Memorial details

Memorial type
Board / Plaque / Tablet
District
Inverness
Town
Between Lochend and Drumnadrochit
County
Highland
Country
Scotland
Commemoration
Second World War (1939-1945)
Ceremony
  • Unveiled
    Date: 16 December 1989
    Attended by: Pupils from Drumsmittal Primary School
  • Dedicated
    Date: 29 June 2002
    Attended by: Plaque about the finding of the wreck.
  • Show More (1)
Lost
Not lost
WM Reference
44525

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Current location

In a stone wall
on the Loch side of the road
A82
1 mile South of Lochend
Between Lochend and Drumnadrochit
Inverness
Highland
IV3 8JZ
Scotland

OS Grid Ref: NH 58604 36660
Denomination: Undefined

View location on Google Maps
Description
Rectangular metal plaque set within a stone cairn on the side of the loch. Inscription in relief. Side view of a Wellington bomber in relief at the top centre of the plaque flanked by two crests. Also a stone pillar with a plaque about how the wreck was found and two information panels. Wall has been raised for the length of the lay-by and both plaques incorporated into it. Plaque to be replaced later in 2021
Inscription
ON THE 21ST SEPTEMBER 1985 WELLINGTON BOMBER N2980 'R'R FOR ROBERT WAS RECOVERED FROM A DEPTH OF/ 70 METRES AT A LOCATION 200 METRES DIRECTLY OFF SHORE FROM THIS POINT./ THE WIMPY WAS RAF BOMBER COMMANDS MAINSTAY IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 2ND WORLD WAR 1939 - 45. ITS UNIQUE GEODETIC CONSTRUCTION, THE BRAINCHILD OF THE LEGENDARY SIR BARNES WALLIS OF BOUNCING/ BOMB FAME, ENABLED IT TO SURVIVE BATTLE DAMAGE THAT WOULD HAVE DESTROYED LESSER MACHINES./ WHILE 11,461 WELLINGTONS WERE BUILT, MORE THAN ANY OTHER BRITISH BOMBER. N2980 IS NOW THE ONLY/ KNOWN EXAMPLE OF ITS BREED THAT SAW ACTION TO HAVE SURVIVED INTACT FROM THOSE YEARS OF/ BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS AND SWEAT./ N2980 IS AN EARLY MK 1A BUILT BY VICKERS ARMSTRONGS AT WEYBRIDGE IN NOV 1939. WHILE SERVING WITH/ 149 SQUADRON AT MILDENHALL IT TOOK PART IN THE FAMOUS BATTLE OF HELIGOLANDBIGHT ON THE 18TH DEC. 39./ THIS WAS THE FIRST MAJOR ENCOUNTER OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AND THE LUFTWAFFE. FROM A FORCE OF 22 WELLINGTONS DRAWN FROM 149, 9 AND 37 SQUADRONS, THE LUFTWAFFE SHOT DOWN 12./ IT WAS A DIRECT RESULT OF THIS DAYLIGHT RAID ON WILHELMSHAVEN THAT BOMBER COMMAND ABANDONED/ PRE-WAR POLICY OF DAYLIGHT RAIDS ON TACTICAL TARGETS AND SWITCHED TO NIGHT OPERATIONS. THE THEORY LONG/ CHERISHED, THAT THE BOMBER WILL ALWAYS GET THROUGH, PERISHED THAT DAY ALONG WITH THE 12 WIMPYS./ N2980 ALSO SERVED WTH 37 SQUADRON AT FELTWELL AND AFTER 14 MISSIONS OVER GERMANY WAS RETIRED/ FROM ACTIVE SERVICE TO 20 OP TRG. UNIT AT LOSSIEMOUTH IN OCT. 1940. WHILE ON NAVIGATION (...) EXERCISE/ IT DITCHED ON LOCH NESS DURING A SNOW STORM ON NEW YEARS EVE DUE TO FAILURE OF THE STARBOARD ENGINE./ OF THE 8 CREW MEMBERS, 6 BAILED OUT, THE TAIL GUNNER WAS KILLED WHEN HIS PARACHUTE FAILED TO OPEN./ THE PILOT AND CO PILOT DITCHED THE AIRCRAFT AND ROWED ASHORE IN THEIR INFLATABLE DINGHY./ N2980, NOW RESTORED, CAN BE SEEN ON THE SITE WHERE IT WAS BUILT, AT BROOKLANDS MUSEUM, WEYBRIDGE./ THIS PLAQUE WAS ERECTED BY THE LOCH NESS WELLINGTON ASSOC, LTD, ON THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE/BATTLE OF THE HELIGOLAND BIGHT, 18TH DEC. 1989, TO COMMEMORATE THE RECOVERY OF 'R FOR ROBERT'/UNVEILED BY PUPILS FROM DRUMSMITTAL SCHOOL/NEWMILL CASTINGS LTD, ELGIN Plaque about SONAR scan SIDE-SCAN SONAR IMAGE OF UNDERWATER WELLINGTON / In 1940 the Wellington World War II Bomber "Robert" ditched opposite this site in / Loch Ness as detailed in the nearby memorial. It lay lost and forgotten for 36 years. In the interim, scanning sonar was invented, then manufactured and ultimately / deployed in the Loch by a team of the Academy of Applied Science (USA), led by / Dr. Robert H. Rines, searching for evidence of living underwater creatures. / Imagine the surprise when in June 1976, the sonar screen suddenly etched out the image of the sunken aircraft on the Loch bottom. Robert had found Robert! The almost / intact plane was later lifted from the Loch in 1985 and is now on display at the / Brooklands Aircraft Museum near London. / Dedicated June 29 2002
Inscription legible?
yes
Names on memorial
Fensome, John Stanley
See details
Commemorations
  • Second World War (1939-1945)
    Total names on memorial: 0
    Served and returned: 0
    Died: 0
    Exact count: yes
    Information shown: Undefined
    Order of information: Undefined
Components
  • Plaque
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Bronze
  • Pillar
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Stone
  • Board
    Measurements: Undefined
    Materials: Metal
Condition
Trust fund/Scholarship
No
Purpose: Unknown or N/A
Reference

This record comprises all information held by IWM’s War Memorials Register for this memorial. Where we hold a names list for the memorial, this information will be displayed on the memorial record. Please check back as we are adding more names to the database.

This information is made available under a Creative Commons BY-NC licence.

This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement:

© WMR-44525

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