The Thunderbolt
A few weeks ago Deeper Dorset divers paid a visit to the P47-D crash site in Weymouth Bay. We know a fair bit about this crash site but a dive after the winter storms usually reveals something new.
The P47-D crash site. East to west from main landing gear to the airframe section is 31m.
Conditions were not great and visibility limited but Hugh did come back with a photo of a part we didn’t recognise. It looked like a section of radiator but as the P47-D was air cooled we quickly ruled this idea out. The other option was an oil cooler. Hugh decided to scour the ortho photo (see above) and see if the new part could be found.
Marine Life
A few days later an email arrived. Hugh had not found the mystery part but thought the scan of the cuttlefish was impressive. Cuttlefish? I had never seen a cuttlefish in the ortho photo…
Lying still on the seabed next to a piece of wreckage, the cuttlefish (lower left) has blended in well with the background.
The cuttlefish had been lying camouflaged on the seabed right next to a control point. The control point is mounted on 100mm square stainless steel, giving us an idea of scale, and is located just south of the engine – look for the tiny white square near the bottom of the full site image above.
Anything moving around the site causes photogrammetry nothing but pain. The cuttlefish decided to remain motionless and has been included in the scan, just like this lobster from another site:
Lobster on the Pontoon Site.
Ortho Photo
The ortho photo was originally created back in August 2017 and has created a permanent record of the site. Alongside the aircraft components we have recorded a transient visitor too. We intend to be back on this site soon and conditions permitting a second scan will reveal how the site has changed. Watch this space…