Dan Walker, His Mate Tony, And The Ww2 U.s. Bomber.

[10ClarionSt]

Did anyone see The Chase tonight? Dan Walker took the chance to remind everyone about the tale of Tony and the U.S. bomber over Sheffield in WW2. A friend of mine who served in the RAF, reckoned there was something not right with Tonys' version. If you remember, Tony said the bomber circled three times, as though looking for somewhere to put the plane down, and the crew were gesturing to him to move out of the way. A heroic thing to do and something he never forgot. However, my friend said that if the plane had enough time and fuel to circle three times, that was enough for them to have cleared the city and put the plane down in the ample countryside that surrounds Sheffield. I couldn't dispute that because I don't know anything about aircraft. Is there anyone who would agree my friend? Or totally disagree?

[shoota]

Makes sense, as long as the damage didn't preclude the plane from flying straight.

[10ClarionSt]

Thanks shoota. Just to correct the next to last sentence: Is there anyone who would agree with my friend?

[THECORBYLOON]

Ten men died in the crash. Whether they circled once, twice or three times, I doubt it matters a great deal.

He spends hours most weeks, tending their memorial, in thanks for saving his life on the day.

[10ClarionSt]

He surely does. And it's good of him to do so. But his version of the event doesn't make sense to a RAF veteran.

[THECORBYLOON]

He was eight-years old at the time. If his memory of events varies slightly with what actually happened, who would know?

[10ClarionSt]

It seems that everyone relied on his memory. Look at the coverage he received! He couldn't have been mistaken could he? Well, at least the plane crashed, so he must be correct in everything he said, right? I shouldn't be so harsh. He almost dutiyfully tends their memorial. Good for him.

[retrocop]

Not familiar with this story to that extent, I can't remember the circumstances why the aircraft became unserviceable , What height did problems occur? If problems occurred at low altitude I can understand all crew on board remaining. Malfunction on t/o for instance. If at height why did the rest of the crew not bail out?

[THECORBYLOON]

He came to wider attention only because Dan Walker seen him tending the memorial earlier this year and he has been doing it for decades.

He first began visiting the original memorial aged seventeen and has been tending the permanent memorial since it was created in 1969.

[10ClarionSt]

Retro, as an 8yr old boy in 1944, he was playing with his mates in a Sheffield park when a shot up US bomber appeared and circled over the park 3 times. "Tony" saw one of the crew waving for him to get out of the way, and when he did, the plane crashed in the park killing all those on board. Tony said the crew saved his life, and he's never forgotten it.

[bednobs]

why the inverted commas on "tony"? Is there some doubt that's his name?

[vulcan42]

The greater tragedy of this story is that these men might have died because of an instrument failure. They had taken off from their base at Chelveston, 36 miles west of Cambridge and headed for Aalborg in Denmark to bomb the Luftwaffe air base. The group were attacked by enemy fighters and after three of the bombers were shot down the attack was called off and they returned to England, jettisoning their bombs over the North sea.The aircraft, Mi Amigo, had been badly damaged and as the engine problems increased they descended through the cloud and found they were over Sheffield. I'm not sure how they knew it was Sheffield as they were off course, Chelveston lay eighty miles south east of them. From Aalbrerg to Sheffield it's approx 523 miles, to Chelveston it is 530. The irony of this sad event is that if their compass had been working they would have reached Chelveston and crash landed on the very airfield they had departed from, and possibly even survived.

[10ClarionSt]

Thanks Vulcan. Good post.

Bedknobs, I wasn't sure if he was called Tony.