Date:	Wednesday 13 January 1943
Time:	11:30
Type:	Lockheed P-38G Lightning
Owner/operator:	31th FSqn /1th FGp USAAF
Registration:	42-12882
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bush Farm, 1 mile south of Great Sampford, Essex, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Debden, Essex
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On the official report into this crash held in the USAF archives it is filed under category, "B. Collisions in full flight with objects other than aircraft." This has led to some incorrect listings as a mid-air collision accident. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown but after the examination of the four eyewitness accounts the USAAF investigators concluded that-"The only witnesses to the crash, and to the actions of the airplane immediately preceding the crash, were people not sufficiently familiar with aviation to give a clear and intelligent story on what happened. Cockpit and engines of the aircraft were so badly damaged by fire that nothing could be learned from examination of the remains of the controls. Because of this no definite conclusions can be reached. It is assumed that there was engine trouble of some sort and that the pilot attempted a right turn either to try to reach Great Sampford Airfield scarcely a mile away, or to turn into the wind to attempt a landing on farmland. It appears control was lost in the turn probably due to insufficient airspeed and the aircraft dived into the ground from a low altitude. One of the witnesses reported the P-38 as "exploding in mid-air", while the others report much the same as the above. Weather conditions were also ruled out from being any factor in the cause of the crash. So this one is still a bit of a mystery, and appears to have been down to some mechanical malfunction. No photograph of pilot or the crash site is available at present.
Pilot Richard H. Wells killed.
R.I.P.

Aircraft Accident and Incident Reports 1940 Through to 1948 as held by the Air Force Historical Research Agency in the USA-via Tim Heath of the MIA Group 2012.
Aviation Archaeology - USAAF Overseas Losses 1943.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
05-Jan-2012 13:23	Anon.	Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Departure airport, Narrative]
23-Feb-2012 12:36	Anon.	Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative]
20-Feb-2022 03:22	angels one five	Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative]
10-Jun-2022 19:39	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator]