On the sixth of July nineteen seventy nine, a RAF Hawker Hunter MK F6 Aircraft developed engine trouble and forced the pilot to point the aircraft out to sea and then eject. The plane was serving with No1 Tactical Weapons Unit at the time and was carrying live ammunition. The Hunter should have ditched several miles out to sea, but the aircraft hit the sea and somehow managed to turn and head back into the coast at Tintagel. The aircrafts route is in line with the photograph’s below. Ivan Irons was up a ladder painting the first house to be hit.
It then continued across the field and through the garden wall
and ultimately came to rest in the alley between the Klymairven and King Arthur’s Terrace
The structural damage to King Arthur’s terrace and the Klymairven.
The crushed vehicles that were in the Hunters path.
The tailfin of the Hunter protrudes from the alleyway
The plane managed to slip into a 12 foot gap between the two properties.
The Hunter spewed a load of ammunition all over the road as the front end of the plane came to a halt on the main road. Not all the ammunition was recovered.
In the picture below you can see how close Tintagel came to being half the size it is today. Has the Hunter was careering across the fields towards the alleyway between, what was then the Klymairven Restaurant and Jan Jewells house on the end of King Arthur’s Terrace, a large petrol tanker was delivering it’s load of fuel to Jack Cann’s petrol station. On seeing the approaching plane, the driver jumped into the tanker and raced across the fortunately large car park behind the petrol station.
Thanks to Pete Sobey for the images.