Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-5903 "Ascend Charlie"

The memorial to "The Turner Crew" as they are sometimes known is immediately adjacent to the crash site. The average age of the crew was 22.

Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-5903 "Ascend Charlie"

The memorial to the crew of the flying fortress in the church in nearby Llanbedr. There's one in the Red Lion next door too...

Location: SO 23933 20465

Miles Master Mk.III W8474

A day out with an assortment of air crash site old-timers today, visiting the Broken Ground Liberator as well as this memorial to a fatal training accident (Pat Cunningham gave it a less charitable description) suffered by a Polish pilot.

Location: SJ 99530 95530

For more info, click on the pic for memorial text

Armstrong Vickers Wellington Mk. II W5365

Made a quick side trip today to Tollerton airport and Cotgrave to see the crash site and memorials for Wellington W5365, which stalled on approach and crashed into an oak tree 200m short.

A DFM was awarded to one of the crew, Robert Tomlinson for rescuing the pilot from the burning 'plane.

Location: SK 63057 37057

Avro Lancaster Mk. III NE132

This appropriately sombre picture shows the memorial to the crew of Lancaster NE132 at the site of their fatal 6th February 1945 crash.

It lies in the middle of an extensive (but nevertheless hard to find) wreckage trail down the flank of Rhinog Fawr in South Snowdonia, Wales.

It's pretty accessible by high ground wreck site standards, though the 50mph winds and driving rain reduced accessibility a bit for us last Saturday. Without assistance from Matt ZX, we'd undoubtedly have blanked here as we did on our last attempt. The site is a very long way from the High Ground Wrecks coordinates.

This is the only crash site listed as a War Grave in Wales, but this didn't stop someone taking away the only two engines on the site which were not completely shattered around ten years ago.

As we know, wreckologists aren't squeamish about graverobbing, but for whatever reason, the shattered remains of much of the 'plane and two of of the crew are still there on the hillside, rather than gracing some sad anorak's shed.

With the new rules from CADW, they will hopefully now remain undisturbed for years to come.

Location: SH 63736 28879

Avro Lancaster W4929 Coded AJ-J

Lancaster
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Six straight hours of being rained on whilst tramping through a bog yielded only one find yesterday, the crash site and this memorial to the crew of a bomber downed (for reasons still unknown) north of Fan Foel in the Brecon Beacons.

We failed to find anything at the Moel Feity Liberator site reasonably nearby, but visibility was poor, and other excuses.

The poppy wreath is from the inmates of Swansea Prison. Anyone know why?

Location: SN 82792 23892

Anson Mk. 1 L9149 Memorial; Glyntawe, Brecon Beacons

Anson Memorial
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

In the churchyard in Glyntawe, this memorial was erected to commemorate the 1939 crash of Anson L9149, and to thank those who took part in the rescue operation.

Though the military personnel on board perished, two civilian passengers survived. We'll give more info on this crash when we have visited the site.

We just visited this because it was close to where we parked, before setting out for a 10 mile circular walk on Black Mountain, to pick up a couple of Wellington wreck sites, and practice navigation in unfamiliar surroundings.

We liked the Brecon Beacons and we'll be back, but it's a long drive from Derbyshire, it made for an eighteen hour day. We won't be doing it every week!

Location: SN 84956 16920

Armstrong Vickers Wellington Mk 10 MF509

Wellington MF509
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

The extensive remains of this RCAF Wellington on Carreg Goch, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons, with memorial in the foreground.

A little documentary video can be seen at the link below. Nice that the National Park staff coordinated opposition to it being taken away to someone's garden in Preston, rather than colluding in it, as we are told they did in Snowdonia.

Location: SN 81618 16921

More info

Lightning, Hurricanes, Lancaster: Tintwistle Knarr

Lightning
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

A bit of a navex for me and Mick yesterday on Tintwhistle Knarr, near Glossop. The aim was to find all three of the sites by map and compass alone, which was achieved quite easily, though extensive changes to fences and widespread reseeding with grass and chopped heather has made the landscape quite different from its appearance on previous visits.

The Lightning and Hurricane sites have acquired standing stakes since my last visit, which will make finding them a little easier in future.

Other than that, the remains at all three sites looked just as they did on previous visits. Our publishing of the site coordinates has not caused them to be looted as many told us they would be.

More info: Hurricanes and Lanc

More info: Lightning

Avro Lancaster Mk. I W4326 'C' Charlie

Dolwen Lancaster
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

The smaller of the two wreckage piles with its home-made memorial stone.

Someone seems to have claimed the site for Wales, despite the crew being from Canada and New Zealand in the main, and the aircraft having flown from 101 Group in Yorkshire.

Location: SH 95433 09203

More info

Consolidated B-24 J Liberator 42-99991 "Bachelors Baby"

Liberator-Batchelor's Baby: Moelfre
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

The burn site with its two memorials resulting from the crash of "Bachelor's Baby", which was a brand new Liberator bomber before it met with Moelfre's slopes.

Though all but six (or four according to the link below) of the eleven crew died in the crash, one went on to resume his sports career in the US as the "singing fullback".

More info

Consolidated B-24 J Liberator 42-99991 "Bachelors Baby"

Liberator-Batchelor's Baby: Moelfre
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

A fractured rock with cross on top. At the base of the cross, scraps of the 'plane.

More info

Consolidated B-24 J Liberator 42-99991 "Bachelors Baby"

Liberator-Batchelor's Baby: Moelfre
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Memorial to the five human crew killed in the 1942 crash of this American heavy bomber, and their dog "Booster", who was interred at the site.

The site is a full 82 m from the six decimal place coordinates given on the "GPS Walker" site. Perhaps that is why Alan Clark is happy to carry a link to that inaccurate and ill-maintained site and not to ours. No-one is going to find much from "GPS Walker"'s coordinates.

Since the site's title implies that GPS is being used for navigation and production of coordinates, we have no idea how the coordinates published on the website can be so far out.

We have had no success in contacting "GPS Walker", but if you are out there, your comments are invited. We link below our +/-3m accurate coordinates to the relevant page of "GPS Walker"'s site.

Location: SH 71564 74345

More info

De Havilland Vampire T.11 XE854

Neglected Crash Site Memorial
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

By an industrial estate in Rawmarsh, there is an unmade lane. Down this lane there is an empty house. Behind the empty house there is derelict half-acre of waist-high nettles.

100 yards through this there is a scruffy thicket of trees. Inside the thicket there is a low, gated wall.

Inside the wall there is a tangle of brambles, and in this tangle there are two memorials and a bench commemorating the fatal crash of a Vampire jet in 1959.

We'd never have found this without Pat Cunningham's 6 d.p. coordinates.

The standing memorial is from the pilot's aunties and uncles, and the one on the ground from his parents. The neglected state of these memorials is a sad sight.

UPDATE the memorials and the pilot's ashes have been moved to new locations

De Havilland Vampire T.11 XE854

Neglected Crash Site Memorial
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

The parents of the teenage pilot placed this memorial in the crater caused by his crashing his jet into the ground after disobeying orders in order to fly low over his home whilst supposedly on a training flight.

He had previously got away this with on several occasions in prop 'planes, but this time he became disoriented in cloud, and hit the ground with fatal results.

If this seems a harsh summary of events, Pat Cunnigham's is less generous still.

The pilot's ashes are also interred here.

Location: SK 43346 95752

More info

UPDATE

Piper Cherokee PA 28-180, G-AVYN

Piper Cherokee
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

A poignant message seemingly left recently by the 22-year old pilot's son on the wing of the aircraft.

More info

Flying Fortress: Arenig Fawr

Flying Fortress: Arenig Fawr
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

A day out with Matt ZX yesterday on foggy Arenig Fawr looking at the crash site of a Flying Fortress. We found far more wreckage than expected, trailling 300m down the slope in a suspiciously straight line which Matt thought might be the path taken by the recovery team.

Theres' not really much on the 'net about this site, but the link below gives a precis of the circumstances of the crash, and a pic of the crew..

Location: SH 82430 37069 to SH 82649 36942

More info

Arenig Fawr: Flying Fortress B-17F 42-3134

Flying Fortress: Arenig Fawr
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

The memorial with small crash debris in front, adjacent to the trig. point.

This memorial appears identical to that which was reportedly fixed to the wall of the Town Hall.

Was it moved up here, or are there two of them?

Location: SH 82703 36949

Boeing Flying Fortress B-17F 42-3134

Flying Fortress: Arenig Fawr
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Memorial Detail: compare this with this photo of the one on the Old Town Hall. Is this the same memorial stone?

Armstrong Vickers Wellington Mk.III HF613 coded DD-R

Wellington: Hope
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

This memorial and the Canadian maple planted in the wooden frame behind it were placed to mark the crash site of this RCAF Wellington in the ford in the river nearby.

The crash site itself threw up a practice bomb a few years back (not a live one as reported elsewhere on the 'net), which was blown up by the army with an unsatisfying explosion, according to witness reports.

Location:SK 16003 83421

More info