On the 16th December 1944, 2nd Lt. George A.Kyle, Jr. and his crew took off from Molesworth in B17 44-6504 to bomb the Marshalling Yards at Ulm in Germany. The weather was poor and when the bomber force struggled to form up over the North Sea. With no sign of the weather over the target improving, the mission was aborted and the bomber force was diverted to various RAF stations in Lincolnshire, 44-6504 to North Killingholme. On the return the Gee and Radio Compass failed and 44-6504 became lost and drifted north. Eventually a fix was made which placed the aircraft over Edinburgh and a compass course was set for home.
At around 13:00hrs the aircraft struck the side of 2,676ft The Cheviot on the England/Scotland border, narrowly missing the rocky outcrop known as Braydon Crag. Two of the crew, Fred Holbombe and Frank Turner, positioned in the nose of the aircraft, were sadly killed on impact. Kyle, Hardy and Schieferstein escaped the crumpled cockpit and made their way down the mountain to Mount Hooly Farm. The rest of the crew, Delaney, Kaufmann, Smith and Berly, escaped by their own means and were reunited on the snow swept hill. Two local shepherds rescued them some hours later, when their Collie sniffed them out sheltering in a peat gully.
Two hours after the rescue the bombs, which were still onboard the aircraft, exploded.
Shepherds, Frank Moscrop and John Dagg were awarded the British Empire Medal for their part in the rescue of the crew from the blizzard swept mountain. Sheila, the Collie, was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
The crew were:
2nd Lt George Anderson Kyle, Jr. (Pilot)
F/O James H. Hardy (Co-Pilot)
Sgt Ernest G. Schieferstein (Engineer)
Sgt Howard F. Delaney (Tail Gunner)
Sgt William R. Kaufmann (Waist Gunner)
Sgt George P. Smith (Ball Turret Gunner)
Sgt Joel A. Berly, Jr. (Radio Operator)
Killed in action were:
F/O Fred Holcombe (Navigator)
Sgt Frank R. Turner (Togglier)
At around 13:00hrs the aircraft struck the side of 2,676ft The Cheviot on the England/Scotland border, narrowly missing the rocky outcrop known as Braydon Crag. Two of the crew, Fred Holbombe and Frank Turner, positioned in the nose of the aircraft, were sadly killed on impact. Kyle, Hardy and Schieferstein escaped the crumpled cockpit and made their way down the mountain to Mount Hooly Farm. The rest of the crew, Delaney, Kaufmann, Smith and Berly, escaped by their own means and were reunited on the snow swept hill. Two local shepherds rescued them some hours later, when their Collie sniffed them out sheltering in a peat gully.
Two hours after the rescue the bombs, which were still onboard the aircraft, exploded.
Shepherds, Frank Moscrop and John Dagg were awarded the British Empire Medal for their part in the rescue of the crew from the blizzard swept mountain. Sheila, the Collie, was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
The crew were:
2nd Lt George Anderson Kyle, Jr. (Pilot)
F/O James H. Hardy (Co-Pilot)
Sgt Ernest G. Schieferstein (Engineer)
Sgt Howard F. Delaney (Tail Gunner)
Sgt William R. Kaufmann (Waist Gunner)
Sgt George P. Smith (Ball Turret Gunner)
Sgt Joel A. Berly, Jr. (Radio Operator)
Killed in action were:
F/O Fred Holcombe (Navigator)
Sgt Frank R. Turner (Togglier)
On the 16th December 1944, 2nd Lt. George A.Kyle, Jr. and his crew took off from Molesworth in B17 44-6504 to bomb the Marshalling Yards at Ulm in Germany. The weather was poor and when the bomber force struggled to form up over the North Sea. With no sign of the weather over the target improving, the mission was aborted and the bomber force was diverted to various RAF stations in Lincolnshire, 44-6504 to North Killingholme. On the return the Gee and Radio Compass failed and 44-6504 became lost and drifted north. Eventually a fix was made which placed the aircraft over Edinburgh and a compass course was set for home.
At around 13:00hrs the aircraft struck the side of 2,676ft The Cheviot on the England/Scotland border, narrowly missing the rocky outcrop known as Braydon Crag. Two of the crew, Fred Holbombe and Frank Turner, positioned in the nose of the aircraft, were sadly killed on impact. Kyle, Hardy and Schieferstein escaped the crumpled cockpit and made their way down the mountain to Mount Hooly Farm. The rest of the crew, Delaney, Kaufmann, Smith and Berly, escaped by their own means and were reunited on the snow swept hill. Two local shepherds rescued them some hours later, when their Collie sniffed them out sheltering in a peat gully.
Two hours after the rescue the bombs, which were still onboard the aircraft, exploded.
Shepherds, Frank Moscrop and John Dagg were awarded the British Empire Medal for their part in the rescue of the crew from the blizzard swept mountain. Sheila, the Collie, was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
The crew were:
2nd Lt George Anderson Kyle, Jr. (Pilot)
F/O James H. Hardy (Co-Pilot)
Sgt Ernest G. Schieferstein (Engineer)
Sgt Howard F. Delaney (Tail Gunner)
Sgt William R. Kaufmann (Waist Gunner)
Sgt George P. Smith (Ball Turret Gunner)
Sgt Joel A. Berly, Jr. (Radio Operator)
Killed in action were:
F/O Fred Holcombe (Navigator)
Sgt Frank R. Turner (Togglier)
At around 13:00hrs the aircraft struck the side of 2,676ft The Cheviot on the England/Scotland border, narrowly missing the rocky outcrop known as Braydon Crag. Two of the crew, Fred Holbombe and Frank Turner, positioned in the nose of the aircraft, were sadly killed on impact. Kyle, Hardy and Schieferstein escaped the crumpled cockpit and made their way down the mountain to Mount Hooly Farm. The rest of the crew, Delaney, Kaufmann, Smith and Berly, escaped by their own means and were reunited on the snow swept hill. Two local shepherds rescued them some hours later, when their Collie sniffed them out sheltering in a peat gully.
Two hours after the rescue the bombs, which were still onboard the aircraft, exploded.
Shepherds, Frank Moscrop and John Dagg were awarded the British Empire Medal for their part in the rescue of the crew from the blizzard swept mountain. Sheila, the Collie, was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
The crew were:
2nd Lt George Anderson Kyle, Jr. (Pilot)
F/O James H. Hardy (Co-Pilot)
Sgt Ernest G. Schieferstein (Engineer)
Sgt Howard F. Delaney (Tail Gunner)
Sgt William R. Kaufmann (Waist Gunner)
Sgt George P. Smith (Ball Turret Gunner)
Sgt Joel A. Berly, Jr. (Radio Operator)
Killed in action were:
F/O Fred Holcombe (Navigator)
Sgt Frank R. Turner (Togglier)
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