P38 Lightning 42-12905 on Dunsop Fell, Forest of Bowland.
On 26th January 1943 this aircraft and a number of other P38's were being flown from Goxhill to Landford Lodge (Northern Ireland) to have modifications made prior to the 78th Fighter Group being flown for use in North Africa. While flying in poor visibility this 83rd Fighter Squadron aircraft collided with P38 42-12928 (from 82nd Fighter Group) while flying in formation and both aircraft crashed on the moors of the Forest of Bowland. This aircraft could well have broken up in the air with much of the wreckage falling at the location shown below on Dunsop Fell. The other aircraft crashed a couple of miles away and is detailed on it's own webpage.
Nick Wotherspoon's "LAIT.org" website has much more information and this incident falls in his immediate area of research so I do not intend "tredding on toes" with his work.
Pilot - 1st Lt Henry Loy Perry USAAF (S.No.?). Aged 21. Buried Graceland Cemetery, Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, USA.
This is a site I've visited twice, the first time was with Alan Hudson, Ken Reast and my wife on a very wet day in October 2007. Possibly the most important find of the day was a small section of the aircraft with the aircraft's serial number on it which confirmed it was from 42-12905. Prior to finding this there had been no conclusive proof of which crash site was which aircraft. The "walker" refered to on Nick Wotherspoon's webpage was infact me. Nick later found other similar numbered panels at the other site to confirm that was 42-12928.
My wife and I returned to the area in May 2010 on a much better day so I could re-photograph the site. A small memorial was placed at the crash site by a Slaidburn Church group in April 2010.
