Wellington Bomber N2980

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

Last updated 2026-04-12