B-17 Flying Fortress 41-9098, Berwyn, Llangollen.
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B-17 Flying Fortress 41-9098, Berwyn, Llangollen.
B-17 41-9098 has the unfortunate distinction of being the first American bomber to crash in the UK’s hills. On August 11th 1942 the crew were preparing for the USAAF’s first raid 6 days hence, which was on railway marshalling yards at Rouen. Probably lost in the low cloud, the bomber was flying too low for the region and crashed on Cadair Berwyn near Llangollen. All on board were killed.
Crew and passengers
2nd Lt. H. Gilbert (pilot)
2nd Lt. R. Beers (co-pilot)
2nd Lt. L. Schmitt (navigator)
2nd Lt. L Phillips (bombardier)
S/Sgt. R. Kemp (radio operator)
M/Sgt S. Lepa (gunner)
Sgt. K. Branom (gunner)
Sgt. V Sidders (gunner)
Cpl. M Keopke (crew chief)
Cpl. S Aldridge (aerial engineer)
Pvt. F Villareal (assistant crew chief)
The image above isn’t quite the crash site which we had difficulty finding (there’s no visible wreckage on the ground). It’s to the right of this spot.
A cracking shot Ian. Love the shallow dof, which really emphasises the cross.
A great shot Ian….
Oh dear…how sad! Fantastic shots as always though!!! %-)
may sound silly Ian but in model making at High School i remember Ian Gladstone making a Flying Fortress model and boy was it something to behold even as a model! Villareal was one of the guys? thats a football team in Spain,interesting name. good work lads,you are the Holmes and Watson of crash sites,i leave it to you to decide which is which !
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/11563376@N03]
Lol, very good.
Impressive view and picture Ian!!
Janwillem
Mmph….. Rathbone and Bruce ….bloody obvious who is who here ……why oh why can I not be more like Jude Law 🙂
Your pix transport me to a new place mate!
A very cool one!
Seen in my contacts photostream……..
Tone
Hotpix http://www.hotpix.org.uk
Walk a year in my shoes, see a wider view, join me up my street or share my iPod.
awesome shot!
Great shot again mate.
nice work holmes. great dof and a brilliant shot at duxford to ian.
well done mate.
love the pov,ian..grab this months flypast mag,mate..a stirling has turned up in the isslemeer..just ten feet underwater..huge collection of parts to be recovered..all the cockpit is there,in huge chunks ect..plus,sadly,parachutes,crew wallets ect..they remained..plans being made to recover everything..
Thanks guys. Yeah, cracking issue of Flypast magazine this month Mick, loads of interest. The discovery of Stirling BK710 in the Netherlands is a great story.
Another lovely shot and well told story as always
A very interesting image, congratulation.
I attach a not less interesting link:
digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/29654/1/2010_Informe%20ex…
just darned wonderful.
Great work Ian! 70 years ago today. I don’t know if any of the men had families but we may be the only ones to mark the occasion.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacelovescoobie]
Hi Keith, just logged on and saw your comment. Good that you remember. 70 years, aye.
Ian – Is this the photo of the Barbara Jane B-17? My father was the original pilot and named the plane along with his co-pilot.
Thanks
Don
Hi Don, very good to hear from you again.
This is the photo of your Father’s aircraft.
Ian
https://aircrashsites.co.uk/air-crash-sites-5/usaaf-b-17g-flying-fortress-43-37667-barbara-jane-on-meltham-moor-yorkshire/
Thanks Ian – See that you sent email back in Jan. but just seemed to pop up on my email. Sorry for the late response.
Don
No problem Don, glad you got the info in the end!
Ian
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are all well. I am currently the custodian of recovered remains from B-17E Flying Fortress 41-9098 “Big Bitch”, which crashed on the Berwyn mountains in Wales on 11 August 1942 with the loss of all eleven crew members aboard.
Over the years I have carefully sourced and preserved surviving components of the aircraft from private collectors and recovery sources. These include:
aircraft skin,
sections of the airframe,
original window glass,
and internal mechanical components from the Norden bombsight recovered from the crash site.
These artifacts are now displayed within my home as part of an Eighth Air Force memorial display dedicated not only to “Big Bitch” and her crew, but also to the wider sacrifices made by the men of the USAAF during the Second World War. Although these are small fragmented pieces and not large sections.
As someone based in the North East of Scotland, I also routinely use these artifacts during school talks and educational visits so younger generations can see tangible pieces of history and better understand the sacrifice, loss and cost behind the freedoms we enjoy today.
I simply wanted to put this message out there to say that the crew of 41-9098 are still remembered, honoured and spoken about here where I reside in Scotland over 80 years later.
Lest We Forget.
Good to see that it’s still remembered. In the book ‘Aircraft wrecks-the walkers guide to historic crash sites’ etc the authors comment that the “ROC tracked the aircraft flying towards the Berwyn mountains, and due to its low altitude, lit a pattern of red flares in accordance with the ‘Granite’ warning system, intended to signal to an a/c that it should turn onto a reciprocal course. However, even if the flares were visible to the crew their significance would probably not have been realised.” Sadly there have been all too many occasions when our friends from across the pond are not aware of UK systems as was tragically illustrated most recently when the 2 x F15s flew into Ben Macdui on 26th March 2001.
Regarding the ROC Granite flares, this warning system wasn’t established until late 1943, about a year after the incident described. The flares lit may have been ‘money flares’ which were intended more as a night-time navigational aid (used in conjunction with a map in the cabin) than a warning of high ground. Perhaps this crash demonstrated the need for a dedicated warning system such as Granite. Jim (ex-ROC).