Boeing B-17 42-97286 on Beinn Nuis, Isle of Arran.
On 10th December 1944 the crew of this aircraft were flying a cross-country training flight from Knettishall, Suffolk to
Prestwick, Ayrshire and they took off at 10.00hrs.
The aircraft flew into a cliff face on the eastern side of Beinn Nuis on the Isle of Arran and sadly all on board were killed.
The wreckage was not found until 3rd March 1945.
Pilot - Captain John Nuchols Littlejohn Jnr USAAF (O-809974) GA
Co Pilot - 2nd Lt Robert Nelson Stoaks USAAF (02063886) CA
Navigator - 2nd Lt William Victor Frey USAAF (02068646) IL
Navigator - 1st Lt Richard William Rosebasky USAAF (O-723689) MT
Bomb Aimer - 2nd Lt Leonard Wilbur Bond USAAF (O-555353) MI
Engineer - Cpl Joseph Alva Payne USAAF (34635346) MS
Radio Operator - Cpl Albert Edward Thomas USAAF (35288004 OH
M Passenger - Major James Russell Bell USAAF (O-473701) PA
W Passenger - 2nd Lt Jack Dean Merkley USAAF (O-719512) ID
Passenger - M/Sgt Charles S Brown USAAF (13023651) WI
Passenger - S/Sgt Wade Dalton Kriner USAAF (33756618) PA
Littlejohn "entered service" from Georgia and is now buried along with two of his crew in a Group Burial at Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Maxwell, Lincoln County, Nebraska. Burial took place on 17 May 1949.
I visited the crash site in July 2014 in poor weather and as a result the photographs shown here are not as great I would have hoped for. The three aircraft that crashed on Beinn Nuis are shown on this photograph; the Lodestar crashed in the cloud on the right, the B17 crashed in the centre on the rockface just in the cloud and the B24 crashed over the horizon on the left but wreckage from it is scattered down the hillside on the left of this photograph.
This aircraft crashed into the rock face on the east side of Beinn Nuis.
Some of the wreckage was buried on this site while some appears to have been left behind rocks. The aircraft's main spar was buried just below the rock face and is shown partly uncovered in the photograph above.
One of the aircraft's main wheels and part of the undercarriage leg.
Another collection of buried wreckage.
A buried engine cowling panel with something solid below it; possibly an engine?
An example of a Boeing part number and inspection markings.
Less than perfect conditions underfoot! I think this photograph shows some wreckage scattered downhill but it could be looking uphill.
A stringer from the B17 - this is included to be compared with a part found at a crash site in the Lake District.
