Over Exposed on Bleaklow, Dark Peak – night shoot
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June 2010 visit – night shoot
It was a slightly daunting idea, spending the night amid the wreckage of crashed American B29 “Over Exposed”, alone and miles from the nearest other human being.
Over Exposed was a photo reconnaissance Superfortress. It crashed during a routine flight on 3rd November 1948. All 13 men on board were killed.
This shiny piece of wreckage caught the moon’s reflection and guided me to the wreck site. From a distance, it looked like someone sat there with a lantern.
CREW
Pilot, Captain Landon P. Tanner
Co-pilot, Captain Harry Stroud
Engineer, Technical Sergeant Ralph Fields
Navigator, Sergeant Charles Wilbanks
Radio Operator, Staff Sergeant Gene A. Gartner
Radar Operator, Staff Sergeant David D. Moore
CAMERA CREW
Technical Sergeant Saul R. Banks
Sergeant Donald R. Abrogast
Sergeant Robert I. Doyle
Private First Class William M. Burrows.
Corporal M. Franssen
Corporal George Ingram
Acting as photographic adviser was Captain Howard Keel of the 4201st Motion Picture Unit.
Blimey riley …….I would have been off .
I like this shot.. fascinating info about what happened here also
Had a look at them all and I like this the best its very spooky.
Amazing lighting. How spooky to be there at night :O
Great idea Ian.Something you’ll no doubt remember for a long time.
you keep the Memory Ian,Thank God for folk like you
well done mate the images are great and so is the hole story .man this is the second time you’ve sent me cold cheers mate
(i think)…………
What you have to do for a shot these days … nice images Ian.
odd beauty in this piece – the bluish tint and the odd shape make it almost modern scupture
Eerily beautiful! Your lighting technique makes your images so real!
I agree with Solar Scot, your research and images keep the past alive.
We shouldn’t forget. Well done again!
Love your light here Ian……………….excellent series man!!!
Janwillem
brilliant photos , lighting technique fantastic,
Great photos and so different to the normal pics.
Let me tell you a little story, a ghost story. A couple of years ago, a friend and I were walking to this crash site along the Pennine Way when the weather deteriorated. We turned left at Herne Stones and were walking across the boggs to Shelf Moor when a figure appeared out of the rain and mist and made his way towards us. "They’re not about today" said this elderly, weather beaten gentleman. "Who’s not about?" we enquired. "The boys, the boys that crashed". With that, he said goodbye and walked away. My friend and I looked at each other then turned to look for old man but he had completely disappeared!!!
Both are great captures and it is interesting to read your comments too… must have been quite a eerie experience, and this does come through in the photos!
(Go the All Whites by the way… 2 good results so far.. Fingers crossed for Fridays game too!) %-)
Re; Ghost stories
That’s a great tale Ralph. Did you continue to the wreck site or turn on your heels, I wonder?
There are various stories associated with this site. One involves a man who allegedly found a ring belonging to Captain Tanner at the wreck site (and if true, I don’t know if the ring was returned to Captain Tanner’s family in the USA). This man returned to the site to show a group of intrested people where he found the ring. As he bent down to show them the spot, his companions ran away!
When he caught up with them, they told him that a spectral airman appeared behind him and looked down at him as he pointed out the spot!
There are others too, but… well, you know what they say about letting the truth get in the way of a good story? One ghost story involved a hill walker getting lost or stuck on the moor, and being rescued by an American airman on Mill Hill… and later the hill walker recollected how a B24 had crashed there during WW2 after a raid on Germany…
Which is fine, except the two crew members of the B24 both survived the crash, and the plane wasn’t returning from a sortie, but was brand new and being delivered to an airbase. Oh well. I saw no ghosts the other night : (
I’m a grade one scaredy who still jumps at Salems Lot, no chance of catching me up on the hills by myself. Have you never seen An American Werewolf In London before!!!!
Great shot Ian – super gritty details and lovely tones. Don’t envy you staying there all night though!
Now , this comment thread as gone the way that is the reason I didnt attend this event .:-)
Bloomin ghost stories .
Pat Cunningham , who writes some of the books about crash sites has even written a novel about crash site ghosts ( In Kinder’s Mists) .
Despite every pore in my body thinking its all hocum, I cannot get past the occasional wierd feeling at the crash sites . I imagine its my imagination.:-)
It has been even worse since reading a rather graphic report about the work of clearing this particular site . I just could not attend this one over night .
this is awesome, i went up last week but ended up getting very lost on the way back down- its something ill definately be doing before it gets extreamly cold…
Has a wonderful glow about it, must have been a very atmospheric place to spend the night.
to ian d b the ghostly encounter was on a programme called strange but true hosted by michael aspel and the man in question who found the ring was called gerald scarett he sent the ring to a relation of landon p tanner the pilot of the superfortress which crashed on higher shelf stones above glossop been to the site many times over gerald scarett was a guide and took two barnsley chronicle reporters on to the moors and it were they that took off on seeing the the ghostly vision it apparently was very misty at the time of the sighting gerald scarett lived on the same road as myself the ring is now back in the hands of landon p tanners closes relative hope this helps you
Hi jimpy ju. I knew the name of the person who found the ring, but not the detail that it had been returned to the family of Captain Tanner, which is very good to hear. Best conditions to visit this site, I reckon, is when the cloud base is low and blanketing Bleaklow, which it often does. Many thanks for the info.
Hello Ian. Yes, we did carry on to the crash site and saw nothing unusual. I recently took my eight year old grandson up there and when I told him my story, he was hoping the the old gentleman would make an appearance.
For the doubters: I don’t believe in ghosts, UFOs or gods but what I said really happened……well, I think it did.
ian d b,i think youll find there are two crash sites being mxed up with each other,as far as i know.both stories are true.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/72022942@N08]
There is only one crashed aircraft at this spot . Nearby at James Thorn there are two Aircraft crash sites very close to each other . Ian has visited these many times too , to my knowledge and if you look through his shots you will find that there are a very many others across the whole of Bleaklow and the rest of the Peak District.
stunning series. sad information, love how these images are portrayed with poignancy. excellent work.