ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 114424
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| Date: | Saturday 13 January 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  North American P-51K Mustang |
| Owner/operator: | 369th FSqn /359th FGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 44-11686 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Moat Farm, Ashill, Norfolk -
 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 P51K-5NT 44-11686 IV-N of 369th FS, 359th FG, crashed at Moat Farm, Ashill. The pilot of this aircraft, Capt. Karl Shearer, of Vandalia, Ohio, had already done a tour as a lead pilot on B24 Liberators with the 453rd BG flying from Old Buckenham. Able to return home, he instead opted for a transfer to fighters. Although an experienced pilot, Shearer had only 39 hours flying time on Mustangs. After take off he was to climb through the overcast in formation as the number four man of a flight of four. On reaching the top of the clouds the two and four men were missing; after number two appeared, attempts were made to contact Shearer via his radio callsign, ’Tinplate 50’. These were unsuccessful, eventually a crashed Mustang reported by another airfield was proved to be his and his body was found deep in the wreckage.
The land-owner, a young boy at the time, had been at home from school when it crashed and recalled it vividly, he was convinced however that the unfortunate Capt Shearer was still buried in his field. He was to be proved wrong, the wartime recovery crew had been very thorough in removing everything of the plane to get him out with the exception of what would have been below his body, therefore effectively everything forward of the instrument panel was found. When the Packard Merlin was recovered it could be seen from the angle that it laid in the ground that the aircraft had impacted almost vertically.
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/Ashill,_Norfolk
http://www.maplandia.com/united-kingdom/england/east-anglia/norfolk-county/ashill/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Jan-2016 14:24 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Jan-2017 09:40 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Feb-2020 18:56 | Iwosh | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 23-Jan-2021 15:30 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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