Date:	Thursday 21 July 1949
Time:	night
Type:	Boeing B-29A Superfortess
Owner/operator:	344th BSqn /98th BGp USAF
Registration:	44-62191
MSN:	11668
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 12
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Marshland St. James, 2 miles east of Wisbech, Cambrigeshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Boeing B-29A-65-BN Superfortress 44-62191: Delivered to the USAAF 10 September 1945. Assigned to 310th Bomb Group. Assigned to 344th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, Spokane AFB, Washington. TDY to RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk, in July 1949.

Written off (damaged beyond repair) July 21, 1949: En route, the pilot encountered an unexpected situation. All 12 crew members decided to abandon the aircraft and bailed out. The aircraft crashed in a field near Marshland St. James, located two miles west of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and was destroyed. Of the 12 crew members, 10 were unhurt, two sustained serious (but not life-threatening) injuries. According to a contemporary newspaper report ("Arizona Republic" from Phoenix, Arizona July 22, 1949 Page 1 - see link #5):

"Twelve Escape In B-29 Crash

WISBECH, Eng., July 21
An American B-29 Superfortress on a routine flight crashed and burned near here Thursday night. A U.S. Air Force spokesman said all 12 crewmen escaped serious injury. Occupants of the plane parachuted to safety. No names were disclosed. Cause of the crash has not been determined.

Capt. G. A. Harty, public information officer for the American Third Division in London, said the worst Injuries were a possible skull fracture suffered by the pilot and a leg fracture for another member of the crew. Harty said he was receiving his information "from the people on the scene." The bomber was stationed at Sculthorpe, a big American air base in Norfolk county, in eastern England. Wisbech is about 85 miles north-east of London"

1. Correio da Manhã 23 July 1949, page 6
2. Chicago Tribune July 22 1949: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1949/07/22/page/7/article/b-29-crashes-in-england-12-parachute-to-safety
4. "Arizona Republic" from Phoenix, Arizona July 22, 1949 Page 1 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/117605103/
5. "St Joseph Herald Press" July 22, 1949 - Page 7 at https://newspaperarchive.com/st-joseph-herald-press-jul-22-1949-p-7/
6. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-boeing-b-29a-65-bn-superfortress-wisbech
8. https://www.rafsculthorpeheritagecentre.org/the-only-b-29-wreckage-on-display-in-the-uk.html
9. http://www.airscene.co.uk/news/aviation-news-uk/aviation-museum-news/latest-display-at-raf-sculthorpe-heritage-centre/
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshland_St_James

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Nov-2015 17:39	TB	Added
16-Nov-2015 17:40	TB	Updated [Time]
23-Jun-2017 19:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
15-May-2020 08:38	MIG21	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]