Forgotten WWII Bomber Discovered in North Sea After 80 Years

A World War II bomber that crash-landed in the North Sea over 80 years ago has been filmed for the first time in its watery resting place.

Rob Spray, a diver and marine conservationist from Suffolk, stumbled upon the Handley-Page Hampden off the Norfolk coast while filming sea life. The RAF bomber, identified as P2123, had ditched on September 1, 1940, after running out of fuel during its return from a raid over Berlin.

The discovery struck a chord with Geoff Mandale, whose father, Sgt James “Jimmy” Mandale, served as the plane’s rear gunner. Despite flying 47 missions, Sgt Mandale never encountered an enemy plane to fire upon—an irony his son calls “lucky.” Sgt Mandale, along with his crew—Sgt Harry Logan, pilot David Romans, and navigator Donald Stewart—survived the crash.

Geoff Mandale described the footage as “incredible” but emotionally neutral, saying, “Nobody lost a life. If my dad’s mate hadn’t survived, that would have been different.”

The Hampden, lying 23 feet deep in murky waters, had only one engine intact. The other was recovered in 1975 after a fisherman’s crab pots snagged on it and now resides at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum.

Bob Collis, an aviation historian, remarked on the bomber’s rarity, with fewer than three Hampdens preserved in museums today. Despite its historical significance, the wreck will likely remain undisturbed, a silent relic of Britain’s wartime past.