ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98307
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 10 May 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 526th BSqn /379th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 44-8198 |
| MSN: | 7599 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Woolpack Lane, Braintree, Essex -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire |
On the 10th May 1945, a group of B-17G Flying Fortresses from 379th Bomb Group USAAF, took off from their base at Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire. It is believed that this was an observation flight to give ground crews the opportunity to view the damage inflicted upon Germany.
On route the B17’s were flying in close formation at 1,200ft approaching Braintree & Bocking and without warning 44-8198 encountered severe turbulence caused by leading aircraft and a collision occurred with B-17G 44-8813. This aircraft, although damaged, was able to return to its base with no injuries to crew.
The tail of 44-8198 was severed from the main fuselage and was witnessed to “flutter to the ground” with a crew member still inside. It landed in a field at the end of Woolpack Lane, Braintree. The fuselage fell in a spiral dive, and disintegrated on impact. It landed on a market garden near to a Franciscan convent, off Bradford Street, Bocking, half-a-mile from the tail wreckage.
A memorial to the 11 men who died in the crash was unveiled at Rivermead, Bocking, Braintree on 10 May 2015. Some of the wreckage from the crash is now owned by the museum at Ridgewell. Crew of 44-8198 of the 526th Bombardment Squadron were...
1st Lt. Tom G (Pop) Piers (Pilot)
2nd Lt. William F Powell ( Co-Pilot)
2nd Lt. Paul A Massina (Navigator)
Cpl. George H Miller (Passenger)
1st Lt. Irving Nussbaum (Passenger)
M/Sgt. Wagner F Crane (Passenger)
T/Sgt. Jerrome A Grears (Passenger)
S/Sgt. Merrill J Blanck (Passenger)
S/Sgt. Leslie G Lusk (Passenger)
S/Sgt. Robert J Brookman (Passenger)
Tech. Cpl. Walker W Wallace.
All 11 men were killed just 2 days after VE Day 1945. B-17G 44-8813 limped back to Kimbolton.
Sources:
1. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
2. http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/16406
3. https://www.fold3.com/page/643041552-crew-of-44-8198-379th-bg
4. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_1.html
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 28 October 1944 | 44-8199 | 398th BGp /601th BSqn USAAF | 0 | near the Geldersewaard road, Aerdt, Gelderland |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Oct-2018 22:36 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Oct-2018 15:01 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 31-Mar-2020 09:36 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation