A TEAM of world war two historians tracing the histories of two fighter planes which crashed on Dartmoor during the Battle of Britain is appealing to Times readers for information.

Members of the Marches Aviation Society from Wales are on the hunt for information to trace two Westland Whirlwinds, which the historians believe could have been in collision during foggy conditions — possibly over the Fox Tor area, near Princetown.

The Whirlwind was an aircraft unique in its design and appearance; it was the shortest production fighter of the war, with only 114 built in its short production and there are no major parts in existence.

The team stumbled across documentation while researching the history of 263 squadron, based at Exeter, concerning a pair of Westland Whirlwind fighters that fell over Dartmoor almost 69 years ago.

Despite following a number of leads and contacting Dartmoor National Park Authority for clues, the search for the lost fighters has all but failed.

On the afternoon of December 29, 1940, three Westland Whirlwinds took off at RAF Exeter on routine patrol for German intruders over the South West region.

The three distinct aircraft were last spotted that afternoon flying over Bovey Tracey, heading west in the direction of Princetown. Shortly after this, two of the planes crashed on remote open moorland with the loss of the two pilots.

Reports suggest the planes may have collided in fog, possibly falling into moorland bog. The aircraft were listed as missing for three months which suggested they fell somewhere quite remote.

Aviation archaeologists Gareth Jones and Ian Hodgekiss have been tracing the history of the squadrons which flew the historic fighter.

The hope is that if the appeal was successful, parts of the missing planes could be preserved at Imperial war Museum for public display.

The society has already had success with their findings on previous searches, which have featured in television documentary programmes — one on the Spitfire of war ace Douglas Bader, which went down in Northern France in 1941, and another on the Lancaster bombers from the famous Dambuster raids.

Of the Whirlwinds, Gareth told the Times: 'This incident is possibly the last mystery left to uncover which has failed researchers for many years to identify their exact location.

'It would be a great achievement if it could be identified and recorded, as these are possibly the only surviving examples, as they often buried the aircraft when in remote areas.

'We know it's a long shot, as we are asking for the locals to try and cast their memory back almost 69 years.

'It is hoped that if we are lucky, we may just be able to trace a witness or shepherd who can show an approximate location.

'We were led to believe many years ago that the aircraft fell to the south of Princetown, near Fox Tor.'

Gareth and Ian are appealing to Times readers for any information that may aid with the locating of the lost fighters of Dartmoor.

Gareth can be contacted at 18, Ethley Drive, Raglan, Monmouthshire, NP15 2FD; telephone 07855 363547 or email [email protected]">[email protected].