This message was forwarded to Chris and myself concerning the real Miss Liberty Bell, via a 305th BG historian in the UK.
The story concerning the real 42-31255 Miss Liberty belle is rather unique and may I say, should appeal to a great many. Originally purchased with War Bonds from the citizens of Philadelphia City, the name was agreed upon through her first original Pilot and crew that of Richard 'Dick' Wolff from Media PA. The other connection with PA and the original ship was her Crew Chief, MSgt John Van Camp, also a resident of PA. Van Camp took care of 255 throughout her 64 missions flying from Chelveston.
It is said small handwritten notes were discovered from time to time within the airframe between missions when repairs were made, on which there were a great many. Those notes were written from citizens of Philly, allegedly, hoping that 'their' bomber would triumph and return home when war finally ended.
Sadly she did not. On Aug 3rd 1944 while returning from her 65th mission, she crashed just short of the runway at Chelveston, at the nearby village community of Wymington, Bedfordshire. The ship was crippled from anti aircraft fire suffered over Kaiserslautern on route to the target that day; Merkwiller Oil Refinery. They later suffered a number of fighter attacks, as did the majority of the 305th, over the target itself. However MLB soldiered on keeping formation on three engines. Even with severe damage, they mamaed to keep position in the High Sqn, and returned to the British coast later that afternoon, as the crossed the east coast of England, a second engine began to falter and was reduced in power. They were running then on just 2 engines, a third bearly ticking over. On approach to the field, a second plane firing red flares jumped ahead of them, forcing MLB 255 to go around for a second approach. At that moment one of the two remaining good engines began to red line and overheat, eventually catching fire. The two Pilots push the throttles on the third lazy engine, and further attempted to restart the dead forth, to try and gain power to go around again.
At less than 200 feet they banked around the village of Wymington, turning around the cottages and houses below. The dropped till level with the village church steeple, just 125 feet high, forcing the plane to skim to one side to avoid hitting it. In an amazing feat of airmanship, the Pilots brought the plane back into level flight, just 60 feet above the ground and just clearing the thatched roofs below. Witnesses saw, heard and felt the plane as it passed overhead. Shaking tea cups and plates on kitchen dressers as she headed over the village and back towards Chelveston.
In the last seconds, with one engine ablaze, two almost at a stop, MLB struck one of several tall Elm Trees (60 ft tall), ripping almost 8 ft of the top clean off. The impact was taken between the Copilots position and number three engine, causing a further explosion. The plane was wrenched from the sky and pancaked into a field right beside the High Street, by a miracle avoiding hitting the Manor Farm House and several cottages in that part of the village.
Reports of the day, most unusual to see this in local and national media newspapers, referred to heroic actions that saved the villages from almost certain death.
Roger, I have researched this whole story, mission and the crew for over ten years. Many years ago, I communicated with John Marsh a past curator-Director at Grissom; sending him the whole story and several recovered pieces of the original Miss Liberty Belle that were found at the crash site today. I regret to say I never had a further response from John in the time after, to say whether he had displayed the pieces and the photos and story on MLB????
The unique story of how this crew and the plane they flew, the one you have represented there at Grissom, I would say is a very marketable one. It is a classic example of courage and heroism by what we all consider to be The Greatest Generation.
FYI - Of the nine man crew, only two survived that crash. I tracked down both, now sadly deceased. In 2000 the 305th dedicated a wonderful plaque at the crash site. We had a group of 50 US visitors from the group at that gathering, including one of the survivors, Engineer Floyd Rowe, the widow of one of the two Pilot's, Maxine Morrill, and the younger Brother of the Radio Operator. All the village plus many more attended this event, 400 people in all. There's a small piece about this memorial in the latest CAN DO notes newsletter.
Anyhow, I just wanted to put the story of the original MLB on record just in case in the fog of time, all that I originally passed to Grissom had been lost.....
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