Republic P-47D-1-RE Thunderbolts, 42-7872 and 42-7898

I had a great day out with Ian DB last Saturday on and around Shining Tor, near Macclesfield. All of the pics for these four sites are c/o Ian, who is a lot better at photography than I am. You can see more examples of this at his site here.

This pic shows the leading plane's impact crater. All of the wreckage seen last time is gone, though a bit of skinning and a new cross have replaced it. The nearby crater of the following plane no longer has any visible wreckage t all.

These two sites are a bit awkward to get to, well away from the path, over a fence and down some steepish roughish ground. There is no reason to suspect they are there is you don't know that they are. This is not the work of "curious walkers". It smells of anorak to me.

Locations:

SJ 99502 75395 (leading)
SJ 99502 75410 (following)

Republic P-47C Thunderbolt 41-6259

Since Pat last visited this crash site in Sudbury Coppice (near Ashbourne in Derbyshire) other visitors have apparently piled scraps of aircraft wreckage on the tree stump directly beside the crash crater.

Location:SK 15617 35518

More info: Crash date-19th January 1944-the pilot was ferrying the aircraft from Halesworth in Suffolk to Maghaberry in Northern Ireland, and lost control of the aircraft when attempting to climb through low cloud.

Republic P-47 C Thunderbolt 41-6246 HL-F

P 47 Thunderbolt 41-6246 Creiglyn Dyfi
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Identifying stamps and serial numbers ("961031-A") showing that this is from the Thunderbolt wreck (though this is disputed- follow the link if you want to join in), rather than from the nearby Beaufighter .

This is from the largest collection of bits found, down by the side of the lake.

There is definitely more we did not find, as we were led astray by the next find. We will (as ever) be back to finish up.

Location: SH 86670 22403

More info

Republic P-47 C Thunderbolt 41-6246 HL-F

P 47 Thunderbolt 41-6246 Creiglyn Dyfi
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

This fragment of a "Warner Aircraft Corp." brake control unit from the 1944 fatal crash site of this USAF Thunderbolt turned out to be a bit of a red herring.

Finding it high on the hill as we did convinced us we had found a rather sparse wreckage trail, rather than the very edge of the scatter.

Even more confusingly, we found a bit of Mosquito mixed in with this "wreckage trail"

It has been suggested that this is the last labelled part at any high ground wreck site in the UK not already nicked by the magpies. On your marks, lads...

Location: SH 86524 22379

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 42-75101

Engine: Thunderbolt 42-75101
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

After a number of trips without a decent find we thought we'd go to a site known to have good sized wreckage. We chose the crash site of Thunderbolt 42-75101 on Mynydd Copog, just outside the Snowdonia National Park, and therefore seemingly safe from the scrap merchants.

Matt ZX was supposed to come with, but had to go elsewhere at short notice. Our thanks to him for assistance with planning.

What a change from last week's conditions. It was clear and bright, frosty but not freezing cold. It was a breeze to get up to the wood (planted after the crash) on top of the hill. That the plantation was of Christmas trees was pleasantly seasonal.

Finding the wreckage pile and engine on the boundary of the wood was a doddle. Behind this in the wood is a bigger pile of wreckage still, not shown elsewhere on the 'net.

We explored the wood for a couple of hours, finding all sorts of fair sized scraps everywhere to the East of the edge site illustrated. The only thing of high interest (for us at least) we found was an oxygen bottle in good nick.

Due to the heavy tree cover, some of this week's coordinates are expected to be of lower than usual accuracy.

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 42-75101

Oxygen Tank: Thunderbolt 42-75101
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

This is one of the oxygen tanks from the rear of the cockpit. Their original location can be seen in the P-47's flight manual at the link below.

If you click through and zoom in, the following text can be clearly read," TYPE D-2 INTERNAL VOLUME 500 CUBIC INCHES AVAILABLE OXYGEN FROM ...50 POUNDS PER SQ..PRESSURE=6.9 CUBIC.."

The full text would originally have said "F.S.P. CO., BREATHING OXYGEN, NONSHATTERABLE TYPE D-2 INTERNAL VOLUME 500 CUBIC INCHES, AVAILABLE OXYGEN FROM 400 TO 50 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH PRESSURE=6.9 CUBIC FEET" if you are interested.

Location: SH 88510 14378

More info

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 42-75101

Pile: Thunderbolt 42-75101
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

The largest pile of bits, (probably collected in this gully by the recovery team) is maybe 20 metres into the woods behind the engine.

Location: SH 88470 14434

More info

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 42-75101

Engine: Thunderbolt 42-75101
Originally uploaded by wreckhunter

Season's Greetings from Mick and Seán.

Republic P-47C Thunderbolt 41-6628

Thunderbolt:Thornecliffe
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Scraps of the wreck adorn this home-made memorial at the Thornecliffe wreck site of a Thunderbolt. We found the bit bottom right of the photo on the way to the site.

Memorial location:SK 02102 57764

Found scrap location:SK 02089 57873

More info

Republic P-47D-1-RE Thunderbolts, 42-7872 and 42-7898

Thunderbolts;Cat's Tor
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Filthy weather today didn't stop us visiting the crash sites of two Thunderbolts on Cats Tor outside Buxton. The leading plane crashed in the crater in the foreground, and the following plane in the crater you can see me exploring in the background.

If you click through, you can see annotations on the bigger version...

Republic P-47D-1-RE Thunderbolts, 42-7872 and 42-7898

Scraps of the hindmost one of the two Thunderbolts which crashed into Cats Tor in 1943 can be found at

Location:SJ 99502 75410

More info:

Republic P-47D-1-RE Thunderbolts, 42-7872 and 42-7898

Thunderbolts;Cat's Tor
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig2

Scraps from the leading Thunderbolt on Cats Tor.

Location:SJ 99502 75395

More info:

Republic P-47C Thunderbolt 41-6227

Thunderbolt Wreck
Originally uploaded by seansonofbig

Thunderbolt wreck on Horsehill Tor: SK 09347 84336

Further info