B17 crash site

[ROMMELZ]

i found this WW2 B17 crash in woods that my friend owns on the old american air feild in poddington bedford








you can still see the holes were the last two engines went bang. where the poppies lay is the stump of the tree the nose hit when it stops. i do have the google earth image some were of the wood it crashed through and locations of the other engines i will look for it hope you like them regards rommel


the red circle is were the main body and two engines landed the red line is the flight path and the yellow circle is were it lost its outer engines and wing tips and the big blue circle is rommys walk about i often go site down there and clean the place up its a nice place to chill in a wierd way i can be found asleep chilling or just plain hiding around here

 

[samoz83]

I wonder if it's:
[video=youtube;5v1W4Vuy8qo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v1W4Vuy8qo[/video]

Edit: Maybe B17 42-31898. A B-17G apparently named Irene A, lost Saturday 15th July 1944.

Extract from ‘The Route As Briefed’ (History of The 92nd Bomb Group 1942-45) : "An afternoon practice mission on July 15 turned out fatally for three members of the crew of 1st Lt John A. of the 326th Squadron. Upon attempting to land after the mission the wheels bounced on the runway and the aircraft was airborne again, with one wing bursting into flames. Lt Alford climbed to about 900 feet, levelled off and ordered the crew to bale out; the plane crashed and burned about six miles south of the base. 2nd Lt Stanley Nadel, the navigator, and T/Sgt Paul R. Horton were killed. Sgt Bruce C. Baker, Jr., the ball turret gunner, parachuted out but his chute streamed down and failed to canopy, and he was killed immediately upon impact with the ground. Lt Alford and his co-pilot, 2nd Lt Robert E. Williams parachuted safely without injury; T/Sgt Thomas J. Madden, the engineer, parachuted safely with only slight skin lacerations."

This was B17 42-31898 and it crashed at Freer’s Wood at about 4.40pm on a Saturday 15th July 1944.

Jim Northern of Harrold recalls that he was picking raspberries behind his parents farm when he saw the aircraft going down trailing black smoke with just two engines operating. Mrs Gardner of Grove Road, Turvey, at that time living at Carlton, also saw its final moments from her house which was at the Pavenham end of the village, a few fields away from Freer's Wood. Being used to the sound and sight of aircraft she could tell that it was in trouble. Through her front window what appeared to be parcels could be seen dropping out, but it was quickly realised that this was the crew abandoning the stricken bomber and, with it heading their way, she rushed outside to call in her young son. Fortunately it did not reach them and a few minutes later jeeps and ambulances from Podington rushed past the house and up the road towards the crash site.
Today, as you walk the footpath that runs along the north side Freer’s Wood past the deserted buildings of Freer’s Wood Farm towards Chellington, there is little to mark the spot where the 19 ton bomber struck the field before exploding into the wood, and only a few small pieces of perspex and twisted aluminium turned up by the plough provide a clue to the drama and devastation of that day.

Edit 2: Info of those on board

T/Sgt Paul R. Horton: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23727935
Sgt Bruce C Baker, Jr: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=68034745

Seems like a match to me

 

[ROMMELZ]

feckin hell dude i wonder if thats the tree stump the poppies are on dam well looks like it dont it???
i tell yah what lads i will go back up there in the next few days and put a poppy up with =NRU= on it

 

[Sweney]

Wow guys this is really cool.something like this happened so long ago and its still remembered. Great find on the video as well. It would be cool to track.down these.families and show them that people still honor their loved ones that were taken so long ago

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On a side note I remember working for a modular home company that got lumber that was shipped from Europe.I remember a bunch of it was riddled with bullets.we always wondered if this wood came from the site of a battle from ww2 or something.

 

[glenwilson]

Was at a museum and was talking to a guy who had flown in them (B17) during the war. War is never nice and hearing some of the stories about their courage (on all sides) makes you feel real humble and doubt if you would do the same or be able to do anything that soldiers/airmen/sailors do or have done. They should always be remembered for what they had to do and the sacrifices they and their families, have made during any conflict.

There are also the atrocities that history remembers in a certain way but a visit to Dresden some years ago (when it was in East Germany), where there were buildings and whole areas still devastated by British/allied bombing that really bring home the affect of war and show that no side is perfect and have some dark shadows in the closet of what was done.

It heartens me to be part of a group that are from such a wide range of countries who have been in conflict in the past are able to play and be a team - if only politicians and national leaders could do the same!

 

[ROMMELZ]

i find it very strange looking at the faces and thinking maybe they have been watching me and my children playing in them woods and me sitting down there reading??

 

[Steffos666]

Was at a museum and was talking to a guy who had flown in them (B17) during the war. War is never nice and hearing some of the stories about their courage (on all sides) makes you feel real humble and doubt if you would do the same or be able to do anything that soldiers/airmen/sailors do or have done. They should always be remembered for what they had to do and the sacrifices they and their families, have made during any conflict.

There are also the atrocities that history remembers in a certain way but a visit to Dresden some years ago (when it was in East Germany), where there were buildings and whole areas still devastated by British/allied bombing that really bring home the affect of war and show that no side is perfect and have some dark shadows in the closet of what was done.

It heartens me to be part of a group that are from such a wide range of countries who have been in conflict in the past are able to play and be a team - if only politicians and national leaders could do the same!

My grandfather was in the ww2 too... he was in one of the "jägerbattallione" at the eastern front and he keeps talking about the time he got through (5 years of war)

And if you havent already known before you know it after you talked to him... War is faught by the big guys...

he is more tolerant than any other guy i met in my life ! and he got 90 before 2 months

But hey there is a bomber crash side near my home, too. Just 2km or so away from my home a british halifax went down... there is no pictures about it i only know that everybody of the crew died... and the forest there nearly burned down

It was one of the bombers which bombed Nürnberg(700 of em !) on his way back to the UK

 

[Lady_Musketeer_GER]

It is the generation of our grandfathers / great-grandfathers who, due to circumstances beyond their control, had to sacrifice their youth and go through the hell of war.

Most of them kept their thoughts to themselves. They did not “tweet” their feelings to all and sundry despite their experiences and emotions being of such a profundity that shames the trivia of so much of today’s instant communication.
Those of them who came back, being scarred for life (but not showing it), were humbled by this mind-blowing experience.
In this often boastful, self-praising, “look-at-me” 21st-century society of ours, that demands the highest respect.
Respect not only for their courage but also for their humility.

This generation, all over the world, had to face the atrocities of war, the loss of their loved ones and the devastation of their home countries - they deserve to be remembered and honoured.

Thank you, Rommelz, for sharing these pictures with us.

 

[Sweney]

well said lady its kinda crazy to think some of our grandparents fought against one another in a war that none of us had anything to do with.

 

[fucoffhackers]

well said lady its kinda crazy to think some of our grandparents fought against one another in a war that none of us had anything to do with.

and don't forget ww1 when they joined each other for football match and celebrations at Christmas and soon after had to kill each other ? mind blowing and totally incomprehensible ?
Very brave men all the same .

 

[Bond76]

I am very glad that we can and are "fighting" now together on ONE side against this Happening again. Peace and understanding between the People start in small circles....it's like a Stone you ditch in the water....the circles get wider and wider.
I may not be able to influence the big stage, but I can do my best part of doing it in my "small world"

Thanks Rommelz for the post. May they all not be forgotten.

 

[Dan92nd]

Hi all,
Ok let me introduce myself, my name is Dan and I, along with a colleague from the 92nd Bomb Group Memorial Association, layed the wreath at the crash site mentioned. I figured that I ought to take the time to clarify what occurred that day which prompted us to remember what happened.
We have in fact compiled a very lengthy report, with diagrams and maps, filling in several gaps and communicating with family members of crews involved. I wouldn't wish to copy all of this onto your forum so here is a brief account of what happened, copied from the 326th squadron diary which can be found on the 92nd BGMA website. FYI the craters in the ground were not from the engines, they are from where 6x 1000lb bombs went off. You can also see evidence on the remaining trees of shrapnel scarring and .50 cal rounds going in.
20 May 1944
A tragic accident occurred at both ends of the long runway.
Everything was going fine this morning. For the first time the group was going to fly a combat wing with three 12-ship groups.
The 407th flying the high group had taken off the ground.
Knowing our squadron as a group was off next, I counted them up to seven and then a long pause.
After a few minutes I looked out the window and through heavy fog could see a cloud of smoke at the take-off end of the runway.
Then 50s began popping. A short time later the 1,000 pounders began exploding.
I heard six blow.
Lt. Pearl had taken off and his #1 prop blade hit a pile of stones on the left side of the runway.
Visibility was very bad and the ship lost control with the loss of one engine.
Lt Pearl fought with the ship trying to get it up but failed.
The plane went down in the woods, killing all the crew members.
The tower called a halt to take-offs and stopped Lt. Seitz's ship a short distance down the runway.
He began to taxi it back up the runway.
Lt. Wiggins had probably failed to hear the message to delay takeoff and poured the coal to the ship and caught Seitz coming back up the runway.
Five men escaped from each ship.
Everyone up front was killed.
One bombardier escaped but died of severe wounds later.
Others were shaken up and will take some time to come out of it and will be OK.
Five enlisted men of the other crew had minor injuries and are back to flying duty.
The target was an airfield at Orly, France.

As much as I appreciate and admire your various theories and maps, the above is the true story of what happened. The crash site you mention from the book 'The Route As Briefed' is indeed on the Doc Furniss clips, but is located several miles away on farmland to the south of Podington. If anyone wishes to learn more then do please feel free to get in touch, either via a pm or [email protected] or look for the 92nd bomb group ~fames favored few~ page on Facebook.
Kindest regards,
Dan

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Forgot to add, we layed the wreath on May 20th 2012 so I'm really chuffed it's still there as a tribute to the 21 young men who lost their lives that day.

 

[ROMMELZ]

i go up there a lot my friend and the place is looked after well i spend many hours just sitting and thinking and if your dax and kats mate little dan i know who you are