Miles Martinet HN888 Cwm Bach 21st December 1945

A few from today's trip out to the borders with Gary Watts to look for 2 sites around Great Rhos Near New Radnor , Wales this is the site of the loss of Miles Martinet HN888 the crew of 2 were flying a route from their home base at Pembrey to Castle Bromwich on the 21st December 1945 for a Christmas leave but flying north east they ran into poor weather lost or flying a return to base the crew over the hills near Great Rhos flew into the steep valley of Cwm Bach hitting the steep slope sadly both crew were lost the site was not found until February 1946

At the site today High up on the slope is a small scar with a few small remains heading down there are a few bits scattered down the steep stream bed until you come across one of the most intact engines i have ever found at a site in the UK the last few parts way below the impact site is the engine ring and a lonely pipe
Crew =
F/O M.Davies [pilot]
F/LT G.H.Hammond

At the site today High up on the slope is a small scar with a few small remains heading down there are a few bits scattered down the steep stream bed until you come across one of the most intact engines i have ever found at a site in the UK the last few parts way below the impact site is the engine ring and a lonely pipe

Crew =
F/O M.Davies [pilot]
F/LT G.H.Hammond

B-24H 42-94841 ‘Sack Time’,9th October 1944 Twizzle head moss

A wet and windswept trip up to Twizzle head moss in the peak district to revisit the site of the loss of B-24H 42-94841 ‘Sack Time’, 857 Bombardment Sqn RAF Harrington 9th October 1944, the 8 crew and 2 ground crew passengers were on a test flight in the B-24 that had been recently repaired flying north in worsening weather the crew turned to head home sadly the plane was already too low and heading into the hills, on the bomber Dispatcher S/Sgt Curtis Anderson looked into the murk and saw grass flash by just before the bomber tore into the sloping ground of Twizzle head moss breaking up over a hundred yards and then bursting into flames of the 10 souls on board one one man Sgt Anderson Survived but he was badly injured staying in hospital until 1946 .

 At the site today in the burn area many small parts litter the moor near one of the undercarriage legs a Bakelite cap and electrical pieces being some of the best finds some 20 yards away lies the broken other leg looking at the moor i worked back towards Holme finding parts in the grass until i found the initial impact scar and a collection of parts lying undisturbed over 100 yards from the burn area on the way back Tricia found a control cable pulley complete with its housing

Crew =
Lt E D. Pitsenbarger [ Pilot ]
S/Sgt C Anderson [survived ]
F/O J M. Bliss
F/O F Cser [died of injuries 10.10.44]
T/Sgt P E. Farris
Lt J D. Nendel
S/Sgt F A. Villelli
T/Sgt J W. Zwinge
Passengers =
Cpl Charles T. Lowblad
Cpl C S. Watson

Hampden L4082 ,50 Squadron 20-MAR-1939 Boultham Baths, Lincoln

Secound Site Hampden L4082 ,50 Squadron Royal Air Force 20-MAR-1939 ,on a return flight from RAF Evanton Scotland to RAF Waddington the bomber got into difficulty's and dived into a boggy area near the now gone Boultham Baths, Lincoln with the sad loss of 4 crew One crew member Eng/Tec Bill Marshall had returned the day before by train due to a family issue and was waiting at the base .

At the site today nothing remembers the loss but given my best sources the bomber crashed near the water works in the trees between the new build and allotments some small bits were recovered in local construction and passed on by the BBMF to surviving family

Crew =
P/o R McAlister
Sgt W.Freestone
A/c N.Newsham
A/c F.Greensill

Lancaster III ED833 of 1654 HCU ,Highfield road Lincoln 11 June 1943

Last site from Lincoln this is the crash site of Lancaster III ED833 of 1654 HCU RAF Wigsley , Nottinghamshire the bomber took off on the 11 June 1943 to practice three engine flying , at around 4pm low over Lincoln the bomber was seen to be in trouble and may have been looking to put down on open ground but with starboard inner feathered the bomber stalled hitting a telegraph pole and diving into Houses in Highfield road Lincoln numbers 22 ,24, 25 and 27 were totally destroyed with the loss of 3 civilians on the ground 4 were injured but sadly 2 more would pass away later of injury's of the 7 crew on ED833 6 were lost one the tail gunner survived when his turret catapulted onto the footpath behind 18 Roydon Grove 2 local men Mr H,Chester and Mr E, Wing received gallantry awards for attempting to rescue those trapped in the houses .

On the quiet street today nothing at first glance remains to tell oft this tragic accident but looking at the houses it becomes obvious that the 4 have been rebuilt with different materials

Crew of ED833 =
Sgt W Featherstone
Sgt E Kirk Sgt A M Milne Sgt R W E Peacock
Sgt E R Broad
Sgt P R Farnell
were lost

Sgt C H Malkin was injured

Civilian =
Mrs L M Thacker
A Thacker aged 3 Miss M Marriott aged 12
Were lost on the day of the crash

Mr Whitby
L Whitby aged 4
Died later of injuries

H Bishop
Miss E Bishop
were injured

Hampden AD 983, 44 Sqn RAF Waddington Lindum Hall School for Girls Greenstone Stairs , Lindnum hill 23 July 1941

On a trip to Lincoln for a steam punk festival I managed to find the locations of 3 sites in and around the city the first is the crash site of Hampden AD 983, 44 Sqn RAF Waddington which crashed onto the staff residence of Lindum Hall School for Girls Greenstone Stairs , Lindnum hill 23 July 1941 .
The Bomber was returning from a mine laying mission to the Frisian Islands at about 4 am the plane was flying over the cathedral when something happened that caused the bomber to fall out of control diving into the residence and exploding the tail fell onto the stairs, the crew of 4 were sadly lost also tragically Miss Edith Fowler, the 49-year-old senior French mistress who was trapped in the building .

Today nothing remains to be seen of this sad incident the building has long gone I did notice there are some small marks on the walls that may date from the crash but i was unable to tell nearby but inaccessible at the time as it was Sunday there is a memorial in Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School (LCHS)

Crew=
Sgt W.R.B.Relyea RCAF
Sgt D M Bruce
Sgt J A Connolly
Sgt P J Lynch.

Armstrong Whitley V BD257 7/9/43 Sleap Airfield Shropshire , Wartime aircraft recovery group museum

I had chance to visit Sleap airfield Shropshire to visit the Wartime aircraft recovery group museum a fantastic collection plus the nearby cafe is excellent and also the site of the loss of Armstrong Whitley V BD257 which crashed into Sleaps control tower on the 7/9/43 during takeoff the plane veered left a trait of the type, over correcting the pilot lost control and the plane ran at high speed over the grass hitting the windsock and tower exploding in flames, tragically one of the sites fire trucks and a 30 cwt truck were also destroyed .

                                           

In this sad accident
F/O. R W. Browne
F/O. E L. Ware RCAF
Sgt. W D. Kershaw
Sgt. E. Young
were lost in the bomber
Sgt. S. Williams was injured
In the Control Tower and ground vehicles
Cpl. N W. Peate
ACW2. K M. Ffoukles WAAF
ACW2. V. Hughes WAAF
were lost with
LACW. A B. Jowett WAAF. Injured
ACW2. H. Hall WAAF. Injured

Defiant N1766 96 Sqn, RAF Cranage Rowlee pasture, Derwent valley april 12th 1941.

This is my second site from my trip out and is Defiant N1766 96 SQN, RAF Cranage which crashed on Rowlee pasture above the Derwent valley on the night of april 12th 1941.
The plane with 2 crew was on a night flying practice flight from RAF Cranage to Digby, Lincolnshire but due to very poor weather the aircraft strayed 20 miles off course, with a failing RT and engine trouble the 2 crew elected to bail out over the unknown ground but luckily both survived the defiant impacted on a high flat moor where it buried itself .

The engine was recovered from its hiding place in 1980 and i belive is now to be seen at the Yorkshire air museum though much surface wreckage has gone a small collection of items can still be seen on site the best being a large piece of battery and a small panel with scoop which I think maybe from one of the engine covers the hole the engine was dug out of still remains though now full of water .

Crew =
Pilot F/Lt P.W.Rabone D,F,C , RNZAF
Air gunner F/O John Ritchie
Rabone later promoted to Squadron leader would by the time of his loss on the 24/7/1944 during a sortie in a mosquito gained a total of 10 air to air kills