B24 Crash at Whitnash.

www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/news/local/a...d-whitnash-1-1043668

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I first called here about 10 years ago hoping to find some kind of memorial. Sadly nothing then, nothing now other than this road named after Jean Anderson. I checked in the local church but couldn't find anything, we called at the cottage next door (First time) as we were told he was the man to ask...., no answer today. Maybe find something in another 10 years.

Odd that the aircraft was flying north out of Chipping Norton instead of east unless he was climbing to join a formation assembly point. But this was just before war's end.

Peter ~ I’m interested in knowing a little more about the B24 at Chipping Norton.
Reason: In the summer of 1970/1 we provided week end relief support for Roger Croft & Mike Bigg’s who ran the Duke of Cumberland’s Head public house at Clifton under Deddington.
This pub was one of many late night hang outs for the USAF 20th at Upper Heyford.
We had an American civilian visitor stop by one night who was in the area and seeing a number of US registered cars in our car park had stopped to see if they knew where this Chipping Norton Airfield had been located.
One of the locals called Harry who lived in a mobile home near the railway arches and ran a one man Tipper Truck for hire service was the only person in the bar who had heard the name.
Note: Harry was the chap who had introduced me to the old poacher at the Great Tew post office when I started looking into the Black Tulip wing that were stationed nearby at Enstone and he also gave me directions into finding the Deadmans Riding Wood.
If I’ve remembered this correctly after forty years then it was an old grass airfield used for Advanced Training that had been located somewhere near to the farm that Jeremy Clarkson eventually purchased for what he called his wife’s donkey sanctuary.
The civilian visitor was under the impression that his late Father flew in B24’s and that he had flown from a Chipping Norton Airfield.
One of the American pilots in the bar had looked at our O.S. map to show the visitor where it was located on his rental car map and he expressed doubts that the airfield would have been long enough to accommodate a four engine bomber.
This had all disappeared into the mists of yesterday until I read your post.
Dave.

I agree that Chipping Norton, albeit with steel tracking runways, does not seem capable of operating heavy bombers. There was no bomb store, the runway length was only (longest) a 1000 yards or so. My enthusiast friend wrote:

The B-24D take-off distance chart only goes to 60,000 lb. At that weight, the takeoff distances (concrete surface) to clear a 50 ft. obstacle are: 4,200 ft @ sea level density altitude; 4,900 ft at 2,000 ft density altitude; 5,400 ft at 4,000 ft density altitude. "Hairy" seems an appropriate description.

But, the supposition that the B24 was operating out of CN and en-route to Germany is from the newspaper report.

The only thing for sure was that it crashed.

Peter ~ If it had been involved in what I've heard as the Dark Days Program in any way then it would not have be loaded and its crash would not be 100% accurately recorded etc

If this fatal incident took place between summer 43 to spring 44 then it could have been trying to replicate a Black Tulip Piggy Back Run to try out the concept but from the limited information I've seen only places it close to Ditchley Park, Enstone & the Tulip Safe House that its most likely just coincidental.

Chipping Norton was not a USAAF base but Chipping Ongar was. What's in a name?

Dave.
Peter ~I had not appreciated the significance of this little grass air strip until after the event described at the DoC Head.
We had a regular customer who came in every night who was living at a place called ‘Hempton’ that is a village on the main road between Clifton and Chipping Norton and he was totally absorbed by Airborne Navigation, Aviation history, Airfields, Aircraft types etc.
He brought to my attention that ‘Ditchley Park’ had been owned by an American since the early 1930’s and that it had been Churchill’s official residence for a couple of years at the start of the conflict.
It had been where he started negotiations with American Secretary of Defence on the Lease Lend agreement etc.
Chipping Norton Airfield had been the nearest air strip to Ditchley Park and it also allowed back road access into the Park without having to cross the main A34 convoy route.
Its Advanced Training status was a factual cover story for a significant number of these high level diplomatic flights plus it was on the Germans target list as they had attempted to hit it a couple of times without success.
It may not have been a USAF base but apparently it had a lot of US Big Boots walk on the grass.
Dave.

I have the B-24's base as Harrington. It belonged to the 406th Bomb Sqn, 492nd Bomb Group and was on a leaflet dropping mission.

It was a B-24J 42-51251 492BG 406BS Jean Anderson Captain .

26/04/1945 B-24 42-51251 406 Bomb Squadron , 492nd Bomb Group was carrying propaganda leaflets when it iced up. The crew had baled out when the bomber crashed at Whitnash, with the pilot, Lt Jean Anderson still on board. The rest of the crew survived: radio operator S/Sgt Robert G Davis, gunner S/Sgt William L Blackard, gunner Sgt Robert J Sullivan, gunner Sgt Robert W Roos, engineer S/Sgt Harold F Wesley Jr, bombardier 2/Lt Melvin H Davis, co-pilot 2/Lt Richard L Halle, navigator 2/Lt Richard C Klenoski.

Googling has found this www.specialforcesroh.com/showthread.php?12208 Aircraft was coded N:L of the 406NLS previously 857BS both 492BG and was airborne at 20.32 hrs. from Harrington.

With thanks to the websites it is nice to remember this airmen and for residents of where the B-24 came down .