Hi Elliott,

I was surprised too at how few losses were in the MACRs for the heavies. Possibly down to the curious American ideas for european geography.

The Channel seems to have stretched up to just off the Danish Coast and the North Sea down to Biscay!

>Tuesday 17th August 1943: 91BG Boeing B17 shot down crashing off North Foreland

This is you Isle of Grain aircraft. 42-30617 on 27/08/43, B-17F-115-BO, 327BS/92BG, “Miss Billie Jnr”.

Ditched on the return flight with all crew rescued by AS/R launch. Abandoned aircraft floated ashore at Isle of Grain/Sheerness and was pictured there. See Aeroplane Q and A JUne/Nov 1997.

>Monday 19th June 1944 6:20pm: Two B-17 bombers of the 379th Bomb Group collided in mid-air. The aircraft were flying back to base at Kimboltton, Huntingdon after a raid on a rocket site in occupied France 44-6133 captained by Lt A J Ramacitti was flying “tail end Charlie” this aircraft was seen to develop engine problems and lose height colliding with 42-97942 flown by Lt L L Burns. Ramacitti’s aircraft was seen to hit Burns’s aircraft just behind the pilot’s compartment; they locked together for an instant before falling away. The first aircraft (Ramacitti’s) was then seen to drop in to a power dive at around 8500ft before its wings were torn off by the stress and it crashing in to a minefield from where it could not be disturbed. The second aircraft (Burns’s) seed to be under control although it was rapidly losing height, it was at this point a number of the crew were seen bailing out. The aircraft was then seen to cross Canvey Point and make a left hand turn and head for towards the foreshore between Southend Pier and Canvey Point as if the pilot was to attempt to land the stricken aircraft on the mud. As the aircraft came down it took an angle of 45degrees and crashed nose first on to the mud and exploded burning with an intense heat leaving behind a deep hole. In total eleven crewmembers were killed. A few parts of wreckage can still be found because of the constant tidal action.

Details confirmed one crashed on foreshore and one below the high water mark.

Add to these Stork Club, 42-107109 on 10/05/1944 but this was salvaged on 12/05/44.

Regards
Ross

Hi Gents,

The Warwick was carrying diplomatic mail and banknotes.

Some were recovered at the time of the crash.

Some hard and fast facts to add to the rumours:

From RNLI Records of Service 1939 to 1946

APRIL 17TH. – NEWQUAY, CORNWALL.
Early in the morning a crash was heard by
the coastguard, but the weather was foggy
and he could see nothing. He made enquiries
but learnt nothing. At 9.33 the life-boat
honorary secretary heard from the flying
control officer at St. Mawgan Air Port that
wreckage and a dinghy could be seen off
Watergate Bay. The weather was fine, but still
foggy, with visibility about three-quarters of
a mile. At 9.50 the motor life-boat Richard
Silver Oliver was launched and found the
wreckage of a British Warwick aeroplane.
Her crew of four and twelve passengers had all
been killed. She picked up eleven bodies,
and took in tow some wreckage in which
another body was entangled. She also
picked up a quantity of mail, including a
packet of one-hundred-dollar bills worth
approximately £45,000. She then made a
careful search, but found neither survivors nor
bodies, and returned to her station at 1.45
that afternoon. – Rewards, £14 14s.

Never say never for a Ju 88 off the UK coast.

Always worth going where others avoid.

Regards
Ross

Final bit for tonight Phil.

Ken Delve et al English Electric Canberra says:

Navigator; Another B.2 variant with sparse nav kit – radio compass. API and Tacan, although it also had the luxury of a single VOR.

…

Each window was provided with a Morris Minor car wing mirror so that the nav could watch the operation of the winches. The winch control packs were identical to the flight refuelling packs fitted to other aircraft and simply had different labels!

Regards
Ross

Hi Phil,

Sorry no spares of those bits but what else are you missing for the cockpit interior?

A piccy comparing this page from the pilot’s notes with missing bits would allow visual ident.

Regards
Ross

Hi LL,

In the 70s I worked on a D4.

Pedestal and Bellows – matt black crinkle finish
Fuselage – Dark Blue all over
Sliding cover – natural off white
Desk and overhead – Olive drab semi gloss (may have been gloss as it was not polished for yonks)
Local area map under glass on top of matt black desk top.
Crab – matt black crinkle finish

On the desk
Large metal construction about 6′ by 4′
Cupboards below on left and right with centre knee well
Recess ontop with full size glass plate covering local map
Set of three instrument repeaters on angled bezel box
Round tube frame to form overhead gantry for beam equipment and umbilical for crab.

Regards
Ross

Cheers James,

Regards
Ross