Peak District Air Accident Research

P-38J Lightning 42-67207 coded B9-1 of the 496th Fighter Training Group, USAAF, crashed on Tintwhistle Knarr 10th May 1944

During the morning of the 10th May 1944 Flt Off Hugh Jones took off from Goxhill near Grimsby to take part in a cine gun / single engine flying exercise however, once airborne he could not locate his flight due to cloud and as such requested permission to join a pair of aircraft whose exercise was a cross country navigation training flight.  Permission for this change of exercise was granted and he joined up with the flight.  They headed due west for roughly 20 minutes until reaching a cloud bank which they attempted to fly beneath but could see the cloud ahead extended down to ground level.  At this point 2nd Lt Gene H. Cole ordered the two other pilots to turn back.  On turning back the flight leader found that Flt Off Jones was missing from the No.2 position, it would appear that while in cloud Flt Off Jones had become disorientated and rolled his aircraft over , when he attempted to climb he was actually descending until the aircraft struck the ground.

A photograph of the wreckage on Tintwhistle Knarr.

Flight Officer Jones was laid to rest in the American Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge.

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