Ref Number: 00199
At the end of December 1943 another Lockheed Lightning from 20th Fighter Group crashed while attempting to land at Somerton.
Ref Number: 00199
At the end of December 1943, a second Lockheed Lightning belonging to the 20th Fighter Group was involved in an accident while trying to land at Somerton. After completing one of the longest bomber escort missions of the war, the P38 was down to its last few drops of gasoline.
After taking off from Kingscliffe, which is located in Northants, it had been on a mission over Bordeaux during a journey that covered a total of 1300 miles round trip. The mission’s aeroplanes were all in the same boat; they were running short on fuel and needed to arrive as soon as possible. As a result, several of the planes were now rerouting their flights to land at alternate runways.
Captain Richard C. Garrett, the pilot, was making an approach when he took the split-second decision to overshoot the target and do a U-turn. As he was drawing up, his run of good luck came to an end, and the engines cut. This meant that he was rapidly approaching the surface.
The aircraft came to a stop in the wooded area known as Ruffins Copse, near Northwood, which was located to the west of the airfield. The workers raced to the site of the accident and assisted the unharmed Garrett in exiting the aircraft in a secure manner before the aircraft subsequently burst into flames.
It is said that after the incident, an aircraft from the 20th Fighter Group flew low over the field and dropped packages of cigarettes as a thank you gesture to the soldiers who aided Captain Garrett.
Note: All images are merely representative of the aircraft and not specific.
