ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 113956
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| Date: | Saturday 13 January 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  North American P-51D-20 Mustang |
| Owner/operator: | 84th FSqn /78th FGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 44-63181 |
| MSN: | 122-30907 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF ??? |
On Saturday 13 January 1945, during Eighth Air Force Mission 791, 958 bombers and 469 fighters were dispatched to hit marshalling yards and Rhine rail bridges mostly by PFF methods; 7 B-17s, 1 B-24 and 2 P-51s were lost over Germany, while 13 more aircraft (5 B-17s, 1 B-24 and 7 P-51s) crashed in Allied territory.
This day saw typical British winter weather, the sort that is particularly poor for flying; bad icing, thick cloud and snow storms. The fighter groups of the 8th Air Force were nonetheless tasked with escorting the heavy bombers. This resulted in the deaths of six fighter pilots as their Mustangs crashed within the space of about an hour in East Anglia that morning. Very probably all the crashes were the result of the pilots suffering from vertigo – severe disorientation while relying on instruments, something that was difficult to train for in the clear skies of the American mid-west.
Lt Herbert Elin of 84th FS, 78th FG was almost certainly was the victim of vertigo. His wingman Tom Bendorf gave his account of what had happened. ’As we climbed up through the overcast after taking off from Duxford, I concentrated on keeping in position on Elin’s wing. All I could see was my wing and about half of his after that it was just invisible in the thick cloud. As I glanced at my instruments I realised that we were in a tight downward right-hand spiral. Pulling out, I called a warning on the radio. I saw an orange glow below but flares were being fired off in all directions as people got separated. I didn’t see Elin for the rest of the mission. When I got back I found out that the orange glow had probably been his plane exploding as it hit the ground.’ His P51D-20NA 44-63181 WZ-C had impacted at Wimpole Hall, about 12 miles to the WNW of Duxford.
The excavation of the crash site revealed only small remains of the aircraft, the largest item was a propeller blade that would have laid down the side of the crater after the crash. It was left where it was when the crater was filled in, and after the field was returned to farming, it was hit by a plough, evidenced by a deep gouge through the tip of the blade.
Sources:
http://www.sweffling.freeserve.co.uk/13%20jan.htm
http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii/usaf/html/Jan.45.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wimpole_Hall
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Aug-2012 13:34 | Uli Elch | Updated [Cn, Operator] |
| 14-Jan-2016 14:24 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Jan-2017 09:40 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Feb-2020 18:59 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
| 23-Jan-2021 21:48 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
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