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Greencastle remembers plane-crash
drama
03.03.09
THE 'Hero of the
Hudson' story will have a special resonance in
Inishowen on Saturday when people gather in
Greencastle to remember the area’s own plane-crash
drama 67 years ago.
A World War II bomber with eleven men on board
crashed into the Foyle after a transatlantic flight
early one September morning in 1942. Seeing the
plane ditch into the sea around 8.30am, a brave
young teenager, Elisabeth Benson, rowed out in her
little boat to the stricken men.
She rescued the pilot Curtis Melton along with a
group of his men while all the other passengers on
board also managed to get to safety. |
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This amazing story of
survival took another twist in 2001 when Greencastle
diver Seamus Carey and members of the Inishowen
Sub-Aqua Club discovered the wreck of the plane on
the seabed just off the coast of Greencastle.
The 1942 rescue and 2001 salvage operation have now
been captured in a new book |
'The Meltin' Pot: From
Wreck to Rescue and Recovery' by Derry author Jack
Scoltock.
Seamus who is intimately connected with the story,
is looking forward to the book launch. "This is one
of the great stories of Greencastle's maritime
history. It's nice to be a local and to have been
involved and it's great that the story has now been
recorded in a book," he said.
The lost plane held a huge fascination for Seamus
who had heard about the sea crash from older
fishermen as a young boy growing up. |
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One day, fellow diver
Brian Thompson told him he had discovered the
co-ordinates for the wreck. Seamus resolved to get
more details from Annie McCartney of Greencastle and
Jimmy McLaughlin of Shrove. Jimmy told him that, as
a ten year old, he heard the roar of the plane
coming over Inishowen Head that fateful morning. |
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Seamus, from
Ballymacarthur, goes on to describe the moment he
and his fellow divers Danny Keenan, Robert Smith and
Seamus McLaughlin finally located the wreckage in a
large mussel bed on August 3, 2001.
"Suddenly, out of the black blanket of mussel, the
angle of the light revealed the full expanse,
wing-tip to wing-tip, of our prize. It was hard to
stay in one place, there seemed to be so much to
look at. There was the plane itself, the wings,
complete with engine mountings, gas masks and some
personal effects such as a personal shaver and
soap-box," he said. Seamus was then able to identify
exactly which bomber they had discovered thanks to
aviation archaeologist, John Quinn, from Belfast.
Scoltock's new book draws heavily on the memoirs of
one of the ‘Meltin’ Pot’ crew, tail gunner Lee
Kessler, and his personal accounts of his various
WWII missions.
Also included in the book is a lovely story of an
emotional reunion - when Curtis Melton and his wife
travelled from the US to Greencastle several years
ago to meet his rescuer Elisabeth for the first time
since 1942. Eighty-two year old Elisabeth (now
Ferguson) is the last remaining survivor of the 'Meltin'
Pot' rescue, Curtis having sadly passed away last
June. Elisabeth plans to return to her native
Greencastle from her Co Down home this Saturday,
March 7, for the book launch in the Inishowen
Maritime Museum. Meanwhile, Seamus extended an open
invitation for people to turn up and celebrate one
of the most fascinating stories from local history.
Visitors can also view the museum’s permanent
exhibition of ‘Meltin’ Pot’ memorabilia recovered by
the Inishowen Sub-Aqua Club over the years. The
launch gets underway at 2pm and refreshments will be
served. |
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