B29 Crashsite Derbyshire/ High Peak - Aircraft of World War II

KevinB · 10-31-2009, 08:36 PM

Derbyshire high Peak b-29 crash site

there are a few pages here

Crashed at Higher Shelf Stones whilst on a twenty five minute flight from Scampton in Lincolnshire to Burtonwood USAF base near Warrington. After filing a flight plan, and being advised of broken cloud at 2,000 to 4,000 feet, the pilot took off at around 10.15 am. Around twenty minutes in to the flight the pilot nosed the aircraft down through the overcast to establish position. Shelf Moor rises to over 2,000 feet, it is unlikely that any of the crew saw the ground before they hit it. Apart from the crew of thirteen the aircraft was carrying sacks of mail homeward bound to the USA, and a payroll of £7,000 for the staff at Burtonwood.

The Crew list.

•Pilot, Captain Landon P. Tanner.
•Co-pilot, Captain Harry Stroud.
•Engineer, Technical Sergeant Ralph Fields.
•Navigator, Sergeant Charles Wilbanks.
•Radio Operator, Staff Sergeant Gene A. Gartner.
•Radar Operator, David D. Moore.
•Camera Crew, Technical Sergeant Saul R. Banks.
•Camera Crew, Sergeant Donald R, Abrogast.
•Camera Crew, Sergeant Robert I. Doyle.
•Camera Crew, Private First Class William M. Burrows.
•Crew, Corporal M. Franssen.
•Crew, Corporal George Ingram.
•Photographic advisor from the Motion Picture Unit, Captain Howard Keel.
Below is a GE view of the wreck area. The yellow line is my downloaded GPS track

well worth a visit

vikingBerserker · 10-31-2009, 08:52 PM

Wow, it amazes me the number of wrecks still around from that era.

Airframes · 11-01-2009, 04:56 PM

VB, there are over thirty crash sites in the same area as the B29 described above, all in a very small area of hills known as the Peak District (and nothing to do with the peaks of the hills!) I visited most of them years ago, as I live on the 'doorstep', and they ranged (at that time) from small fragments to very large secctions of aircraft. A B24, I think from Rackheath IIRC, went in on Burnt Moor, after the crew bailed out when reaching the English coast after a raid, and this had large sections of wing, landing gear, engines etc still on the surface, although I think most of it has either sunk or been recovered since I was there.A rather sad site is the remains of two RAF Sabres, which collided, killing one pilot, in the early 1950's. The paintwork still looked fresh, and the engine gleamed when I visited the site of one of them.
I think another edition of 'Dark Peak Wrecks' has recently been published, describing these sites and the events in some detail.

ccheese · 11-01-2009, 07:49 PM

It is surprising how much debris is left from aircraft that crashed so long ago. It any of those sites were in the U.S. they
would be picked clean in a week after the crash ! It's good to see flowers, crosses and plaques placed on the sites
where airmen died. It's a good feeling to know that someone cares.

Charles

Aaron Brooks Wolters · 11-01-2009, 08:05 PM

Good post VB. Thank you for sharing.

diddyriddick · 11-02-2009, 04:51 PM

Very cool site! Thanks for the heads-up, Kevin!

10-31-2009, 08:36 PM	#1
KevinB Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia Posts: 24	B29 Crashsite Derbyshire/ High Peak Derbyshire high Peak b-29 crash site there are a few pages here Crashed at Higher Shelf Stones whilst on a twenty five minute flight from Scampton in Lincolnshire to Burtonwood USAF base near Warrington. After filing a flight plan, and being advised of broken cloud at 2,000 to 4,000 feet, the pilot took off at around 10.15 am. Around twenty minutes in to the flight the pilot nosed the aircraft down through the overcast to establish position. Shelf Moor rises to over 2,000 feet, it is unlikely that any of the crew saw the ground before they hit it. Apart from the crew of thirteen the aircraft was carrying sacks of mail homeward bound to the USA, and a payroll of £7,000 for the staff at Burtonwood. The Crew list. •Pilot, Captain Landon P. Tanner. •Co-pilot, Captain Harry Stroud. •Engineer, Technical Sergeant Ralph Fields. •Navigator, Sergeant Charles Wilbanks. •Radio Operator, Staff Sergeant Gene A. Gartner. •Radar Operator, David D. Moore. •Camera Crew, Technical Sergeant Saul R. Banks. •Camera Crew, Sergeant Donald R, Abrogast. •Camera Crew, Sergeant Robert I. Doyle. •Camera Crew, Private First Class William M. Burrows. •Crew, Corporal M. Franssen. •Crew, Corporal George Ingram. •Photographic advisor from the Motion Picture Unit, Captain Howard Keel. Below is a GE view of the wreck area. The yellow line is my downloaded GPS track well worth a visit Last edited by KevinB; 10-31-2009 at 08:48 PM.

10-31-2009, 08:52 PM	#2
vikingBerserker Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Posts: 3,722	Wow, it amazes me the number of wrecks still around from that era. __________________ "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it" "Those who dwell in the past, condemn the future"

11-01-2009, 04:56 PM	#3
Airframes Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 9,030	VB, there are over thirty crash sites in the same area as the B29 described above, all in a very small area of hills known as the Peak District (and nothing to do with the peaks of the hills!) I visited most of them years ago, as I live on the 'doorstep', and they ranged (at that time) from small fragments to very large secctions of aircraft. A B24, I think from Rackheath IIRC, went in on Burnt Moor, after the crew bailed out when reaching the English coast after a raid, and this had large sections of wing, landing gear, engines etc still on the surface, although I think most of it has either sunk or been recovered since I was there.A rather sad site is the remains of two RAF Sabres, which collided, killing one pilot, in the early 1950's. The paintwork still looked fresh, and the engine gleamed when I visited the site of one of them. I think another edition of 'Dark Peak Wrecks' has recently been published, describing these sites and the events in some detail. __________________

11-01-2009, 07:49 PM	#4
ccheese Older Than Dirt Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia Posts: 7,309	It is surprising how much debris is left from aircraft that crashed so long ago. It any of those sites were in the U.S. they would be picked clean in a week after the crash ! It's good to see flowers, crosses and plaques placed on the sites where airmen died. It's a good feeling to know that someone cares. Charles __________________ I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either....

11-01-2009, 08:05 PM	#5
Aaron Brooks Wolters Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Abingdon, VA. Posts: 2,283	Good post VB. Thank you for sharing. __________________

11-02-2009, 04:51 PM	#6
diddyriddick Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Hamlet, NC, US Posts: 720	Very cool site! Thanks for the heads-up, Kevin! __________________ _____ Diddy

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