An RAF Spitfire, which crashed into a bog in Ireland during the Second World War, is being excavated by archaeologists in Donegal. It is said to be in "amazing condition".
The fighter, which crashed into the bog in November 1941, was piloted by Roland "Bud" Wolf, an American, according to the Telegraph.
Bud Wolf, or "Wolfe" as some records have him, parachuted to safety when the engine overheated 13 miles from his base in Northern Ireland. The Republic was a neutral country during the war and he was interned in a detention camp for two years.
Bud later joined the US Army Air Force and also survived tours in Korea and Vietnam. He died in 1994.
There is an interesting discussion about the pilot, and Spitfire P8074 of 133 Squadron, here:
Roland 'Bud' L Wolfe
He also features in a book "Grounded in Eire: the story of two RAF fliers interned in Ireland" by Ralph Keefer.
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LATER UPDATE (23.00):
The story of Roland 'Bud' L Wolfe is even more fascinating than I had at first thought.
He walked out of the internment camp after only a few days, had a meal in a hotel and moved on to Dublin, from where he caught a train to Belfast in the North. He returned to the RAF base from which he had taken off after only two weeks.
But, bizarrely, the British government did not want to upset a neutral country and sent him back!
And what an odd camp it was in Ireland: guards had blank rounds in their rifles, visitors were allowed (one officer sent for his wife), and internees could come and go as they pleased. There were fishing trips, fox hunting, golf and trips to the pub in the town of Naas.
Plus, German prisoners were nearby. They beat the British 8-3 in one football match (sigh, nothing changes much!).
THE BRILLIANT STORY OF BUD L WOLFE IS TOLD IN THE BBC MAGAZINE
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