P-47c 41-6231 25th june 1944 551st FTS 495th FG, Atcham St Ediths church , Church Pulverbatch Shropshire

Next to St. Ediths Church in Church Pulverbatch is a memorial to Lt Arthur. D. Brody USAAF who lost his life in a field that the memorial overlooks.

At 6.30 pm on the 25th of June 1944, 4 P-47C Thunderbolts all from 551st FTS 495th FG, Atcham were on a practice flight over Shropshire. Climbing the fighters flew in formation until they were bounced by another flight, breaking formation the planes chased each other losing height until the fur ball broke up and the fighters tried to find their squadron mates.

One P-47 41-6231 coded DQ-B was seen by St Ediths congregation to be performing some aerobatics over the village, the fighter then passed low over the church and dipped towards the fields below but unseen by the pilot until the last second, a large tree was in his path. The fighter clipped the tree then cartwheeled and exploded scattering remains over a large area.

Locals had told a very helpful lady I met at the church, that young pilots from Atcham including Lt Brody, had been at a party the night before at Wrentnall House nearby, it was thought Lt Brody was putting on a bit of a show for his hosts.

 Lt Brody is Buried in Cambridge Madingley cemetery

P-38J 42-67701 RAF Atcham, 2 Lt Alan. Stewart. Green 16Th September Lyth Hill Shrewsbury

RAF Atcham, Station 342 , Shropshire a USAAF fighter Training base used mainly Spitfires and P-47s but also had a few P-38s one was lost in a quiet field not many miles from the base and I visited the site last year.

 

42-67701 Code DQ-Q a P38J flying with the 552nd FTS, 495th FTG lifted off on the afternoon of the 16 September 1944 for a local training flight. At the controls young pilot 2 Lt. A.S.Green, his mission was to take place in the company of another P38 piloted by Sqn fellow 2 Lt. J.W.Mahoney.

The flight went without any problems and the pilots set for home, nearing Bayston Hill just south of Shrewsbury Lt Green’s starboard engine cut out, Contacting his wingman by radio to inform him of his problem an instructor also on the same frequency advised 2 Lt. Green to climb before attempting to attempt a restart, but as the young pilot pulled the fighters nose up his other engine shut down and at only 2,000ft 2 Lt. Green had no choice but to force land ahead.

 

The now silent fighter headed for a field at Lyth Hill but sadly the field has a sharp rise up to a hedge, the p38 hit the rise and stopped instantly, the force broke the pilot’s seat loose and 2 Lt Green hit the instrument Panel and sadly lost his life.

 

A inquiry came to the conclusion the 2 Lt Green had mistakenly left his fuel cross feed drawing off the planes empty tank, not switching to the tank with fuel in it. Given the high workload the young man was under in formation flying in this challenging but excellent fighter, it is all too easy for a momentary error to become a major problem.

 

2 Lt Alan. Stewart. Green is buried at the US cemetery Madingley , Cambridge 

 2 Lt Alan. Stewart. Green is buried at the US cemetery Madingley , Cambridge 

Typhoon R8633 29th July 1942 Sugdon , Shropshire F/O Willian .McDunnough RCAF RAF High Ercall

 

A muddy walk with Tricia to follow the last moments of the fight of Hawker Typhoon Ib R8633.

257 Sqn High Ercall, Shropshire were just starting their conversion from the Hawker Hurricane onto the new and impressive Typhoon but it was a conversion to a plane with an unknown fatal fault later resolved to make it one of the best ground attack aircraft of WW2.

R8633 took off on the warm afternoon of 29thJuly 1942 the pilot F/O Willian .McDunnough RCAF was to take the plane on a local aerobatics flight, just before 16.45pm a local school boy watched an aircraft dive suddenly. The tail broke off at the rear of the fuselage and the Typhoon snapped onto its back falling at high speed into the ground near the small hamlet of Sugdon, the remains of the tail fell nearly a mile away by Isombridge , later investigations came to the conclusion that the planes port elevator detached causing the loss of the tail .

Sadly F/o McDunnough a popular and good pilot lost his life in the crash and was buried within sight of the crash at High Ercall’s St Michael and All Angels church.

Today a pleasant 2 mile walk passes the field where the main part of the plane fell which is now under a Beet crop, and then on to where the tail impacted. Though nothing shows of this loss on the ground, in the church you can find McDunnoughs grave next to 2 other RAF Graves in a quiet corner