Hawker Hurricane Tail Wheel (Battle of Britain) Relic

Description

Tail Wheel from Hawker Hurricane No N2459 , Found by local fisherman who was digging for bait at Pye Sands Pennyhole Bay Harwich 18th October 1978.

According to Air Ministry reports, this aircraft had been reported lost in this area.

Namely N2459, P/O D.H.Grice, 32 Sqdn Biggin Hill.

This is on the old original museum board, which gives you loads of info on the chap.

The Tail Wheel has a bullet hole .

On 4th July Grice was shot down by Me109’s and made a forced-landing not far from Sandwich golf course. To his astonishment Grice was greeted by an Army officer who had served with him as a private in the Artists Rifles. On the 8th he claimed a Me109 probably destroyed and on 12th August he damaged a Do17.

On the afternoon of the 15th Grice was shot down east of Harwich in flames, having been attacked from behind as the squadron was about to engage hostile aircraft. Tracer bullets smashed the instrument panel and passed into the gravity tank. Grice was using oxygen which ignited, blowing off his goggles and burning his face and both wrists. The gravity tank exploded. He baled out, landed in the sea, had difficulty freeing himself and was almost drowned.

He was rescued by an MTB, landed at Felixstowe and admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital at Shotley.

Although Grice was unaware of it at the time, his prolonged dip in the sea was a boon, the salt water aided the healing process of the burns Grice had suffered to the face and the wrists.

His Hurricane, N2459, crashed into the sea at Pye Sands, Pennyhole Bay, south of Harwich.

RARE PIECE.