US/UK WWII Memorial

[4129R]

This is for you on the other side of the pond to show we haven't forgotten you.

I live in a converted barn, built around 1850, which I converted into a 4 bedroom 3500 sq ft house 2000-2012.

On 31st August 1943, a B17 Flying Fortress Eager Eagle crashed in my back garden. 

Last weekend was the 75th anniversary of this crash. The plaque was put up 2 years ago. I put the flags up for the 75th anniversary.

The telegraph pole is where a tree was which the B17 took out when it crashed. The tree to the right has a small bit of the aircraft stuck in the top.

More about the incident here.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=158803

Lest we forget.

[BDA]

That's a very nice memorial. Thanks for remembering. A lot of us on this side of the pond still remember too, though most of those who do weren't as directly involved as you.

[4129R]

I have dug plenty of .50 cal bullets and casings out of the garden, including 2 live rounds. The lead and brass do not corrode.

I would not want to be in the way of a .50 round, it would rip you apart.

[BDA]

At 1/2" diameter, four ounces of lead traveling 2800 fps, it rips lots of things apart! With eleven or twelve guns on a B-17, I'll bet you found a lot!

[andy harwood]

Very impressive. Thanks for taking the time and effort to honor the Airmen. I had a relative who was a belly gunner on a B17. I actually realized what he faced each time he flew a mission when I got to climb around in a B17. To be enclosed in the in that ball turret...