RAF Fortress 1 AN536

Hi all crikey havent been on this site for ages. I was especially interested in this thread I located whilst doing an Internet sweep on B17 AN 536. This was partially because I have covered this crash in my book “War Torn Skies Cambridgeshire published by Red Kite Books. But also for another reason Im am a keen metal detectorist and have been searching the Shepreth area for ages. I too had a passing interest in this Fortress but never came across anyone who remembered it. Well to cut along story short whilst in the area the other day I came across a 0.50 calibre bullet and a few scraps of alloy. It wasnt until I checked the headstamp to see it was “50 ACL. X . 1940” that I realised I was onto something very interesting. Several trees bore scars of violent impact and the area was covered in globules of once molten alloy. I found plexiglas a lovely tear drop shaped access panel handle and more 1940 dated cases. Basically after years of half hearted searching I had stumbled across the crash site of AN 536 by accident….whilst I was really out that day looking for Roman and Saxon coins. I intend to investigate site intensely so cant reveal exactlyy where it is. But I can be contacted on [email]j.evenhart@ntlworld.com[/email] by any interested parties and will pass on pics of trees and artefacts so far located………cheers everyone Jules.

All the details are out there – just not on the net for easy view from the desk chairs.

Thank you very much for posting those, Ross!

Interesting… Foxton railway station is close, no more than a mile, from Shepreth, but then so is Foxton.

Adrian

Don’t give me that. You are to blame for all this awful weather. Don’t try and wriggle out of it.

Moggy 😡

I thought it was down to the Environment Agency.

Pete

Us honest meteorologists are mere ‘middle-men’ in this process!

Don’t give me that. You are to blame for all this awful weather. Don’t try and wriggle out of it.

Moggy 😡

The chart would seem to indicate it was not a “Station Commander’s Weather” day!! Blue Robin may have it right. Ice may have been the original cause, but the Captain seems to have been fighting his instruments/auto-pilot with disastrous results!
And – to nit-pick – cloud, and fog, should never be described as ‘heavy’. They are thick, or dense! This, in itself is a problem, in that a good-ish Cunim probably has thousands of tons of water in it!!!! Whilst it stays in the air it belongs to the Almighty. Once it hits the deck it’s the local Council’s problem! Us honest meteorologists are mere ‘middle-men’ in this process!
HTH
Resmoroh

All the details are out there – just not on the net for easy view from the desk chairs.

I’ll transfer some detail from old fashioned paper onto digital for your viewing pleasure.

First the Form 1180 Accident Card. Copyright RAF Museum Hendon

http://www.rafcommands.com/January_1942/9_1_1942/AN536.pdf

Now the Air Investigation Branch Report. Copyright The National Archives

http://www.rafcommands.com/January_1942/TNA/W1165.pdf

Regards
Ross

Sounds much like icing from flying in cloud might have frozen the pitot or wings so a loss of control (airspeed or lift) leading to a spin?

Not much out there, is there, folks? Seems odd to me, but I guess with so many aircraft around (plus all the USAAF Fortresses a bit later on) that it’s just got forgotten.

A little interesting aside – this is the new Shepreth history website, mostly WW1 stuff at the mo owing to Teddy Wolstencroft’s postcard, but more will be forthcoming.

http://www.oldshep.co.uk/

I have to confess to an interest – I scanned a great many of the photos, and that’s me under “Holy Glimmers”. Somewhere in all those photos is an airman at what I think must be the WW1 Fowlmere airfield, just to keep it relevant!

Adrian

Try this old thread:

http://forum.armyairforces.com/Early-RAF-B17-loss-m134510.aspx

Not much more than you already know!:)

Multimap can’t find Foxton, but a real map shows it as the next village East. A bit more detail here: http://forum.armyairforces.com/Early-RAF-B17-loss-m134510.aspx

According to Air Britain, AN536 broke up in cloud near Foxton, Cambs, 9/1/42. It was with 90 Sqn and had previously been 40-2076. It’s a start!