Bovingdon AAF Station 112

Station 112. I have sent you a PM. I would be grateful if you could reply

Anyone really keen on Bovingdon airfield can buy some of it, as outlined in the photo. Currently advertised on Rightmove for 1.2 million, but you do get a rather nice house, and barns as well, not to mention a private hangar, presently housing a PA28 (not included!)

And a nice unobstructed view of the prison…..

Anyone really keen on Bovingdon airfield can buy some of it, as outlined in the photo. Currently advertised on Rightmove for 1.2 million, but you do get a rather nice house, and barns as well, not to mention a private hangar, presently housing a PA28 (not included!)

Early B-29s in UK

The PDF Newsletter Washington Times Issue 8 has story and pics of Hobo Queens UK visit (‘Tony Spatts’ is most likely General ‘Tooey’ Spaatz

http://www.rafwatton.info/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=S7i%2B60gxfv0%3D&tabid=90&mid=417

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=40981&highlight=b-29+uk

the above thread (post#15) has a good pic of Hobo Queen at Glatton

Is there a story about the silver B-29 visit in October 1945?

This shot was in the defunct ‘PLANES’ magazine Vol1 No1…..my guess the 2nd B-29 in the UK , the 1st being the ‘HOBO QUEEN’ in 1944….anyone know the background?

Feb 26, 1944 Project 98070, also known as the Pathfinder Project using airplane YB-29 41-36963 ‘Hobo Queen’ left Marietta, Georgia, for Bayamon P.R. to go by southern route.
March 1, 1944 Ordered back to Marietta to take northern route to UK.
March 6, 1944 Left Gander for St. Mawgan
March 8, 1944 To Bassingbourn. Flew to British and American bases testing runways for weight carrying capacity and letting the Germans take pictures at high altitude…the object to make the Germans think the B-29’s were to be used against them. The airplane was shown to many visitors such as Churchill, Eisenhower, Tony Spatts, Air Chief Marshal Tedder, etc.
Known to have visited: – Glatton, Burtonwood, Knettishall, Horsham St. Faith and also Bovingdon where General Eisenhower was in attendance.
April 1, 1944 Left St. Mawgan for Marrakech at 00:56 and flew 2 hours west before turning south to Marrakech.
April 2, 1944 Left Marrakech to Cairo
April 5, 1944 Cairo to Karachi
April 6, 1944 Karachi to Kharagphur.

B-29 8th Oct 1945, Bovingdon

This shot was in the defunct ‘PLANES’ magazine Vol1 No1…..my guess the 2nd B-29 in the UK , the 1st being the ‘HOBO QUEEN’ in 1944….anyone know the background?

That’s the one Dave; my interest in it being that it was carrying a MAO, Sgt John Edward Bartle Pye. Aged 18 he must have been on one of his first operational sorties and was the youngest MAO to die.

An ALLAH sortie started at Trevose Head then took a track of 270 deg for about 700 miles, before turning ENE for the next 300, then returning to Trevose Head. The aircraft would have flown legs 1 and 3 at 1800 ft with observations being made every 50 miles, but at every fourth position a descent would be made to about 100 ft (depending on the conditions) for the MAO to measure the pressure. After that fourth observation the data were normally transmitted to base. This sequence was repeated throughout the flight, except on the second leg which was flown at 18000 ft.

The procedure was clearly very dangerous, especially at night, with strong winds and big waves (which there almost certainly were on this occasion with wind speeds in excess of 30-35 mph). Since no message was sent, it is possible that in this instance the aircraft descended too low and hit the sea 200 miles west of Trevose Head.

Alternatively the aircraft’s communications might have failed and the loss occurred further out in the Atlantic. All suppostion, but I know of one aircraft that flew so low in poor visibility that it only just missed the Queen Mary!

Although the CWGC gives Pye’s death as being on 3 Feb, I’m convinced in my own mind the accident occerred on the 2nd.

Brian

Brian, – Thanks for the ‘in depth’ reply, – I knew nothing of this very interesting and ‘touching’ ending to such a tragic event. I have visited the scene of the crash.
Regarding 42-30131, I have a B-17 weather ship listed from Bovingdon wartime records departing on 02. Feb 1944, as missing without trace over Atlantic – pilot Lt. Grafton. Is this, that particular aircraft ? Presumably it took off on the evening of the 2nd and was missing on the 3rd.
I have no further details.

Regards ——— Dave

First? B-29 at Bovingdon

I have in a mag somewhere a photo of a silver USAF B-29 at Bovingdon about 1946 with lots of admiring service onlookers….in the background theres an interesting looking C-46…. do you know anything about it ? ….I’ll dig it out tomorrow if I can….MTIA

Dave,

The story actually begins a while earlier, during the summer of 1943 at St Eval, when 1404 Met Flight became 517 Squadron and began re-equipping with Halifaxes. Because of this 517 was unable to maintain its operational committment of twice-daily meteorological reconnaissance sorties to the southwest over Biscay (code-named EPICURE). Such was the importance of these flights that the Americans offered four B-17s of the USAAF 379th Bomb Squadron to make up the shortfall – adding another four aircraft later.

Initially these were detached to St Eval and operated to the west of the UK (code-named ALLAH), but during the autumn it was decided the American aircraft should operate from an American base – Bovingdon.

As the Americans had no aircrew trained in met observing the crews always flew with an RAF Meteorological Air Observer (MAO), and when the detachment returned to Bovingdon they were accompanied by seven MAOs under the command of Flt Lt H J J (John) Leigh-Clare.

Leigh-Clare was the MAO on 42-37744 when it crashed just outside the airfield boundary whilst departing for an ALLAH sortie on the evening of 9 December 1943.

The crash was witnessed by a ten year old boy, Roy Payne, and over the years he kept returning to the crash site, collecting small pieces of debris. Fortythree years after the accident (1976) he found two gold rings; one was a pilot’s ring inscribed with the name William Holcom, the other was a Bombadier’s ring inscribed with the intials HJ. 2nd Lt Holcomb was the co-pilot of 42-37744, and in 2003 Roy eventually traced the American’s family and returned the ring to them. My source is John Taylor, Holcomb’s nephew, who also wrote an account of his uncle’s life.

Which brings us to the second ring. The initials did not match those any of the American crew-members nor, as far as could be determined, any of those who dealt with the aftermath of the crash – which is where I come in.

Peter Davies (Resmorah) and myself have been compiling a Book of Remembrance for all the meteorologists who died during the war – one of whom was H J J Leigh-Clare – and John Taylor wondered if, somehow, the ring was his. I was in contact with one of Leigh-Clare’s cousins and made enquiries within the family. In the event it turned out there was no connection (there shouldn’t have been as Bombardier rings are American, but it was thought possible it might have been given him as a mark of respect), so there the story ends.

I hope your intrigue is satisfied.

Do you have anything on B-17F 42-30131, lost flying an ALLAH sortie on 3 February 1944?

Brian

Try the AIX forum as well, I know one or two on there will definately be able to help out with the history of Bovingdon.

Brian – Tell me more, – I’m intrigued !

Dave

Ah – but there’s more to the story, it doesn’t end until 2003!

Brian

Dave,

No photos I’m afraid, but do you have anything on B-17G (42-37744) that crashed on take-off at 1856 hours on 9 December 1943? If not I might be able to help. It was the start of a weather reconnaissance flight and one of the crew was a British Met Air Observer, Flt Lt H H J (John) Leigh-Clare.

Brian

I do have the full Accident Report of that crash. – Thanks for your response Brian !

Regards Dave

The only operational A-26 I ever saw.

July 1959.

Mark

B-17G (42-37744)

Dave,

No photos I’m afraid, but do you have anything on B-17G (42-37744) that crashed on take-off at 1856 hours on 9 December 1943? If not I might be able to help. It was the start of a weather reconnaissance flight and one of the crew was a British Met Air Observer, Flt Lt H H J (John) Leigh-Clare.

Brian

I have a handful of photos that my father took at Bovingdon, including a couple at an air display in 1960 (C-119 and C-124), another couple of B-17s in 1962-ish (for “The War Lover”) plus one fairly poor shot of a Mosquito by the control tower in 1963 (“633 Squadron”). There’s also a slightly fuzzy and distant shot of a Provider sometime in the 50s. I’m attaching a couple out of general interest, but they’re not of particularly suitable quality for a book. But do let me know if you’re interested.

Bovingdon Air Station 112

Thanks David, – viewed the link. I had read about the ‘REDS’ dropping in there.
Absolutely no info’ / confirmation on that though. Would be good if someone had pics of them at Bov. Heard another one, from a friend who was on the Fire crew at Bov in the 50’s. An early Comet test flown by Cunningham dropped in there due to weather. Allegedly, everyone came out on the base and was ‘blown away’ to see him do a rapid climb out take-off the next morning. Can anyone confirm ?

Dave

Have you seen the thread re Bovingdon in the 60’s over on PPRune
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/354789-raf-bovingdon-1960s.html

Doesn’t answer your specific query but a few pics there I notice.

I had some of Mosquitos during filming in 1965 but will have to search hard through the ‘years of negs’ to see if they still are findable and useable.

David Taylor.