ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 113591
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| Date: | Saturday 13 January 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  North American P-51D Mustang |
| Owner/operator: | 350th FSqn /353rd FGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 44-11343 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Lindsey, Suffolk -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
On Saturday 13 January 1945, during Eighth Air Force Mission 791, 958 bombers and 469 fighters were dispatched to hit marshalling yards and Rhine rail bridges mostly by PFF methods; 7 B-17s, 1 B-24 and 2 P-51s were lost over Germany, while 13 more aircraft (5 B-17s, 1 B-24 and 7 P-51s) crashed in Allied territory.
This day saw typical British winter weather, the sort that is particularly poor for flying; bad icing, thick cloud and snow storms. The fighter groups of the 8th Air Force were nonetheless tasked with escorting the heavy bombers. This resulted in the deaths of six fighter pilots as their Mustangs crashed within the space of about an hour in East Anglia that morning. Very probably all the crashes were the result of the pilots suffering from vertigo – severe disorientation while relying on instruments, something that was difficult to train for in the clear skies of the American mid-west.
The P51D-5NT 44-11343 of 350th FS, 353rd FG which came down in front of Folly Farm, Lindsey at around 11:00 was that of Lt George S.H. Lee, an American of Chinese descent. He had taken off on a mission to escort B17 Flying Fortresses of the 3rd Air Division on an attack on railway bridges over the Rhine and railway marshalling yards in the same area. The weather was poor with light drizzle and overcast from 800ft to 3500ft, cloud cover was 8/10 with scudding cloud below the overcast.
Lt Lee was seen at 4000ft, when for unknown reasons he had to return to base. During the descent through the cloud he lost control of the aircraft and came out at high speed. At a low altitude the left drop tank was seen to detach, causing the right wing to drop. The aircraft impacted into a small stream almost vertically and exploded. The drop tank landed approximately 25yds behind the aircraft. The crash was about 6 miles NW of Raydon in Suffolk.
The 353rd had flown their last mission with P47 Thunderbolts on 10th November 1944, from then on flying P51 Mustangs. At the time of his death Lt lee had a total of 420 hrs, 184 of them on P51’s. Unusually he had 6hrs night flying in the previous 6 months, a rare occurrence in a ‘normal’ Eighth Air Force unit.
This had crashed in a ditch but had not penetrated the ground to any great degree, however several recognisable parts were found including a rudder pedal, propeller blade and part of mainwheel rim.
Sources:
http://www.sweffling.freeserve.co.uk/13%20jan.htm
http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii/usaf/html/Jan.45.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsey,_Suffolk
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Jan-2016 08:52 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Jan-2017 09:46 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Feb-2020 19:00 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 23-Jan-2021 15:46 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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