuselage or the engines. | ||
| Short movies: -NOTE - may take some time to load | |||
| South Wheel with crab |  | ||
| North wheel showing extensive marine life |  | ||
| Swimming North from southern wing tip to main landing wheel (low definition) (better definition) |  | ||
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Click on pictures for higher definition image
| |||
 | Anemone on part of the wing structure | ||
 | 'Crab apple' anemones | ||
 | The
proper name for the 'crab apple' anemone is Plumore Anemone. This close up with
a small crab shows clearly that some are open and others are closed up. The wreck
provides a hard surface in the strong current that then helps to deliver food every day. | ||
 | Diver near a landing wheel to give some idea of scale | ||
 | Close up of tyre with a diver | ||
 | A fuel tank (empty) | ||
 | The south wheel | ||
 | The South Wing | ||
 | North wheel | ||
Spider Crabs and other undersea life off Burton Bradstock
Tim Linford