The first site we researched was Disaster in the Hills - Burn Fell. The account of what happened is from Graham F Cutler and I am indebted to him for this information.  Graham states that the last time he was up there (several years ago) little remained to remind anyone of the tragic scenes witnessed on January 2nd 1945. Immediately behind the Trig-point the wall has been repaired and a small crater still remained where the aircraft burned out. On the north side of the wall, all three of the undercarriage legs still remained and he took the front disc brake pads, a piece of reinforced laminated glass and some broken aluminium air-frame parts home with him. The laminated glass was only used in one part of the B-24, the bomb-aimers window right at the front.

These parts Graham donated to the museum at Seething dedicated to the USAF 448 Bomber Group along with a copy of this information. For full details, see the item Disaster in the Hills .

For further information on crash sites please look at the following links and our thanks to Nick Wotherspoon and his colleagues for their research and allowing us to use the information in the process for this work dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Forest of Bowland for Freedom and Liberty. Also similar on the Peak District Crashes site.

Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Team

Map of crash sites in North West

http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/projectbook.htm.

On the 18/08/1941 a Boulton Paul Defiant 1 N1651 flown by Pilot Officer Norman Jack Sharpe (aged 20) of 256 squadron Royal Air Force crashed on Hawthornthwaite Fell and killing the pilot.

More information to follow.

Peak District Air Accident Research

Between the night of 30/04/1940 into 01/05/1940 an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk 1V K9039 from 51 Squadron, Royal Air Force flown by Sergeant Walter Richard Coveney (aged 19) and Pilot Officer John Martin Gilmer (aged 23) crashed between Burn Fell and Dunsop Bridge with both servicemen being killed.

A Supermarine Spitfire V W3628 flown by a Polish fighter pilot Sergeant T Nawrocki (aged 28) 315 Squadron Polish Air Force under British Command crashed on the 16/07/1942 at Dunsop Bridge killing the pilot.

A Boulton Paul Defiant N3338 flown by Flight Sergeant John Leslie Goulter (aged 22) a Royal Australian pilot flying with the 10th AGS, Royal Air Force crashed at Gisburn on the 24/10/1942 who was killed.

A Supermarine Spitfire V AD230 flown by a Polish pilot Wladyslaw Pucek of 317 Squadron Polish Air Force under British Command aged 28 crashed on the 28th December 1942 into White Moss Fell. The pilot was killed.