SHEFFIELD AIRCRAFT CRASHES WORLD WAR 2 - 1939 - 1945
When I was researching the events surrounding the destruction and the loss of life at the Marples public house in Sheffield 12th December I came across a newspaper report that stated that two German bombers had been shot down in the raid. In hindsight the report proved to be a combination of both censorship and propaganda - no German planes were shot down over Sheffield that night or any other night for that matter.
Sadly the only planes to have crashed in Sheffield during the war were allied planes. In total, eleven aircraft crashed or made forced landings in Sheffield during the war period. There were no injuries to civilians, but fourteen crew members were killed and four injured.
The worst incident by far was on February 22nd, 1944, when all the crew of ten in an US B17 Flying Fortress codenamed Mi Amigo were killed when it crashed in Endc1iffe Park (Hunters Bar). The events surrounding the crash are well documented elsewhere but briefly the bomber was eighty miles adrift of its correct bearings having carried severe battle damage. It had taken part on a weather-aborted raid on Alborg in (Occupied) Denmark. A book was published in 1997 by a local historian David Harvey which details the history of both the plane and the crew
The second worst incident occurred on January 26th, 1941. A Blenheim bomber came down on Burbage Moor, the crew of three being killed.
A Hampden bomber which crashed in Concord Park on April 19th, 1941, was completely smashed and burned out. Of its crew of two, one was killed and the other injured. From the scant information available it appears that the Hampden P1248 hit a barrage-balloon cable, presumably killing the observer/navigator - Pilot Officer J.B. Ranson, and then crashed. The pilot, Pilot Officer Allsebrook, escaped by parachute. Enquiries in the Park area, however, have failed to provide impact site for either incident. Details of the fatality are from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
| Name: | RANSON, JEFFERY BOHUN |
|---|---|
| Initials: | J B |
| Nationality: | United Kingdom |
| Rank: | Pilot Officer (Obs.) |
| Regiment/Service: | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
| Age: | 26 |
| Date of Death: | 19/04/1941 |
| Service No: | 61957 |
| Additional information: | Son of Ernest and Florence Ranson, of East Hanningfield, Essex. |
| Casualty Type: | Commonwealth War Dead |
| Grave/Memorial Reference: | Sec. H. Grave 994. |
| Cemetery: | SHEFFIELD (CITY ROAD) CEMETERY |
Three of the crew of five of a Wellington bomber which was wrecked and partly burned out when it came down on Rudd Hill, Hallam Moors, on July 17th, 1942, were injured.
A Speed Oxford Trainer was wrecked when it fell in a field at Woodhouse on July 12th, 1941, but the pilot instructor and his pupil had parachuted from the plane
A Fairey Battle training plane was badly damaged about the undercarriage and propeller when its Polish pilot made a forced landing on August 24th, 1941, on Burbage Moor, near Sheephill Road.
The five other aircraft that came down were undamaged, and four were able to take off under their own power. The dates and places were:
October 30th, 1940, Greenhill Hall Farm;
November 23rd, 1941, Longley Park;
July 8th, 1943, Concord Park; - ironically it was another Hampden bomber but fortunately this time it was just precautionary landing. It flew off some days later
November 8th, 1943, Old Norton aerodrome; RAF
Norton was No. 16 Balloon Centre.(Barrage
Balloons).The centre comprised of three Squadrons.
939 (West Riding),940 (West Riding) and 941 (West Riding). Each squadron had
three flights comprising 8 balloons each. It was not a conventional RAF station
with runways etc
February 18th, 1944, Norton aerodrome .
This page was last updated on 26/06/12 12:43