LONG ROW LIGHTNING
At 1:17pm Green Flight of the 385th Fighter Squadron took off from Honington airfield in northwest Suffolk for the afternoons mission. This day, 29th March 1944, Green flight, along with the rest of the 364th Fighter Group were tasked with withdrawal support and the strafing of ground targets. Leading these four P-38J Lockheed Lightning aircraft, was Lt Marcus Linn, Green 2 was flown by Lt Duane Owens. Green 3 was Lt Smith; Lt Vann flew as Green 4. The 364th FG were still relative novices; this was their 17th operation over occupied Europe, their first having been flown at the beginning of the month.
The weather that day was typical of what many of the veterans now think of when recalling English spring and autumn; overcast with light drizzle. From the flyers point of view it meant that they would have climb through cloud from about 1300ft before breaking out between 9-10,000ft. With their Allison engines running at 2300rpm and boosted to 35 inches of mercury by the turbo superchargers the flight climbed comfortably at 190mph. Levelling off in the overcast at about 4000ft, Lt Smiths' aircraft was seen to move over until it was directly behind the lead aircraft, he then moved back out and continued out into the overcast fading from view for the last time. The reason for his disappearance will remain unknown; no radio calls to suggest an emergency were received.
Lt Curtis A Smith of Coleman, Michigan
At around the same time Lt Gene Vann also became separated from the flight following the failure of his No1 engine. Making an emergency downwind landing at Knettishall airfield, he touched down half way along the runway, running off the end and into a field where his P-38 came to a rest on its belly, the undercarriage having collapsed. Lt Vann survived with minor cuts and bruises.
At approximately 13:55, the Flying Control Officer at Honington was notified of the crash of one of their aircraft, serial 42-67895; this was Lt Curtis A. Smiths' P38. He had been killed instantly and the aircraft was destroyed.
The crash occurred at the end of the 'Long Row' at Tivetshall near Diss in Norfolk, close to the airfield at Tibenham. Fate littered a small area here with crashes, a B24 came down in the same field, the one it collided with crashed in an adjoining field, and another B24 crashed on the opposite side of the road.
The site of Curtis Smith's crash was located and excavated in 1988 when both Allison engines, a propeller blade, cockpit controls and instruments, first aid and escape kits, the pilots parachute and dinghy were recovered along with large amounts of airframe.
Lt Smith was originally buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery, at Madingley, after the war he was returned home to his final resting place, the Warren Township Cemetery, outside Coleman, Michigan.
Of the other members of Green flight, Lt Marcus Linn was killed in a training accident on 3rd May 1944, Duane Owens was shot down and made PoW in August 1944. Only Lt Gene Vann survived to complete his tour.
Aircraft control yoke
Engine
data plate - Allison V-1710 - 28 litre V12
Escape kit containing
forged money, silk maps, compass and saw blade.
Pilots seat harness lap strap
Signal pistol
Manufactuers details on parachute
First aid kit
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Also on the same day Lt Kenneth Shaffer, of the 383rd Sqn, baled out following instrument failure in cloud. His machine crashed near the 100thBomb Group airfield at Thorpe Abbots. This site was excavated by the 100thBG Memorial Air Museum in 1990 when an engine and undercarriage leg of P38J 42-67455 was recovered.
