B-17E 41-9051 of the 813th BS / 482nd BG USAAF, crashed on Skiddaw near Keswick, on the 14th September 1943

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

 

William C. Anderson Captain Pilot Killed
Robert J. Sudbury 1st Lieutenant Co-pilot Killed
Raymond R. Oeftiger Captain Navigator Killed
Raymond F. Diltz 2nd Lieutenant Bomb Aimer Killed
Bryson R. Hills Staff Sergeant Flight Engineer Killed
Robert L. Jacobsen Staff Sergeant Radio Operator Killed
Tom C. Henderson Major Passenger Killed
Henry B. Williams Major Passenger Killed
Clarence H. Ballagh 1st Lieutenant Passenger Killed
Theodore R. Doe 1st Lieutenant Passenger Killed

 

The crew were on a cross country navigation flight from Alconbury, near Huntingdon, to RAF Turnhouse on the edge of Edinburgh (currently the city’s airport). The accident investigators suggested that having been airborne for the lentgh of time it would have normally taken to fly from Alconbury to Edinburgh the pilot began a descent though the low cloud. While still in cloud at approximately 11:30am the aircraft flew into the south western side of Skiddaw and was destroyed by the crash and subsequent fire.

Crash site of B-17 41-9051 on the Skiddaw screes
The aircraft crashed on the steep scree slope on the south western side of Skiddaw a couple of hundred feet below the summit. This photo shows the area in which the crash occurred.
Small fragments in the scree at the crash site of B-17 41-9051 high on Skiddaw
Above is one of the few collections of wreckage on the scree, most of the remains are spread about over a fairly wide area.
The view from the crash site of B-17 41-9051 on Skiddaw towards Keswick
Above is view from the site towards Derwent Water, this also shows how steep the slope on which the aircraft crashed is.

 

Five of the crew and one passenger are buried at Cambridge American Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge, below are photographs of most of their graves.

Grave of Captain William C Anderson at Cambridge American Cemetery
Capt. Anderson, Pilot
Grave of 1st Lieutenant Robert J Sudbury at Cambridge American Cemetery
1st Lt Sudbury, Co-pilot
Grave of Captain Raymond R Oeftiger at Cambridge American Cemetery
Capt. Oeftiger, Navigator
Grave of Staff Sergeant Bryson R Hills at Cambridge American Cemetery
S/Sgt Hills, Flight Engineer
Grave of Staff Sergeant Robert L Jacobsen at Cambridge American Cemetery
S/Sgt Jacobsen, Radio Operator
Grave of Major Tom C Henderson at Cambridge American Cemetery
Maj. Henderson, Passenger
Grave of 2nd Lieutenant Raymond F. Diltz at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Francisco, California
2nd Lieutenant Raymond F. Diltz was later buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Francisco, California.