SPITFIRE SHOT DOWN! | Exploring A Crash Site In Normandy | RAF WW2

[@shurikenstars]

After watching this video I made a point to visit this site. As I write this I am standing looking at the crash site. Thank you for posting this story, I hope others like myself visit and post our respects. John.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Wow! What an amazing post. So glad people actually watched this video and I hope the story of Raymond co rubies to be told. It still kills me that I got his surname wrong in this video 😔

[@shurikenstars]

@@thehistoryexplorerwell the video remembers him and honours his passing irrespective of any accident you may have made. He’d have been amazed and honoured by you.

[@jasonlee6744]

Agree, what a lovely post and a very good and moving video, throughly enjoyed it. Does anyone know the markings and number of the spitfire he flew. I do water colours and would love to paint his aircraft. Thanks Jason 🇬🇧

[@shurikenstars]

@@jasonlee6744 looking at the photo of his memorial I think the letters each side of the roundel are SD - K The registration possibly AD129 501 Squadron. Might be worth looking this info up on Google?

[@stevemercer5769]

I recently visited these sites with my son and grandsons to pay tribute to this man’s sacrifice. Sgt Deans sister Doriel is my good friend and neighbour and we’ve spoken often about Ray. The citizens of Brevands have twice hosted Doriel to visit Ray’s grave in recent years, and honour his sacrifice. On the second occasion it was for the commissioning of the monument next to the crash site. Local people raised the funds and unveiled this with great ceremony on what would have been Rays 100th birthday. It included a fly past from a Battle of Britain Flight Spitfire, and Doriel was invited to a VIP tour of home of the Battle of Britain Flight to meet the pilots and see the aircraft. Amazing that the people of Normandy continue to honour our fallen with such dedication ❤️🇫🇷🇬🇧

[@ronti2492]

That is an amazing post! RIP SGT Dean, too young at 19. Strength and health to suster Doriel! Lest we forget.

[@thetoon50]

What a utterly amazing human being , words cannot express what a braze unselfish person he was . He gave his young life for us you will never be forgotten , thank you

[@oscarmadison8530]

RIP Sgt. Raymond Frederick Charles Dean.Thank you for what you and your mates did on behalf of the entire free world. 🇬🇧 👊

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Very well said. So happy I could share his story

[@janetslicer3637]

I couldn't have said it better myself. So many heartfelt young men left their parents, siblings, small communities to fight and sacrifice their lives for the greater good. It still hurts my heart to hear these heroic stories because of the families left behind to remember them. We should all remember them for all time and eternity. May I add, the German commander took the proper action. 🙏🇬🇧🙏

[@TheLincolnshireFlyer]

Thank you for telling this story. We need to remember all the fallen.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

It was my pleasure 👍

[@jche8437]

19 years old, flying a spitfire. I wasn’t even driving at 19, shameful. So much respect for these young men, who never got to enjoy the world without war.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

What a brilliant comment 👍

[@georgielancaster1356]

A number of young pilots could not drive, or learnt to fly before driving.

[@golic7123]

RIP Raymond Dean - Brave Lad who paid the ultimate price whilst fighting for his country Thanks for this Upload BTW, very interesting

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You are very welcome! So glad I could share his story

[@daniellebcooper7160]

Thank you for taking the time to tell these stories, so as the characters will not be lost to time.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You are most welcome! Glad you enjoyed it

[@paulevans3827]

Thank you so much for telling us this story and taking the time to relay it to us all. I wasn’t in the war but it is best that we remember them forever and ever.🇬🇧

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you for the kind feedback

[@andrewd7586]

My late father was in the AIF during WW2. He was in the heavy anti-aircraft unit serving mostly in New Guinea. He was a Lance Bombardier, but a qualified Master Layer. This meant he basically predicted flight paths of the Japanese pilots & accordingly his unit would shoot that target or targets down. I can attest to the fact that dad & his mates roared & cheered every time they shot down an enemy plane. As dad said “We only saw the plane itself at that moment… It was only later on reflection we realized we’d killed actual people.” RIP Sergeant Dean. “Lest We Forget”….

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Well said, it’s interesting isn’t it. It’s why in that moment I wouldn’t have judged the Germans for celebrating a victory

[@exmoorfarmer4880]

Thank you for this very moving video. My youngest son is nearly 19 and I have just been watching him make toast and thinking of him dying in such a way, alone and away from the people who love him. Heartbreaking and I shall visit Ray's grave personally in about 2 months' time.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

A horrible thought!

[@moobaz8675]

So young but so many of them were. Thanks for sharing and remembering him.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it. It was my pleasure

[@TheVigilant109]

Thank you for telling the story of Sgt Deans

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Our pleasure!

[@timq8470]

Brave guys. I recently took an Ancestry DNA test and discovered my unknown grandfather FL LT R W Greenaway of the 91 Squadron an elite Spit squadron in Manston Kent, he survived albeit with flak wounds but appears to have lost several squadron pilots which must have had a terrible mental impact. I was able to tell my Dad who his dad was and show him a photo of his father getting his wings in Canada. Now looking for Rons log book / medals which have been lost. They were all so young and so brave.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Wow what a story, you must be very proud of his legacy

[@georgielancaster1356]

That would not have been possible, not that long ago. How wonderful. Did you know your gran? Did she never tell anything to your dad?

[@timq8470]

@@thehistoryexplorer yes he even escorted Monty and met him, it's in the squadron diary.

[@timq8470]

@@georgielancaster1356 my dad never knew I turned up with a bottle of whisky and a photo of his dad getting his wings in Canada, and said sit down I've got something to tell you. It was actually solved by two half cousins in Australia I never knew I had and a guy in Denmark who had downloaded some pages from his flight log ten years early when it sold at auction. crazy stuff.

[@jamesross1799]

Brilliant post thank you for posting very interesting. So many young men had the same sort of fate during ww2 and of course ww1 too.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

So glad you enjoyed the video and I really appreciate the feedback. The more comments the videos gets, the more YT shows it to people

[@SELondonUSA]

I am a new subscriber to your channel and appreciate your work. Saw this submission today. I find these lonely burial spots of WW2 dead very moving. This is no exception. I visited Normandy several years ago and was moved by all the major landing places. I visited a church in La Lande St. Leger to see the grave of an Indian RAF Typhoon pilot in the church cemetery. His was a very interesting story that you can find on the Web. Like Sergeant Dean's grave, his grave was beautifully and respectfully tended by the villagers. I was very moved. And still the nations of our world are unable to settle their differences peacefully.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you very much, but I honestly cringe when I realise I got his name wrong in the video. I almost didn’t upload it but I wanted his story to be shared. Thank you

[@zolfodor4835]

Brilliant video & a heartfelt thank you to Mr Dean,so sad,R.I.P. We will never forget these brave souls. 💔💔

[@thehistoryexplorer]

It was my pleasure to tell his story. Thank you so much for the kind feedback

[@zolfodor4835]

@@thehistoryexplorer love it when heroes like this are remembered & you keep his memory alive,subscribed mate.👌👌

[@stephenm.fochuk7795]

Geez, you had me, almost, with the shot of the No.441 Squadron RCAF Spitfire...

[@jamesross1799]

And i completely agree where the AA crew British American French Norwegian ect they would have celebrated the "kill" too. I take my hat off to the respect shown by the german officer. Very interesting story thanks for posting.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You are most welcome James. Really appreciate the feedback. 👍

[@jamesross1799]

In a similar vein I once read an account written by a German soldier who was in a hopless situation in Normandy during the D Day fighting or sometime very soon after. He and a few other men decided that all was lost and decided to surrender to the british. They put up a white flag and shouting camerad! Ect they gave themselves up only to find to there absolute horror that the men in front of them in british issue uniform were actually Polish infantry . As you can imagine they thought "oh no" or words to that effect. However the Polish soldiers who would have been well within their rights to just deliver battlefield justice took the germans prisoners offerd them water and cigarettes and asked "why do you look so scared? You are out of it now we should be the frightened ones" proof that even in total war humanity can somehow survive.

[@kingsroad2310]

heart felt video and well told. thank yiu Sgt Dean

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you 👍

[@napierlines6977]

Sgt DEAN! Sorry to be a stickler. Dean not Deans. Thanks for sharing his strory though Rob

[@thehistoryexplorer]

When I got back and watched the footage I was mortified 🤦‍♂️

[@robmisener2786]

Great video Rob! Thank You!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You are most welcome my friend

[@historyinyourhand1787]

Really interesting video - definitely on the list for my next Normandy trip

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ronti2492]

Nice video Rob with appropriately sombre music in an early spring countryside....Dean was a SGT at 19...? That is a testament to the attrition rate and no doubt the young man's qualities and abilities. Trust all is well your side!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thanks Ron! Great to hear from you and I hope you’re doing well buddy. Got a series of 15 videos or so on the way so been busy busy!

[@ronti2492]

Maan! just saw the Utah one pop up, you're on fire!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

This one wasn’t a due to be released and hadn’t been finished, but I managed to upload to anyway 🤷‍♂️😂 Hope you’re keeping well buddy

[@ronti2492]

@@thehistoryexplorer cheers, all good my side, been on TDY in Oz, now back to play LOG SME/ DS for a rather large Staff EX...should be good, there's an excellent Indian joint outside the TE!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

@@ronti2492 got back to Oz for some warmth and sunshine! Bliss. I could do with some sunshine - nonstop rain in UK all year mate

[@SNP-1999]

It was good to hear that the German officer ordered his men to retrieve the body of Sergeant Deans, treating him with the respect due to a brave enemy airman who was killed in battle serving his King and country. May he rest in eternal peace.

[@WeWereSoldiersChannel]

An interesting story, one I'm sure is replicated hundreds of times over through the war. So sad

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You bet. I have no doubt there are many many more stories just like Ray Dean but I’m glad I got to share it

[@broadwayed9435]

Grand salute, we can do great service by just remembering these brave men every year. Ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedom of our Nation.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Well said

[@The_WW2_Encyclopedia]

Brilliant, keep up the good work!! - Shane

[@jamesross1799]

These posts are always very interesting and well put together. It's important we remember.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you very much Shane/ I actually uploaded this as a draft and didn’t realise I set a release time 🤦‍♂️

[@thehistoryexplorer]

@@jamesross1799thank you James, so glad I could share the story of Ray Dean

[@The_WW2_Encyclopedia]

@@thehistoryexplorer Well it fell perfectly for me as I had just sat down with a cup of coffee. :)

[@thehistoryexplorer]

@@The_WW2_Encyclopediaideal 👌

[@ashleylane4617]

Lovely memorial ❤️

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the video

[@benmasters1980]

Great info and video thank you. RIP 🙏

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment it makes a lot of difference

[@rustysphotography]

RIP Raymond Dean . I have been researching local crashes and very similar looking crash sites . The teardrop shape fits more with coming straight down from height i would imagine . The teardrop i found was a very fast one in a dive .

[@thehistoryexplorer]

You could well be right. I have no expertise in anything aviation other than modern CAS!

[@rustysphotography]

@@thehistoryexplorer I am learning myself but absorbing as much as possible on the subject in the hopes of completing some stories and helping to add to local history . If you imagine skipping a stone on water , you can picture a plane having a crater measuring a fair distance ' The shorter the length of the teardrop i imagine increases the angle of entry . Maybe the shot hit something critical on the plane or even the pilot . Most planes try to land if there is any control left but my research makes me think this was heading down very fast and without control . I imagine the plane is still under the ground and unless completely documented the pilot could possibly still be there now with folktale covering a recovery that couldn't really be achieved . Boggy ground , 300mph and the weight . I imagine it was very deep but probably recoverable with today's technology .

[@johnsimms4501]

Nice work!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you so much John. Very glad to be able to share the story of Ray

[@suepalin9202]

An interesting and poignant story. Were any bits from Dean's Spitfire recovered or are they still in the crater?

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I’m really not sure actually! I would love to find out too

[@suepalin9202]

@@thehistoryexplorer The water in the crater looks oily, so there could be some engine parts, etc, in it. I'd be tempted to dig around the crater!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

@@suepalin9202would love to go around with a metal detector in these areas

[@JohnSmith-ei2pz]

@@thehistoryexplorer How disrespectful!

[@TallysVids]

Infinite respect to you Sir for what you done for this country, and I only wished you could have lived long enough to see the peace and freedom you were fighting for. Thank you (and the countless others) for your service and sadly for many others who paid the ultimate sacrifice. RIP Sgt Dean you will be forever in our hearts and we will never forgot.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Well said my friend

[@manofkentcatapultsgunsando5069]

This is right up my street ,excellent, new subscriber 👍

[@thehistoryexplorer]

So glad you enjoyed the video 👍

[@Mag_Aoidh]

The bullet holes in the gravestone tell a lot about what the countryside went through.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Oh yes absolutely!

[@ohdehhan]

Very interesting story.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Glad you think so!

[@pup1008]

I've got a very interesting story of a *Halifax* that came down near the beach of a holiday home I have on the Essex coast. It is quite remote & must a nature reserve so the crash site is still visible of overgrown. When we looked into it, as part of a project my son had to do for school, we found bundles of info & photos online if you wanted to do a story on that? It was a *RCAF* plane ironically shot down by a Canadian anti-aircraft battery. 😕

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Oh dear! That sounds fascinating. Would love to look at something like that

[@remy7009]

A great and sad story , Thank You for showing us👍 A metal detector may confirm the location of the flak gun ?

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I’d love to take a metal detector to many places in Normandy!

[@ToddSauve]

From what I have read many pilots, like top scoring Allied European theatre ace Johnny Johnson, hated the "rhubarb" missions. Not enough enemy valuables were destroyed for the large number of pilots killed and aircraft lost. 🤷‍♂

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I really don’t know enough about them other than the ROE was pretty permissive - transit to this area and attack any viable target 🤷‍♂️

[@ToddSauve]

@@thehistoryexplorer Later in the war in 1944 Hitler branded Allied pilots as terrorists because of the similar attacks all over occupied Europe where they killed everything from cows to destroying locomotives. Even some of the pilots didn't like having to kill farm livestock.

[@ZainZain-sg6qg]

Birds and animals come here to drink in the water where the plane crashed to commemorate the memory of someone whose soul has left the place....

[@bangkokney8708]

I really enjoy your work, but I have to say that calling this poor young man 'Deans' throughout the video is a bit slack on your part. His gravestone and the memorial show his name as 'Dean', so I'll go with them. Such a young life taken so early, it was this generation that allowed us to live the freedoms we have today.

[@jamesmordovancey517]

Interesting. Sad but interesting.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thank you

[@NeelsPretorius-ne9mw]

He would've turned 22 on D-Day. Born 6 June 1922.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Sad isn’t it

[@davidgaul6743]

was the Spitfire recovered ????

[@thehistoryexplorer]

No I don’t believe so

[@johnburgess9185]

R I p sir thank you

[@jamesross1799]

I have no idea what the post in Arabic is but personally I'm very wary of it and clicking translate.

[@The_WW2_Encyclopedia]

I would just delete it to be honest.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I’m not sure I can see it. I’ll check it out

[@lablackzed]

​@@The_WW2_EncyclopediaI deleted it it was a spam begging letter comes up on many other Post's .

[@Peace2U-ec6es]

I've seen this on other sites. Report it as spam.

[@adamwodarczyk6262]

Spitfire VB AD129, SD-K, 501 Sq,

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Thanks

[@waterpongo6975]

I would love to take a metal detector tere...

[@oliabid-price4517]

Looking at the shape of the impact depression, it looks more likely that the aircraft came down at a relatively shallow angle whilst travelling towards the AA position. This would explain how they were able to hit him, otherwise the manor house would have obstructed their line of fire. When an aircraft impacts the ground, the feathered edge of the crater is always in the direction of travel. Also no 'S' in Dean - you could at least pronounce his name correctly. RIP

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Cheers dits

[@julianducros8952]

They did give him a burial bye the German commander that's respect nothing these days

[@thehistoryexplorer]

They did indeed

[@francescolovetere3910]

Nothing has changed since then. the inhabitants of the European continent have an unhealthy passion for mutual slaughter. Centuries and centuries of mutual slaughter; and the bloodline still continues to flow. Strange people indeed

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I’m not sure I follow

[@jamesvenables6202]

Well done. A good story and a fine tribute, but please use the English term "Sergeant", not the awful US lazy-speak term "Saa-nt". Also note that his name was Dean, not Deans. Shame to have a great tribute video spoiled by a couple of simple inaccuracies.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

I’m currently serving in the British Army and “Saa-nt” is entirely appropriate, if that’s how you perceived my pronunciation. I have apologised elsewhere for calling him Sgt Deans and will do so again.

[@aanttz4803]

Wonder if these brave young men would have been so eager to give up their lives if they could see muslim London today.

[@pup1008]

I live in a town in Essex &, for a long time, heard stories of a Me110 coming in an area of woodland on the SW side of the town. Although I'd never researched it, I believe it is 100% legit. Just last Summer I was talking to an old boy who was 96 & actually saw the crash happen! He was standing on a common & said the German plane got "jumped" by a Spit & crashed through the trees to is final resting place. The story goes some air cadets dug the site in the 50's & found a wallet with a picture of a woman & child in it & a note saying that if this was ever returned to the guy's wife he would be dead. 😕 There was also supposed to be a Spit that came down not a mile from this that is supposedly still in the ground.

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Where is this? Sounds fascinating. So so sad too

[@pup1008]

@@thehistoryexplorer The Me110 & (possible) Spit were in *Brentwood* & the Halifax at Walton on the Naze. 👍 An impacted Hurricane was also on the beach there right up until the 70's when I remember seeing it as a kid. What remains of that is now at Hendon. If you ever go up to Walton, go to the Trinity navigational tower on the Naze & they have a display on one of the floors that is all about it. We did do an extensive report on it for my son's project but that was about 13 years back so now sadly lost. 😕 If you go onto the "Putmans of Walton" photographer's website they have photos of when they dug the Halifax up in the 70's but it takes some searching. It's in the section headed "The Naze." There is also a memorial made out of the actual props from the plane at Walton church just as you come into the town. Funny enough, we were going to metal detect the site this summer, if able.

[@pup1008]

@@thehistoryexplorer The actual crash site of the Me. If you were looking on Google Earth it's about 200 ft. into the forest at the junction of Hartswood Rd. & Woodman Rd. The Spitfire is supposed to be in a coppice on a farmer's field between the A128 (Brentwood Rd.) & Running Waters/Pondfield Lane. 👍

[@suomalainen82]

Жалко, такой молодой, пусть будет проклята война!!!

[@thehistoryexplorer]

War is hell