Monument record TR 03 NW 174 - Site of a V1 missile impact, Packing Wood

In 2018 an excavation confirmed the location of a Second World War V1 missile impact. The missile was intercepted and shot down by a Polish fighter pilot, F/Sgt Donocik of 315 squadron on 6th August 1944. The excavation discovered a significant quantity of missile remnants and revealed the sequence of events that led to the impact.

The 10m-diameter crater was visible on a 1946 RAF aerial photograph. It was surrounded by a blast zone of 40m diameter. An excavation was carried out to locate and record fragments of the missile and the inside of the crater then scanned with a magnetometer and metal detector to check that nothing had been missed.

Numerous fragments of the crash were identified including a compressed air tank, jet yoke, shock absorber, leading edges of the elevators, gyro control unit, fuel regulator, launching rail and other parts.

The artefacts were plotted in 3d and this allowed the reconstruction of the blast pattern. The research concluded the missile had detonated before it hit the ground, perhaps on contact with a tree. (1)

<1> Research Resource, 2020, Packing Wood, Kent, Report on the investigation of a V1 missile impact from 6th August 1944 (Unpublished document). SKE57431.