Missing SAS Plane 'Found' In France

An archaeologist says he has found the wreckage of a Special Forces plane that went missing more than 70 years ago. 

Three specially adapted Short Stirling heavy bombers set off on June 17, 1944, from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Loaded with SAS parachutists on a mission to help the French Resistance, only two of the planes returned.

It had been thought the missing bomber went down over the English Channel, but archaeologist Tony Greaves says he has evidence to suggest otherwise. He claims a carburettor from a Bristol Hercules engine, found in a farmer’s field behind Omaha Beach in Normandy, comes from the lost Stirling.

Following the initial find Mr Graves enlisted help from Dutch air crash investigators who carried out a ground radar inspection which appears to have uncovered the presence of an aircraft.

Despite this evidence, the investigation is not progressing. French authorities will not grant a licence for excavations to take place at the site.

The Ministry of Defence is not stepping in either. In a statement they said: “The MOD does not proactively search for individuals listed as missing from past conflicts.

"In the immediate aftermath of the major conflicts of the 20th Century, significant efforts were made by the Government of the day to recover and identify the bodies of UK service personnel. It is no longer feasible or possible to methodically excavate all known crash sites or battlefields.”

Irene Brown was married to Lieutenant Leslie Cairns, who was in charge on the missing plane. She was working at Bletchley Park at the time and later wrote a book called Enigma Variations: Love, War and Bletchley Park. In it, she details her attempts to find out the truth behind the crash.

Now aged 97, the discoveries about the site have given her hope that she might finally know her husband’s resting place.

Read: SAS Hero Who Conquered Everest Dies 

Her son Iain Gordon Brown, from her second marriage, says his mother never really got over the loss and that Leslie was very much the love of her life. He says he cannot understand why authorities are not doing more to find out whether this is the missing plane.

“It seems like the plane was just written off. We now have a chance to find out what really happened. We can’t just sit back and say this is a war grave,” he said.

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