The loch was dammed in the 1930s, raising the water some 27 feet (8.2 m) to provide seasonal storage for the Galloway hydro-electric power scheme.

On 18 March 1944 F/O Roswell Murray MacTavish of 439 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force was on a training flight from RAF Heathfield in Hawker Hurricane Mk.

An RAF salvage crew brought a boat and spent several days trawling parts of the bed of the loch, but failed to find either the aircraft or Hekl's body.

[4] In 1977 the Dumfries branch of the Scottish Sub Aqua Club began a systematic search of the bed of the loch in the area where an eyewitness thought the aircraft had crashed.

[4] The search was unsuccessful so in 1982 it was moved to a different area of the loch, where divers quickly found the Spitfire's tail and rear part of the fuselage.

Both wings were badly damaged, magnesium parts such as the undercarriage wheels had corroded away, but the Merlin Mk XII engine was recovered in good condition.

[4] The wreckage was moved to Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum, where the aircraft was slowly restored and a pair of replica wings fitted.