PB4Y-1 Liberator Bu. No.63934 of VB 110 USN crashed on Broken Ground near Mossley 18th December 1943

Consolidated B-24 Liberator at the RAF Museum

 

George Charno Jnr Lieutenant (JG) Pilot OK
Robert G. Wissman Lieutenant (JG) Co-pilot OK
Cecil R. Colyer Ensign Navigator OK
Walter O. Levering AMM 3 Signaller OK
Douglas S. Peterson ACRM Radio Operator OK
Archie P. Oliver ARM 3 Radio Operator OK
Warran W. Olson AOM 3 Gunner OK
Dewey M. Clark Seaman 2nd Class Gunner OK
William J. Clayton Seaman 2nd Class ? OK
Winston C. Ketchem AMM 1 Gunner OK
Boyd S. Barber ACRM Radio Operator OK

 

The crew had been carrying out an anti U-Boat patrol over the Bay of Biscay from their home station at Dunkeswell in Devon. On returning they found that the station was fog bound and were advised to divert to RAF Beaulieu. Similar weather conditions existed here but they were preparing to land using a QGH approach when they lost radio contact. After this the crew headed north in the hope of finding an airfield that was not obscured by cloud or fog. By the time they had reached the north east Midlands around Lincolnshire the aircraft was all but out of fuel and when the pilots calculated the aircraft had about another 15 minutes of fuel the crew were ordered to bale out. All came down safely, while the aircraft (being flown by its primitive auto-pilot system) continued on flying in a westerly direction for some distance before eventually consuming its remaining fuel and crashing on the open hillside above Mossley.

Wreckage at the crash site of PB4Y-1 63949 on Broken Ground near Mossley
Most of the remaining wreckage at the crash site consists of small pieces of metal, such as this crumpled piece of white painted aluminium.
Undercarriage oleo at the crash site of Consolidated PB4Y-1 63949 on Broken Ground, Mossley
The largest item currently visible at the crash site is this undercarriage oleo, for many years it was visible before being buried for a number of years after which it was dug out of the peat for a second time.
Undercarriage oleo at the crash site of Consolidated PB4Y-1 63949 on Broken Ground, Mossley
A second photograph of the undercarriage oleo at the crash site.
Wreckage at the crash site of Consolidated PB4Y-1 63949 on Broken Ground, Mossley
A short distance away is a small collection of wreckage with this sheet of armour plate placed vertically into the peat. A second sheet of armour was found near by.