ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 194943
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| Date: | Saturday 23 December 1944 |
| Time: | 18:15 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 749th BSqn /457th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 43-38812 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ascott Farm, 2miles N of Great Rollright, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Portreath, Cornwall |
| RAF Glatton, Cambridgeshire |
23rd December 1944: Boeing B-17 (Flying Fortress) 43-38812 of the 749 Bomb Squadron, USAAF, had diverted to Portreath, Cornwall on 19th December 1944, following a raid on Koblenz. On 23rd December 1944 the aircraft was returning to its base at Glatton in Cambridgeshire, but received orders to divert to an RAF Station, probably Moreton-in-Marsh, as Glatton was fogged in. In the darkness and fog and descending on instruments, it flew into high ground two miles north of Great Rollright, near Ascott Farm. The eight crew members who died were;
Pilot 2nd Lieutenant Clifford Hendrickson, aged 27 from Jasper, Indiana, the son of Frank and Isabel Hendrickson. He enlisted into the Army Air Force in October 1942. He was originally buried in Cambridge but was was repatriated to the United States and he was re-interred in Siloh Cemetery, Ireland, Indiana in 1948
Co-Pilot 2nd Lieutenant Walter Graves, aged 22 from Tennessee, the son of Main and Pearl Graves. He enlisted into the Army Air Force in September 1942. He is buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery.
Navigator Flight Officer Joseph L Kilmer, aged 21, he was born in Chenung in New York State to parents Leslie and Rose Kilmer. He was a clerk when he enlisted into the Army Air Force in February 1944. He is buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery.
Bombardier Flight Officer David E Williams, aged 20, he was the son of David and Beatrice Williams of New Jersey. His body was repatriated to the United States and he is buried in Beverly National Cemetery, Burlington County, New Jersey.
Engineer Sergeant George Henry Bruer, (below), aged 22, he was the son of Henry and Rosalie Bruer of St Johns, Florida, and husband of Ann Bruer. He had enlisted into the Army Air Force in December 1941. Originally buried in Cambridge American Cemetery, his body was repatriated and re-interred in St. Augustine National Cemetery, Florida in October 1948.
Radio Operator Sergeant Robert H Riedel, aged 19, the son of Harry and Irene Riedel of Cuyahoga, Ohio. Robert enlisted June 2, 1943, He graduated from radio operator school at Scott Field April 26, 1944, and won his wings June 29, at Yuma, Arizona. He had been overseas less than a month at the time of his death. Originally buried in Cambridge American Cemetery, his body was repatriated and re-interred in Sunset Memorial Park. Ohio.
Waist Gunner Sergeant George Bruce Hawley, aged 19, Originally buried in Cambridge American Cemetery, his body was repatriated and re-interred in Fort McPherson National Cemetery in Colorado in May 1949.
Ball turret Gunner Sergeant Edmund Thomas Fitzgerald, aged 20, son of Edmund and Ella Fitzgerald of Taunton, Massachusetts. He enlisted into the Army Air Force in July 1943. Originally buried in Cambridge American Cemetery, his body was repatriated and re-interred in Saint Francis Old Cemetery in 1946.
Tail Gunner Sergeant Clifford T Heinrich was badly injured in the crash and spent 14 months in hospital before returning to the United States in February 1946.
Sources:
1. http://www.chippingnortonbritishlegion.com/wartime-plane-crashes-around-chipping-norton.php
2. http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/12817
3. https://www.airfieldresearchgroup.org.uk/forum/oxfordshire-memorials/8099-great-rollright-b17.
4. http://www.457thbombgroupassoc.org/_media/newsletters/Fireball_Newsletter_2013-02.pdf
5. https://www.hooky.co.uk/content/news/commemorative-brew-for-the-crew-of-812.ashx
6. http://www.aviationarchaeology.org.uk/marg/crashes1944.htm
7. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Apr-2017 22:48 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 20-Apr-2017 22:52 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 17-Dec-2018 06:50 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator] |
| 21-Dec-2019 09:03 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 05-Apr-2020 10:09 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Source, Operator] |
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