Allied – P51 Mustang -10’s

On February 6, 1945, terrible weather conditions caused two Mustang pilots to lose control of their aircraft and crash dangerously near to one other, sadly both pilots died in the accidents. The combination of the visibility being reduced to less than 700 yards and the ceiling being barely 700 feet proved to be a disastrous one for both the aircraft and the pilots who were operating them.

2nd Lt. Gerald W. Palmer flying 44-14383 and Capt. Robert W. Bloxham flying 44-13379 made the mistake of misjudging the ground sea distances and ended up crashing on Puckpool beach. While Palmer’s aircraft, the “Umbriago,” went into the sea at around 2:35 p.m., Bloxham’s aircraft, the “Miss Idaho,” was not discovered until a week later.

Note: All images are merely representative of the aircraft and not specific

• All images are of similar aircraft and not the specific plane in question
• Wight Air Wrecks – A T Gilliam ISBN 0-7524-2376-2
• Battle in the Skies – H J Leal (IWCP)