B-17G 44-8198 379th Bomb group RAF Kimbolton , 10th May 1945 River Mead,Braintree Essex

A work trip gave me a chance to find this touching memorial .

On May 10th 1945 Just 2 days after VE day over the town of Braintree, Essex a flight of B-17G’s of the 379th Bomb group based at RAF Kimbolton, Cambridge were heading on an observation trip over Germany to show crews and base personnel bomb damage inflicted on cities.

Flying in close formation 44-8198 and 44-8813 were at 1200ft, 44-8198 got caught in the unseen danger of turbulence from another aircraft ahead, causing the plane to veer and collide with

44-8813. 8813’s props tore into its fellow B-17 shearing off 8198’s tail but luckily the pilot of 8813 managed to keep control and limp back to base where it landed safely but damaged. Mortally wounded 8198 fell in two parts, the tail section hit ground near Woolpack Lane, Braintree and the main section impacted a market garden close to the monastery near Bradford Street, Bocking, sadly all 11 souls on board were lost.

garden close to the monastery near Bradford Street, Bocking, sadly all 11 souls on board were lost.

 In a quiet area of woods in River Mead, Bocking, a memorial marking the sad events of May 1945 was unveiled on 10th May 2015 by locals and relatives. A part of the bomber remains on display at Ridgewell Airfield Museum.

Crew of 44-8198

1st Lt. Tom G Piers

2nd Lt. William F Powell

2nd Lt. Paul A Massina

Passengers

Cpl. George H Miller

1st Lt. Irving Nussbaum

M/Sgt. Wagner F Crane

T/Sgt. Jerrome A Grears

S/Sgt. Merrill J Blanck

S/Sgt. Leslie G Lusk

S/Sgt. Robert J Brookman

Tech. Cpl. Walker W Wallace

Lancaster RF124 L-ES, 630 Sqn Lichfield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton 17th may 1945 630 Sqn RAF East Kirby

On the afternoon of the 17th May 1945 in the quiet street of Lichfield Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, locals heard and saw a Lancaster bomber in trouble. It dropped out of the cloud base the crew struggling with the failing bomber avoided nearby houses attempting a forced landing on a cricket ground. Sadly the bomber impacted into Lichfield Road with the loss of all 7 crew on board, the bomber totally disintegrated leaving a crater in the road and wreckage spread over a wide area. The RAF cleared the remains into the crater and sadly the crew were also interned with their plane, a service was held at the crash site before the road reopened.

The Lancaster a B Mk1 coded RF124 L-ES, 630 Sqn flying from RAF East Kirby was on a non-operational cross country when something went wrong with one or more of the engines, causing the plane to lose height and to attempt a forced landing. This was the last flight before 630 Sqn began to be run down after the cessation of hostilities, it was also the first bomber command loss after the end of WW2 in Europe.

At the site today there is nothing to show of the accident, but on the 17th of May 2020 a moving memorial was unveiled near the site by the Wednesfield History Society and the City of Wolverhampton Council.

 Crew of RF124

F/o Bernard Hall

F/o Ronald James O'Donnell

Sgt Reginald Henry Smith

F/o Victor Francis Dobell Meade

Sgt Gordon Leonard Rabbetts

Sgt Vincent Reginald Woodburn Southworth

Sgt John Alfred Sills