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The remains of an aircraft believed to be a German fighter shot down during the Second World War have been discovered by fishermen in Plymouth Sound.

Part of a rusty propeller was caught by a fishing vessel in its pots line on the western end of the Breakwater yesterday, and has been taken to experts to establish its precise identity.

Peter Holt has been investigating wrecks in the city since 1993, and runs The Ships Project with his wife Mallory. The project studies shipwrecks and maritime history in and around Plymouth.

Mr Holt believes that the remains could be from the German ME-109, which is said to have been shot down over the Sound on May 16, 1942, after a low level attack was made by Hitler's Luftwaffe on several warships.

(Image: Dominic Robinson)

The aircraft crashed into the sea at Cawsand Bay and the engine was recovered by a diver in 1982.

However, the wreckage is decayed and could be from a different aircraft that has not yet been documented, Mr Holt added.

He said: "I started to try and identify the prop, starting with the aircraft wrecks known to be in the Sound.

"A Lancaster bomber on the Breakwater and the three Sunderland aircraft crashed at the west end of the Breakwater. Looking at photos of propellers from both types of aircraft wreck the one pulled up seems to be different, so its probably not from those wrecks.

"The next option is the German ME-109 crashed in Cawsand and that is a better match. However, it may be from a different aircraft entirely."

Mr Holt and his wife will be working on the remains of the aircraft this week to try to identify its history.

He said: "The plan on Monday is to gently clean the surface of the prop boss to see if there are any markings on it.

"My friend who has researched the ME-109 crash story in great detail has passed the photos on to an air accident investigator friend in the hope that he can identify the prop. We will be talking to the relevant authorities on Monday to ensure that we follow the correct protocol."

(Image: Dominc Robinson)

He added that it was an "unusual find" and that many people aren't aware of the aircrafts that have crashed into the Sound.

"Most people don't know that there are aircraft crashed in the Sound, and even the divers only know of one or two," he said. "We only know about them because we researched their stories, but even now we have parts of aircraft we have no story for."

Any aircraft which has crashed during military service that is found in UK waters is covered by the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

What is the German ME-109? The propeller is believed to be from the German ME-109. Its proper name is the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which is a German World War II fighter aircraft, and was the main aircraft used by the Nazi air force. It was one of the most advanced fighter aircrafts and was first brought into service in 1937 during the Spanish Cival War, and was still used until the end of World War II. A website which details the history of shipwrecks and history in Plymouth Sound states: "On 16th May 1942 at 12:52 pm, six aircraft from 10/JG 2 made a low level attack on warships in Plymouth Sound. "Two bombs near missed SS Torkel and one near missed BV 7. HMS Brocklesby was machine gunned and HMS Wolverine near missed by two bombs, one rating on the Wolverine was killed and three slightly injured on the Brocklesby. "Cleveland, Brocklesby and Wolverine all opened fire and shot down one aeroplane which crashed into the sea in Cawsand Bay. "The aircraft shot down was a Messerschmitt BF 109f-4 (13014) Blue 8 piloted by Lt. Hans-Joachim Schulz. The body of the pilot was recovered on 2nd June from the crashed aircraft and was buried with full military honours in Ford Park cemetery by RAF personnel from Mount Batten (1, 2). "In 1959 the bodies of the majority of German servicemen who died on British soil were moved to the German CWGC cemetery at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, where Lt Schulz is now buried in Block 7, Grave 117. "A local Plymouth diver recovered the DB601D engine from this aircraft from Cawsand Bay in 1982 when working at RAF Mount Batten. "The engine was later taken to Flambards amusement park where it became part of an aircraft exhibition, the engine was located in 2013 but has now disappeared." The history website asks that if anyone has information about the wreck, please get in touch, here.

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