Historic RAF Wartime Engine Set for National Memorial After Restoration
By Jill Dando News
A historic Rolls-Royce Merlin engine from a WWII RAF Mosquito reconnaissance plane is being restored for display in a new national memorial.
The engine, recovered from a crash site on a Welsh mountainside in 1944, is set to be a key feature of a monument in London honouring the RAF’s Photo Reconnaissance Unit.
The aircraft, Mosquito PR.IX LR412, crashed during a test flight on February 9, 1944, killing its crew.
After being found by a local farmer, the wreckage was mostly recovered in the 1970s and 1980s, with the engine now being restored in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Eco Group, a specialist in dry ice cleaning, was enlisted to preserve the engine. Using their expertise, they successfully removed decades of build-up while safeguarding the engine’s original materials.
The project was led by Spitfire AA810 Restoration Ltd, which is campaigning for a National Photographic Reconnaissance Monument in Whitehall to commemorate the crew and the vital intelligence gathered by these planes.
The restored engine will play a central role in the monument, alongside other recovered parts, serving as a tribute to those who risked their lives on reconnaissance missions that were crucial to the Allied victory.
For more details on the monument campaign, visit: Spitfire AA810 Restoration.
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