_{UNLUCKY MISS}

The occupants of Crown Farm were lucky when the B24 crashed some 50yds from the house,  escaping injury and major damage to their home, they had had a very near miss. One Liberator crew also had had a near miss, in that they were lucky to survive; another crew wasn't so lucky. During assembly, when the seemingly endless formations of the American bombers circled above East Anglia,  while individual aircraft formed into flights, flights into squadrons, squadrons into groups, groups into wings, the opportunity for collision was at its highest. Lt Roy Flatt and his crew in B24J 44-10515 clipped the underside of Lt Mateckos' aircraft. The cause wasn't established for sure but it is likely that Lt Flatt briefly lost control as his aircraft hit the prop wash, or turbulence from the propellers, of another aircraft within the formation.  Although Lt Mateckos' machine was only slightly damaged and managed to fly on to the target, both vertical stabilisers of Lt Flatts aircraft were broken off and it spun away out of control . A heavily laden B24 in a spin was something that few crews survived to talk about. This crew, on their third mission, was no different; all ten men died here on 6^th February 1945.

Lt Roy F Flatt    pilot

Lt Robert W McCormack    co-pilot

Lt Henry Daniel    navigator

Lt Ralph W Andrew    bombardier

Sgt James E Tyree    engineer

Sgt Fred H Dieckhoff    radio operator

Sgt Joseph K Rilett    tail gunner

Sgt Carl W Toll     nose gunner

Sgt Hubert W Williams    top gunner

Sgt Antonio Ortella    waist gunner

Ironically more damage was done to Crown Farm, Deopham, in Norfolk, when the bomb load was detonated some days later than when the aircraft actually crashed.

The crew and aircraft were assigned to the 734^th Bomb Sqn, 453^rd Bomb Group based at Old Buckenham.

Many small items were found in the field in front of the house including a crushed flak helmet. (left) This would have been worn in the target area as protection, it was stuffed with 'chaff', thin aluminium strips, to be dropped to confuse the German radar targeted anti-aircraft guns. Another find (right) was remnants of a torch, essential for the crew inside the unlit fuselage on dark winters mornings.