Two aircraft from the US 9th...

history · 18 December 1944 · 80 years ago

Two aircraft from the US 9th Air Force based at RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom were involved in a mid-air collision. The crash involved a new C-109 flown by Lieutenant Dan Wolf and an elderly B-24 Liberator, known as Lazy Lou, which had already survived two combat tours and was now being used to train C-109 crews. The C-109 was a B-24 Liberator converted into a fuel tanker aircraft with additional internal fuel tanks to carry aviation fuel to Allied airfields in liberated Europe. The C-109 plummeted into the ground killing the entire crew. Lazy Lou lost two engines and her commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis Frederick, struggled desperately with the controls in an attempt to land at RAF Cranwell but crashed short of the runway killing Colonel Frederick and Flight Engineer Paul Sattler, while "Major Jerry" was severely injured. Major Jerry was, in fact, the pet dog of Lewis Frederick who not only had his own rank but also his own log book and parachute. American personnel paid for Jerry's vet bills to ensure he received the best care in the supply section armament tent, but sadly the animal died on Boxing Day (December 26) greatly mourned by the personnel of Barkston Heath. 

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