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NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

Article about: The aircraft in question here appears not to be 44-6005 but B-17G 44-8639 of the 351st BG based at Polebrook, Northamptonshire. The aircraft was trying to get in at RAF Valley but was told t

  1. #1

    Default NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Hi all,

    This is my first post so please be gentle with me!

    Today i've been clearing out the spare room in our house and found a shoebox of parts I recovered from a Welsh B17 crash site around 17 years ago. I have no idea what these parts are, can anyone on the forum help me identify them?











    I'm not sure what to do with these parts, as I now know that I shouldn't just walk off with crash site relics but I was about 15 at the time! I don't feel I should put them back, as someone else will simply walk off with them- maybe I should give them to a museum or something?

  2. #2

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Hi Lankytim,

    You're not 'Talltom' in another incarnation are you?? Just joking mate. It looks to me like there's a bomb shackle there although possibly part of a parachute harness, and a radio jack plug sans bakelite/ plastic covering.

    What to do? DO THE RIGHT THING....! Take 'em back where you got 'em from and bury them there, make it a day out, take a picnic, just don't leave them lying around waiting for the inevitable trip to the dustbin. I don't think any museum would be desperate for these pieces, although there are some here who would like them no doubt.

    I sense you feel some guilt having taken these items when you were younger, and are worried to give more details of where from....Don't. Take them back, you know it's the honest thing to do, do you not?

    Ned.
    'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
    We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
    It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
    Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'

    In memory of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, Edward Wilson, Henry Bowers, Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. South Pole Expedition, 30th March 1912.

  3. #3

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Quote by big ned View Post
    Hi Lankytim, You're not 'Talltom' in another incarnation are you? Ned.
    F$%k me...I hope not ! but it would not surprise me !
    Prost ! Steve.

  4. #4

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Thanks for the replies. I am the one and only lankytim! No idea who this Tom fella is..

    Of course the right thing to do would be to return them to where I found them, however the parts were scattered all over the surface rather than buried. The first time I visited the site there was quite a of surface debris, however when I returned a few years later most of it had gone, spiritied away! I think that if I did return them some other souvenier hunter would soon walk off with them and they could be lost forever so the whole exercise could be counterproductive. They are in no danger of being lost or thrown away at the moment, they are safely boxed up with labels to show which aircraft they came from.

  5. #5
    ?

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Third pic down looks like the end of a oxy tank retaining strap, fourth pic down longer item is as Ned says, a radio headphone jackplug. Don't think the hook is bomb shackle - as it has a safety catch to stop whatever it held coming off - you would not want that with a bomb on the end of it! Ned could be along the right lines with parachute related, but I don't recognise it - or could be from one of the safety lines for the waist gunners - but can't find a picture online.

    As for "doing the right thing" - These sites are disappearing fast - casual souveniering from both passing walkers and motivated "enthusiasts" + the effect of the elements and corrosion will all inevitably combine to remove them eventually. Sorry to those who decry this and say they should be preserved in situ and protected – at best this will only slow the process and what is left will gradually become less and less recognisable / visited anyway – a reality check needed I feel. You have them safe and labelled and hopefully have managed to impress on others around you why you feel they are of historical importance + you have shared them online – many more people have already seen them due to this than would have ever bothered about them lying on the hills – presenting this with the id of the aircraft and allowing people to discus the sacrifice of those lost in the crash would be better, but I understand your reasons – though I don’t think you have anything really to worry about, you have not removed anything significant.

  6. #6

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Much as i didnt want to take a side in this and give an opinion, i cant stop myself from declaring my total agreement with Nick.Common sense always prevails,thank goodness!

  7. #7

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Thanks for the comments. I do find these parts historically important as they are a stark reminder of the suffering and sacrifice endured by others all those years ago. I always felt especially sorry for those who died on board this aircraft, as they died a long way from home on a grim and desolate Welsh hillside. What makes the accident even more tragic is that they were returning home to the U.S when the aircraft crashed.

    Anyway, i'm feeling in a brave mood and can announce that this particular B17 is 44-6005 which crashed on Craig Cwm Llwyd in Mid Wales on June 8th, 1945

  8. #8
    ?

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Not sure exactly what your hook does, LankyTim, but here are a few in a B17 bomb bay: B-17 Bomb Bay | Zazzle.co.uk

  9. #9
    ?

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    I take it that all crew were recovered and received the appropriate burials, therefore its not what i would call a grave site, i see nothing wrong in preserving these pieces for posterity, if the authorities were at all worried then the site would have been cleared years ago, and possibly a memorial erected, keep them, enjoy them for what they are, a piece of history and in that way you are in some way honouring the sacrifice made by the crew

  10. #10

    Default Re: NEW MEMBER! B17 crash parts identification.....

    Quote by davejb View Post
    I take it that all crew were recovered and received the appropriate burials, therefore its not what i would call a grave site, i see nothing wrong in preserving these pieces for posterity, if the authorities were at all worried then the site would have been cleared years ago, and possibly a memorial erected, keep them, enjoy them for what they are, a piece of history and in that way you are in some way honouring the sacrifice made by the crew
    I agree. Honoring it is a good way to do it, I believe better than leaving it where it was. Just my opinion...

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