North Korea hands over remains of British pilot shot down in 1952

By: Dr. John Smith - 4th May 2011 at 19:35

"The remains of a young British pilot shot down in the Korean War more than 60 years ago have been handed to British officials by the North Korean government.

British officials have received what is believed to be the remains of Flight Lieutenant Desmond Hinton, a Royal Air Force pilot who died near in January 1952 while attached to the U.S. Air Force.

The airman was said to have been shot down north east of Pyongyang and his remains have been handed to British officials at the village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone, according to the North Korean official news agency.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that remains had been passed to the British authorities but said they were unable to confirm the identity.

'We can confirm that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has passed remains to the British authorities,' he said.

'We are unable to confirm the nationality or identity of the remains at this time. A detailed forensic analysis will now take place.'

The remains will be transferred to the Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command, (JPAC) for analysis, in line with normal procedure for the remains of United Nations servicemen found in Korea.

The remains of Flt Lt Hinton were found at the request of his family in 2002 and buried on the spot where he died. Relatives are said to have made a new request last month for his remains to be brought home.

The British embassy in Seoul said the remains will be sent to a U.S. facility for forensic testing. Britain said it cannot discuss the identity of the pilot until that testing takes place.

Flt Lt Hinton was shot down in while on a bombing run targeting railway infrastructure."

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383446/North-Korea-hands-British-pilot-Desmond-Hinton-shot-1952.html

Can anyone add to the above? For instance, what aircraft and/or unit was involved? Was Flt Lt Hinton found in the wreckage of his aircraft - or did he bail out?

Korea is, apparently, an area of Aviation Archeology that has not been explored much...