This report is on nine military plane crash sites in the south-west, seven on Dartmoor and two on Bodmin Moor. It is not quite exhaustive, as I never got to the wreck of an US Navy PB4Y on Steepleton Tor, Dartmoor, as it is within the military training zone. There are also the remains of two German fighters on Lundy Island, but the ferry service to Lundy doesn’t run during the winter. If I ever get to these remaining three sites, I will add on to this report for a complete record.
Done on a visit in October 2018 and again in January 2019
CONSOLIDATED VULTEE LIBERATOR PB4Y-1 63926, SLIPPER STONES, DARTMOOR
On the 28th December 1943 in order to locate a group of enemy destroyers in the Bay of Biscay, USN Fleet Air Wing 7, based at Dunkeswell in Devon, launched 15 PB4Y-1 Liberators. Whilst on patrol, PB4Y-1 B-5 engaged with two enemy aircraft. On finishing the patrol, the PB4Y-1 returned individually and on reaching the south-west coast of England, descended into cloud and having turned an easterly track, struck the hilltop and then dropped onto rocky ground below where it disintegrated and burned out. Ten crew members were killed. Quite large pieces of burnt airframe and sections of armour plating can be found. It appears that the wreckage was partially buried by the salvage team in a series of pits just outside the Okehampton Range Danger Area.
Consolidated PB4Y-1, used by the US Navy for maritime patrols. It is a variant of the Army’s B-24
The lowest burial pit
Seen in the first pit
Higher up the slope is the second burial pit, marked by a plaque
14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine, one of four that the plane had
Higher up the slope was the third burial pit
And a fourth burial pit near to the top of the slope
A sheet of armour plating
Paint still remains
CONSOLIDATED B-24D LIBERATOR 42-40474 , HAMBLE DOWN, DARTMOOR
Airbourne from Alconbury Air Station in Cambridgeshire on the 27th December 1943, the aircraft was on the third leg of a cross-country training flight. This part of the route was intended to take the aircraft from over Taunton to Bude Bay, but the plane deviated south and was 20 miles off the planned route when it flew into cloud covered hill and burned out. All 8 crew members were killed. A grassy patch on the heather covered slope contains a few pieces of melted aluminium.
Consolidated B-24D Liberator, used by the US Army as a heavy bomber. Approximately 18500 were built
An area of scarred land lies amongst the heather
Lumps of melted aluminium
Bolts and nuts
BOEING B17-G FLYING FORTRESS 42-37869, TIGERS MARSH, CORN RIDGE, DARTMOOR
On the 25th December 1943 and following a meteorological reconnaissance sortie, this USAAF aircraft landed at RAF St. Eval in Cornwall and later departed to return to its base at Cheddington Air Station in Hertfordshire. Flying on a north-easterly track the pilot attempted to maintain visual contact with the ground, but having cleared a lower hill on the edge of Dartmoor, the aircraft entered cloud hanging over the valley beyond. A climb, with reference to instruments, was commenced but the rate of climb was too low and the aircraft struck the hill, bounced up the gentle slope and then caught fire as the fuel tanks ruptured. Five crew members perished. A large scar remains on the boggy hilltop and contains a few pieces of armour plating and lumps of melted aluminium.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, heavy bomber in use from 1938 to 1968
A large boggy scar marks the site
Melted aluminium
Memorial plaque
Detail of the boggy ground
The only recognisable piece
DE HAVILLAND SEA VIXEN F.A.W. Mk.I XN648 / 716-VL, FLAT TOR, DARTMOOR
During a training flight on the 31st May 1961, from Yeovilton in Somerset, the aircraft entered a spin and was unable to regain control. The crew ejected and survived, leaving the aircraft to dive into the ground creating a sizeable crater. The water-filled crater hides the bulk of the aircraft’s remains. However a few metres out from the northern side of the crater small fragments of wreckage can be seen.
The sea Vixen was a carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy during the 1950s through to the 1970s. Only 145 of these were built
A large impact crater
Small pieces of wreckage on the shore
And pieces seen in the water
Done on a visit in October 2018 and again in January 2019
CONSOLIDATED VULTEE LIBERATOR PB4Y-1 63926, SLIPPER STONES, DARTMOOR
On the 28th December 1943 in order to locate a group of enemy destroyers in the Bay of Biscay, USN Fleet Air Wing 7, based at Dunkeswell in Devon, launched 15 PB4Y-1 Liberators. Whilst on patrol, PB4Y-1 B-5 engaged with two enemy aircraft. On finishing the patrol, the PB4Y-1 returned individually and on reaching the south-west coast of England, descended into cloud and having turned an easterly track, struck the hilltop and then dropped onto rocky ground below where it disintegrated and burned out. Ten crew members were killed. Quite large pieces of burnt airframe and sections of armour plating can be found. It appears that the wreckage was partially buried by the salvage team in a series of pits just outside the Okehampton Range Danger Area.
Consolidated PB4Y-1, used by the US Navy for maritime patrols. It is a variant of the Army’s B-24
The lowest burial pit
Seen in the first pit
Higher up the slope is the second burial pit, marked by a plaque
14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine, one of four that the plane had
Higher up the slope was the third burial pit
And a fourth burial pit near to the top of the slope
A sheet of armour plating
Paint still remains
CONSOLIDATED B-24D LIBERATOR 42-40474 , HAMBLE DOWN, DARTMOOR
Airbourne from Alconbury Air Station in Cambridgeshire on the 27th December 1943, the aircraft was on the third leg of a cross-country training flight. This part of the route was intended to take the aircraft from over Taunton to Bude Bay, but the plane deviated south and was 20 miles off the planned route when it flew into cloud covered hill and burned out. All 8 crew members were killed. A grassy patch on the heather covered slope contains a few pieces of melted aluminium.
Consolidated B-24D Liberator, used by the US Army as a heavy bomber. Approximately 18500 were built
An area of scarred land lies amongst the heather
Lumps of melted aluminium
Bolts and nuts
BOEING B17-G FLYING FORTRESS 42-37869, TIGERS MARSH, CORN RIDGE, DARTMOOR
On the 25th December 1943 and following a meteorological reconnaissance sortie, this USAAF aircraft landed at RAF St. Eval in Cornwall and later departed to return to its base at Cheddington Air Station in Hertfordshire. Flying on a north-easterly track the pilot attempted to maintain visual contact with the ground, but having cleared a lower hill on the edge of Dartmoor, the aircraft entered cloud hanging over the valley beyond. A climb, with reference to instruments, was commenced but the rate of climb was too low and the aircraft struck the hill, bounced up the gentle slope and then caught fire as the fuel tanks ruptured. Five crew members perished. A large scar remains on the boggy hilltop and contains a few pieces of armour plating and lumps of melted aluminium.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, heavy bomber in use from 1938 to 1968
A large boggy scar marks the site
Melted aluminium
Memorial plaque
Detail of the boggy ground
The only recognisable piece
DE HAVILLAND SEA VIXEN F.A.W. Mk.I XN648 / 716-VL, FLAT TOR, DARTMOOR
During a training flight on the 31st May 1961, from Yeovilton in Somerset, the aircraft entered a spin and was unable to regain control. The crew ejected and survived, leaving the aircraft to dive into the ground creating a sizeable crater. The water-filled crater hides the bulk of the aircraft’s remains. However a few metres out from the northern side of the crater small fragments of wreckage can be seen.
The sea Vixen was a carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy during the 1950s through to the 1970s. Only 145 of these were built
A large impact crater
Small pieces of wreckage on the shore
And pieces seen in the water
