Affixed on either side of the main memorial.

A rectangular bronze plaque with dark background inscribed in English text in raised lettering. The plaques are dedicated to the crew of two American Flying Fortress bombers that collided over Canvey Island on June 19, 1944. The airmen from the 379th bomb group were returning to a US airbase in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire. That day, the crew were on their second mission of the day - flying back from Calais in France after bombing German V-1 missile sites. The Heavenly Body II aircraft crashed at Canvey Point in Essex killing three crew members. Six men survived. The second aircraft crashed into the River Thames near Allhallows in Kent. Eight crew members died and one survived.

B-17  #44-6133 was a Douglas/Long Beach B-17G-45-DL Flying Fortress delivered to Tulsa airbase, Oklahoma, May 10th, 1944. It was transferred to Hunter airbase, Savannah, Georgia, on May 19th, 1944, and then onto Dow Field on May 29th, 1944. It was assigned to the 525th BS, 379th BG as ‘FR-Y’at Kimbolton Jun 8th, 1944. The crew of #44-6133 were:

Pilot: Second Lieutenant Armand Ramacitti

Co-pilot: Second Lieutenant William ‘Bill’ Hager

Navigator: First Lieutenant Donald ‘Don’ Watson

Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Staff Sergeant Cecil Tognazzini

Radio Operator: Sergeant Richard ‘Dick’ Ritter

Ball turret gunner: Staff Sergeant John Burke

Waist gunner: Corporal Paul Haynes

Tail gunner: Sergeant Warren Oaks

Bombardier: Second Lieutenant Theodore Chronopolos

#42-97942 was a Lockheed/Vega B-17G-40-VE Flying Fortress delivered to Denver on April 11th, 1944. It then went onto Kearney air base in Nebraska on May 4th, 1944, before transferring also to Dow Field on May 23rd, 1944. It was then assigned to 525th BS,  379th BG at Kimbolton as ‘FR-K’. The crew of #42-97942 were:

Pilot: First Lieutenant Lloyd Burns

Bombardier: Second Lieutenant Jack Gray

Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Technical Sergeant Leonard Gibbs

Radio Operator: Technical Sergeant Leroy Monk

Ball turret gunner: Staff Sergeant William ‘Bill’ Farmer

Waist gunner: Staff Sergeant Richard ‘Dick’ Andrews

Co-pilot: Second Lieutenant Fred Kauffman

Navigator: Flight Officer Edward Sadler

Tail gunner: Staff Sergeant Louis Schulte

Source of information: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, aviationtrails.wordpress.com

Source of image: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk

THIS MEMORIAL PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO

THE CREWS OF TWO B.17G FLYING FORTRESSES

OF

379TH BOMBER GROUP

8TH AIR FORCE

SOME OF WHOM

IN A MID AIR COLLISION OVER CANVEY ISLAND

ON 19TH JUNE 1944

GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

"WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"