Tagged by "aircraft wreck"
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Torside visitors Centre Bleaklow Circular
(route)
Torside visitors Centre NGR SK068983 Bleaklow Circular
Crash site NGR SK106987 Wellington R1011 30th January 1943. Map required Outdoor Leisure 1 The Peak District (Dark Peak Area) Details of the aircraft wrecks obtained from "Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks" Ron Collier.
Park your car at the Visitors Centre and go through the gates and up the hill to the disused Railway track which is now the Longdendale Trail, turn east onto the trail. After walking about 100 Yards you will come to a finger post indicating right (south) Wildboar Clough, ascend the wide stile, which leads to a track passing between some immature trees and then over a step stile on the left and into the woods. Now follow the track which runs parallel to the stream through this ancient Oak and Birch woodland, and climb the steep hillside crossing a stone wall and eventually emerging above the wood on the open Fell, with a wire fence crossing your path over which passes another wooden step stile. The way on now levels out, and after about half a mile it is possible to cross the Clough on your left and head North on a good path which take you back in the direction you have just come, but this time on the opposite side of the Clough. For the next two-mile you remain faithful to the edge of the gritstone escarpment, and follow the faint path running above the Grags, passing Lawrence Edge, Deer Knowl, and eventually to the dry waterfall of Dowstone Rocks. Five minutes after leaving the Grags at Dowstone Rocks you will come to a wire fence climbing up the hill and guarding the deep Gill of Stable Clough, follow the fence uphill to the right (south) and you enter an area of Grouse butts, and below you in the Gill you can see a sandy track (this is a private track for the Grouse shooters) Keep on the narrow path which follows the fence and winds through the Grouse Butts until you are safely able to cross the stream on some water worn slabs, and gain the opposite bank next to Butt number 6. Walk downstream in a Northerly direction to the next Grouse Butt number 5, and now you will need your compass for the next leg.
Leave Grouse Butt number 5 walking on a bearing of 90 degrees (east) and almost immediately you will see in front of you a pole with a white painted top standing on the moor, you will reach this pole in about 4 minutes, keep walking on the same bearing and in a further 2 minutes, you will come across a cairn with some aircraft debris piled around it's base. This is not the crash site, you need to walk on the same bearing for a further 3 Minutes to arrive at the site which is marked by a tiled plaque attached to a wooden post commemorating the Airmen who lost their lives here. Wellington R1011 was on a night flying exercise from Wymeswold Leicestershire when it crashed into the ground here on the night of January 30th 1943. In worsening weather the crew were confident that they were on the approach to the airfield and were losing height as they began to cross the high ground of Birchen Bank Moss. As they dropped gently through the clouds they slammed into the moor, at around 1.45 am. Three men in the front of the bomber were killed instantly (Flying Officer Lane, Sergeant Rouse, and Pilot Officer Brown) the Navigator, Pilot Officer Grisdale, and a Sergeant Miller survived but were suffering from serious injuries. There is not a lot of debris present at the crash site now, but a tile with a graphic of a Wellington bomber on has been fixed to a small wooden cross by relatives of the crew I believe. Leave the area of the crash and remain faithful to the 90 degree bearing, crossing a number of shallow cloughs in about 8 minutes you find yourself dropping into a much deeper clough, with a well worn path running from right to left, and following the west bank of the clough in a North South direction. Now take this path in the downstream direction soon passing through a wood, and then turning sharply right (east) and begin to drop steeply down to meet the stream. Turn left downstream and in about 4 minutes you join the river Etherow which you follow downstream for a further 5 minutes to arrive at the eastern end of the Longdendale Trail, you now have an easy 3 mile walk back to the visitors Centre.
Mick Melvin
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Derwent Reservoir to Crowstones Edge Circular
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Derwent Reservoir to Crowstones Edge Circular
Crash site NGR. SK174967 Consul TF-RPM 12th April 1951. Map required Outdoor Leisure 1 The Peak District (Dark Peak Area) Details of the aircraft wrecks obtained from "Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks" Ron Collier.
The walk starts near to the head of Howden Reservoir, at the turning circle on the west side (NGR SK167939). Begin by going through the gate, which bars traffic from going further up the reservoir, and follow the stony but easy track to the bridge at the head of the lake, at the spot called Slippery Stones. Cross over the bridge onto the Yorkshire side and immediately turn left (north) This 17th century packhorse bridge once stood in Derwent village before it was flooded with the construction of the Ladybower Reservoir, it was reconstructed on this spot in 1959. The wide path now passes between a large sheepfold and a steep banking before taking the footbridge that crosses the beck, which flows from the confluence of Cranberry and Bull Clough's. Almost immediately the way ahead divides and you take the path that turns east and into the Clough, to follow the stream chuckling away on your right. This path is called the Cut Gate track and is part of an ancient Bridleway, which was used to carry salt and other goods from Cheshire to the market towns of South Yorkshire. The path turns briefly into Bull Clough before rising easily onto the moor top with views of the Margery hill ridge, and the Bull Stones standing prominently to the North. Follow the track which is heading straight for the top of the ridge, until you draw level with a prominent stone cairn which marks the junction of a minor path that crosses from right to left in front of you. Turn North on this narrow path which follows the contour across the moor to the Bull Stones, which are now slightly below and behind you. On a clear day the views from the Bull Stones are excellent, with views of the Derwent reservoir to the south and as far as Bleaklow to the Northwest, with the rocky tors of Crow Stones to the North.
Leave the Bull Stones and head in the direction of Crow Stones, and you will soon pick up a narrow path in the heather that takes more or less a level course across the moor, soon arriving at the head of a deep Clough that drops into the main Derwent valley on your left. This is Broadhead Clough and is easily identified because of a series of grouse butts which are scattered about it's head, it is at this point that you need to watch out for the debris from the crash site. While you are still in the area of the grouse butts progress along the narrow path in the direction of Crow Stones, and keep looking slightly uphill to your right (East) As you drop into a stream, which crosses the path, the crash site can be seen up stream in the bed of the shallow gully, which forms the streambed. The aircraft (Airspeed Consul TF-RPM) was on a delivery flight from Croydon to Iceland when it crashed into the hill on the morning of 12th April 1951 killing the three man crew on board at the time. The pilot was Pall Magnusson aged 26 from Sentiarnarnesi, Iceland and he was accompanied On this fateful flight by a wireless operator, Alexander Watson aged 42, an Englishman from Leytonstone, London, and a passenger Johann Rist aged 35 another Icelander. According to Ron Collier, the pilot had apparently opted to fly the aircraft using only visual means instead of using instruments, as he approached the Pennines in bad visibility he lost sight of the ground and ran into the hill under full power. As can be seen from the photos quite a lot of the debris is still on the ground including one of the Cheetah engines which has been stripped almost bare of it's cylinders. There is an area with a number of wooden crosses stuck into the ground and a small glass jar, which used to contain a poem. If you are like me, you will probably be leaving the site in a pensive mood, and you need to continue along the same path in the direction of Crow Stones Edge, which is reached in about ten minutes walk from the site. The route that you take from here back to the turning circle will depend on your ability to navigate on open moorland, if you feel confident to find your way without the benefit of a path, stay with me, otherwise return to the lake the way you came. The rocks of Crow Stones edge mark the southern end of a gritstone outcrop with the weirdly shaped rocks of Crow Stones poised on its northern edge, and the tors of Rocking Stones situated below them. From the tors find a faint path heading north in the direction of Stainery Clough Head and follow this until you have passed the rocky ground on your left, and can easily turn onto a south westerly direction on pathless terrain. Keep on the level ground above, and parallel to the Clough, and you will come, with out any difficulty to a narrow path leading steeply down to the confluence of the river Derwent and Stainery Clough, from here you take the wide, easy riverside path southwards back to the turning circle and the end of the walk.
Mick Melvin
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Old Glossop to Higher Shelf Stones Circular
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SK045948 Old Glossop to Higher Shelf Stones Map required Outdoor Leisure 1 The Peak District (Dark Peak Area)Details of the aircraft wrecks obtained from "Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks" Ron Collier.
This walk which is mostly over rough moorland will take you to three aircraft wrecks, including possibly the most well known and visited wreck in the Dark Peak area, the Superfortress "Over Exposed" which crashed here in 1948 killing the 13 members of the crew. Make your way to the turning area at the eastern end of Shepley Street in Old Glossop, there you will find parking for about six cars. Start out up the wide farm track with the beck on your right hand side, passing the bunkhouse on your left, in just under half a mile you come to a gate and a ladder stile over the wall on the left, take the stile and ascend the grassy track rising steeply up the moor, cross another ladder stile and shortly after a step stile over a wire fence onto the open moor. Follow the edge of the steep escarpment until you come to a dilapidated fence, which you follow upstream until the rocky bed of Yellowslacks brook rises up to meet you at a 5 foot high waterfall. The stream bed rises less steeply now and after 100 yards you come to another 5 foot waterfall, just passed this waterfall you can cross the bed of the stream on some flat slabs and climb steeply up the other side onto the moor above. You now should be on the 540-metre contour, which you follow around the hill in a southerly direction until you meet a feint path coming up from Wigan Clough on your right. Keeping above some low Crags follow the edge of the Moor, and just before the edge drops away and turns northeasterly, you should come across the wreckage and a low stone memorial set into the hillside nearby.
Lancaster KB993
In the early evening of 18th May 1945, Lancaster EQ-U with Flying Officer Anthony Arthur Clifford at the controls took off from Linton-on-Ouse. The crew consisted of Bomb Aimer, Flying Officer David (Scratch) Fehrman; Wireless Operator, Warrant Officer Michael Cecil (Blood and Guts) Cameron; Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Clarence (Hairless Joe) Halvorson; Air Gunner, Flight Sergeant Leslie Claude (Rabbit) Hellerson and Flight Engineer, Pilot Officer Kenneth (Gassless) McIver. It appears that the crew, bored with flying round practising landings and take-offs, with no fixed exercise, had decided to go for a circular tour. Darkness must have caught them out of sight of base and lost over the Derbyshire hills, the bomber struck the top of James's Thorn hill and burst into a ball of flame. All the crew of six perished in the crash, although the rear gunner lived for a short while. Leave the wreck site in a southerly direction descending on a steep grassy path until you reach a fence which you follow to the left (East) for a 100 yards, this fence leads directly to the next wreck.
C-47 Skytrain.
The C-47 took of on July 24th 1945 on a routine supply trip from Leicester East to Renfrew in Scotland. The pilot, First Lieutenant George L. Johnson, had been warned of bad weather along the flight path up central England. So he decided to take the more direct route and risk the high ground. The rest of the five man crew consisted of co-pilot, First Lieutenant Earl W. Burns; navigator, First Lieutenant Beverly W. Izlar; Crew Chief, Sergeant Theodore R. McCrocklin and the radio operator, Sergeant Francis M. Maloney. There were two passengers, Corporal Grover R. Alexander, USAAF and RAF Leading Aircraftsman J. D. Main.
The crash was found two days later at 5 o'clock in the afternoon when Sergeant Pridgeon, an RAF cypher clerk, and his girl friend came upon the wreckage of a Skytrain whilst out walking. He knew of the Lancaster bomber that had crashed at some point on the mountaintop they were on, just nine weeks earlier, and he thought that he had come across the scene of the Lancaster bomber wreck. It was only when he came upon the dead bodies of the crew that he realized that he had come across a new crash scene. It appears that the Skytrain hit the high ground, when the hills were shrouded in low cloud as they so often are. When I was at the site in May 2003 there was a plastic Memorial plaque, which was placed there during 2002 by the brother and sister in law of the co-pilot First Lieutenant Earl W. Burns, Glen and Elsie Burns when they visited the site both aged 69 years. Unfortunately this plaque has now disappeared, probably due to high winds. To continue the walk, follow a grassy path which contours in a Northeasterly direction along the base of James's Thorn, until you arrive at the saddle between James's Thorn and Lower Shelf Stones, where you pick up a path which crosses the peat haggs and heads in the direction of Lower Shelf Stones. From Lower Shelf Stones walk along the top of the crags until you reach the trig point on Higher Shelf Stones. At the trig point set your compass to 60 degrees and keep walking for about 250 yards, when you will come over a low hill and find the wreckage of the Superfortress scattered about the clough before you.
Superfortress B 29
It was only a twenty five minute trip for a B-29 from Scampton in Lincolnshire to Burtonwood USAF base near Warrington, when the pilot Captain Landon P. Tanner took off on the morning of 3rd November 1948, at around 10.15. His crew for the trip consisting of co-pilot, Captain Harry Stroud; engineer, Technical Sergeant Ralph Fields; navigator, Sergeant Charles Wilbanks; radio operator, Staff Sergeant Gene A. Gartner; radar operator, David D. Moore; camera crew, Technical Segeant Saul R. Banks, Sergeant Donald R. Abrogast, Sergeant Robert I. Doyle and Private First Class William M. Burrows. Two other crew members were Corporal M. Franssen and Corporal George Ingram. Acting as photographic advisor was Captain Howard Keel of the 4201st. When Over Exposed failed to arrive at Burtonwood an air search was initiated and during that early wintery afternoon blazing wreckage was spotted high on the moors near Higher Shelf Stones. By chance members of the Harpur Hill RAF Mountain Rescue Unit were just finishing an exercise two and a half miles away, so they quickly made their way to the scene of the crash. Several bodies lay scattered around the blazing twisted metal, it was obvious that there was nothing that they could do for them. How to get the bodies off the moor was the next problem that they had to face. Because of the rough terrain it was suggested that rather than carry the stretchers three miles across the moors to the Snake Pass Road, they would call in helicopters. However, the rescue men volunteered to attempt the job themselves. Six men to a stretcher they set off down the moorland with others taking turns to carry the grim loads. The bodies were taken on to Burtonwood Air Force Base, which at that period served as a servicing depot for American aircraft engaged in the Berlin airlift, the crew of 13 men had all perished. From the wreck site cross the moor to the Hern Stones which are a solitary group of rocks rising prominently from the peat haggs North of the site. At the stones turn South East down the stream bed, and within 200 yards you will be on the Pennine Way which you follow south and then south westerly to the junction with the Doctor's gate path. Your route now descends this impressive valley and follows the line of a Roman road along Doctor's gate, to arrive back at your starting point in Old Glossop.
Mick Melvin
