P-38 Lightning 42-67207

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P-38 Lightning 42-67207

Above; taken at sunrise. April 2011.

This is how the crash site looked in Autumn 2008;

The debris pool is at grid reference SK 03932 99080. The actual impact point, which was identifiable after recent fires had burned off much of the heather, appears to be a few metres to the south of this spot, halfway between the debris pool and the fence.

10th May 1944 Flight Officer Hugh Jones USAAF took off from Goxhill near Grimsby on a training flight with other P-38s. However, once airborne he could not locate his flight due to cloud and as such requested permission to join another pair of Lightnings training in the area.

The leader 2nd Lt Cole agreed and with, as Cunningham puts it, “..the stray lamb which had appeared on his right wing” the new formation flew on. Upon entering cloud, the leader made a half circle turn to get himself and his men clear of it. Emerging from the cloud, the P-38 off 2nd Lt Cole’s starboard wing had gone; F/O Jones had lost contact with the leader and crashed on Tintwistle Knarr. His aircraft was upside down as it struck at a shallow angle, so it is quite possible a disoriented F/O Jones thought he was climbing up and out of the cloud rather than descending towards earth.

Below; visit to the site February 2015

Below: A few shots taken with a phone, visit April 2022. Not great photos but they show, unusually, that if anything there is more visible debris at this crash site than there has been in previous years. This is probably because there is evidence in the area between the debris pool and the fence of some tidy digging (see image further below).

31 comments on “P-38 Lightning 42-67207
  1. genf says:

    Amazing picture.
    The cross stands out nicely against the red-brown background, and the cross symbol is repeated in the sky, which really makes this special.

  2. nondesigner59 says:

    Fabulous image.!! Excellent work well done and great background info..

  3. rob of rochdale says:

    oh, how good is this shot with hose vapour trails making it even more poignant!

  4. Through Collette's eyes says:

    Really great shot ian – i agree with Rob the sky works perfectly in the shot : )

  5. **Hazel** says:

    It certainly does look better with the new cross Ian, amazing vapour trails too!! !:-)

  6. pasujoba says:

    Smahing Ian , the vapour trails are terrific , did you stay overnight or was it an early start ?

  7. andyholmfirth says:

    That cross looks amazing in the warm light beneath all those contrails.Great stuff Ian.

  8. mojo_black says:

    Great shot, nice juxtaposition with the wreckage and the vapour trails in the sky.

  9. 5DII says:

    Excellent shot, the cross and contrails make it even more special.

    Bill

  10. gastephen says:

    Lovely golden light and wonderful perspective on the contrails.

    ~ Graham ~
    Drop by my photostream!

  11. Pleasureprinciple2012 says:

    Thanks for remembering.
    Looks like a "Battle of Britain" sky.

  12. Richard Tierney says:

    Nice work Ian.. As Paul said early start? Understand a Lancaster went down quite near here in 1948 all 11 on board killed… agree the sky adds a lot to the shot. Lovely area to walk …

  13. Xerones says:

    Great shot. Sad but common story.

  14. Ian D B says:

    Many thanks everyone.
    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/32431958@N07]
    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/7749921@N04]
    Cheers Richard. It was an early start. I considered a bivi but a particularly good curry from Bolton kept me off the hills. You’re right about the Lanc in 1948, but there were 7 on board. 11 is the total number of airmen killed in 3 seperate incidents on this hill. Photo of the Lanc site below. The other incident was the 3 Hurricanes – see the photo next to the one above in the photostream.
    Lancaster bomber PA411

  15. Billy Currie says:

    top work, great light on there and a great sky as well

  16. mick cooke says:

    brilliant ian great photos

  17. bill_fawcett says:

    Lovely photo Ian and again, an interesting piece of aviation history. Thanks.

  18. Hotpix [LRPS] Hanx for 1.5M Views says:

    Great with those sky trails in the distance.
    Thats a super shot.

    Seen in my contacts photostream……{.?.}

    Tone
    Hotpix http://www.hotpix.org.uk

    Graveyard Goth

    Walk a year in my shoes, see whats up my street or see my world in selective Colour.

  19. Tech Owl says:

    Yes it does look more remembered – nice sky trails too Ian

  20. A F Images says:

    Good shot 🙂

  21. Mark McKie says:

    Nice shot mate.

  22. Kingsdude/Dave says:

    One of your best Ian – those contrails in the background are just awesome !

  23. McAlister says:

    Superb light, and the filter really makes the sky pop out.

  24. amyrey says:

    Looks like someone comes over to watch over him, even after all these years. Beautiful light and those smoke trails really add a sense of drama.

  25. Mike J Chapman says:

    Superb

  26. cgullz says:

    excellent, all round – image and words. and idea.

  27. speedbird 402 says:

    Great shot!!! Thank you for this…

  28. gnome.service says:

    Possiblythe best crash site memorial photo I have seen. Great contrast with the contrails. Thank you for all your hard work recording all thses sites. I found your work via a comment on Nick Stone’s photos.

  29. Ian D B says:

    [http://www.flickr.com/photos/21860456@N07]

    Thank you very much!

    And thanks everyone else too!

  30. lovemyblackcat says:

    Great shot

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