Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Mount Brandon" in English language version.
Luftwaffe Focke Wulf 200 Condor of KG40 departed Bordeaux in Western France on the morning of 20 August 1940, to carry out weather reconnaissance and pressure readings off the north-west coast of Ireland. As the huge 4 engine aircraft with a crew of 6 straddled the coastline of Mayo, Galway and Clare it developed engine problems and the pilot decided to try and return home. The problems intensified and therefore a decision was made to force land the aircraft at sea rather than attempt to land in the dense fog not knowing exactly where they were. Through the mist one of the crew could just make out Tralee Bay and in particular Hogs Head. The pilot, Captain Kurt Mollenhauer, from Cuxhaven, set course due west as the aircraft began to descend in dense fog; they were heading for Mount Brandon.
Capt. Allitt would have had only seconds to react when he would have seen grass below his aircraft at an altitude of approximately 2,000ft. before it impacted into large boulders just below the summit of Mount Brandon. Of the 28 on board, 10 died instantly including Allitt, Noth and Díarmuid Hartigan who was only 70 miles from his home. The crash site was a scene of utter devastation where fire engulfed almost all of the aircraft except the tail section, which bore the registration G–AGES. Amongst the cargo recovered were post from British personnel in Japanese administered POW camps in Java. For several months mail continued to be found several miles from the crash site and locals would themselves post the letters to the addressees.
The village of Cloghane had only just about recovered from the B.O.A.C. loss of another Sunderland on 28 July 1943, when tragedy called again 25 days later. Another aircraft came to grief in exactly the same spot and once again with a major loss of life on 22 August 1943. A Royal Air Force Sunderland Flying Boat, DD848, of 201 Squadron, Coastal Command, out of Castle Archdale on Lower Loch Erne, County Fermanagh with a crew of eleven, was intent on hunting U–Boats in The Bay of Biscay but found the inner slopes of Mt. Brandon instead. Again, as on 25 days earlier this area was a scene of carnage with only three survivors.
Mount Brandon: Faha Route
The list of peaks of 3000ft or more within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland outside (furth) of Scotland. There are currently 34 Furths.
Mount Brandon, a great solitary peak on Ireland's west coast, has been a holy site for centuries. Chet Raymo takes the pilgrim's path to the top
The list of peaks of 3000ft or more within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland outside (furth) of Scotland. There are currently 34 Furths.
