Recent Military Heritage

Miltary Aircraft Crash Sites

Some may be surprised to hear that English Heritage consider these to be archaeological sites, yet they are, and have been recognised as such since at least the 1979 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act, which includes within its definition of monument, ‘crashed aircraft or the remains thereof'. These sites are not just collections of surface or buried artefacts awaiting retrieval or rescue. They can also be war graves, and sometimes contain live ordnance. They will also often have social significance to local communities or the families and friends of aircrew, and they will always contain archaeological evidence about the aircraft and how it was maintained, evidence that will be lost if it is not correctly excavated, recorded and published. English Heritage has issued guidance on the management of military aircraft crash sites. Table 1 of the guidelines document provides detailed information on the 21 now extinct military aircraft.