B17G 43-39035 Memorial
Details:
Along the path to the west of Reigate Fort.
A sculpture of two wingtips set apart by the wingspan of a B17 on the hillside where the plane crashed killing 9 airmen in 1945. Buried deep in the sculpture is molten metal, recovered from the crash site and now forming part of the memorial itself. There is an associated seat with a dedicatory plaque and an information board nearby.
B-17G-100-BO Tail Number 43-39035 of the 547th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group, 8th USAAF, based at Station 106 (Grafton Underwood) in Northants was returning from a mission over Germany. On a foggy evening of March 19, 1945, the American heavy bomber passed low over Horley, Redhill, and finally Reigate at 17:40, local people were alerted to the sound of aero engines revving up at high power shortly after the aircraft disappeared into the thick cloud as it approached the crown of Reigate Hill. Shortly afterward a terrifying explosion was heard.
The aircraft had tragically struck the tops of trees on Reigate Hill and exploded on the surface with the loss of all on board. The crew was returning after successfully bombing the secondary target, the Oil Refinery at Plauen in Germany. Several key eyewitnesses reported to the Wings Museum that one engine was trailing thick black smoke as it made its way at a low level over the town. The Pilot 1st Lt. Griffin was a veteran of a total of 14 bombing missions so was no rookie. It is believed that possibly due to a combination of combat damage and the appalling weather conditions that day that this is what led to the tragic loss of these young American airmen so close to surviving the war and returning home to their loved ones.
Lt. Griffin’s regular aircraft nicknamed “Peaslee’s Payoff” was in for repairs and ‘035’ was acting as a replacement aircraft for the crew. It was 035’s 13th and final mission. Parts from Lt. Griffin’s B-17 are on display at the Wings Museum, the display acts as a form of remembrance to the crew with many people reading the story surrounding ‘035’.
Source of information: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, www.wingsmuseum.co.uk
Source of photos: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk, Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, Google Maps
Monument Text:
On the bench:
PRESENTED BY THE REIGATE SOCIETY IN MEMORY OF
THE NINE U.S. AIRMEN WHO DIED HERE IN 1945
Info sign:
First column:
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(-pictures here-)
Pictured The B-17 (G) aircraft and crew of flight number 43-39035 SO-F which crashed into Reigate Hill.
Painting courtesy of the Wings Museum. Photograph kindly reproduced courtesy of Fred Preller and the 384th Bomb Group Historical Society. More information available on the Reigate Hill website.
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Next columns:
This clearing in the trees was created at 5.42pm
on 19 March 1945 when a B 17 (G) aircraft, a
'Flying Fortress' crashed into the side of Reigate Hill,
killing all nine crew members on board.
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These memorial wing tips, carved from oak, are placed exactly the distance apart that real B-17(G) wingtips flew.
The crew were from the 384th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Corps. They were flying back to their base at Grafton Underwood in Northamptonshire after an operation near the German/Czech border.
Flying their thirteenth mission together, the crew were:
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Robert Stanley Griffin Pilot. At just three months short of 25, he was the oldest member of the crew
Herbert Seymour Geller Co-pilot
Royal A. Runyon Navigator
Robert Manbeck Staff Sergeant and Tail Gunner
Donald W. Jeffrey Togglier
Philip J. Phillips JR Radio Operator and Medic
Robert F. Marshall Flight Engineer and Top Turret Gunner
William R. Irons Ball Turret Gunner
Thomas J. Hickey Waist Gunner. Hickey was the most highly decorated of the crew, having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross |
For more information please visit the National Trust Reigate Hill website
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
384th Bomb Group (Heavy)
547th Bomber Squadron, 384th Bomber Group
8th Air Force
US Army Air Corps
Wars:
WWII
Other images :
