This is one for the anoraks......no, seriously, you'll see why! 
A matter of feet, and a matter of seconds - the difference between living well, or dying hard.
On November 3, 1948 in low cloud conditions, a Boeing Superfortress RB-29A 44-61999 "Over Exposed" of the 16th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 91st Reconnaissance Group, 311th Air Division, Strategic Air Command, USAF took off on a routine flight from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. The trip to the USAF base at Burtonwood, near Warrington should have taken no more than 25 minutes even in those conditions - the crew, navigating on instruments and looking forward to their forthcoming leave, were experienced and confident.
A slight miscalculation in flight time, a slightly stronger headwind or just bad luck resulted in "Over Exposed" emerging from the cloud too early, and too low - she crashed into the hillside on Shelf Moor near to the High Shelf Stones and was destroyed by fire, all 13 crew members being killed.
The walk to the crash site crosses Bleaklow, a high, largely peat covered, gritstone moorland, with much of it being nearly 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level. The route out follows the Pennine Way, the route back is by line of sight if you're lucky, or more typically, on compass bearings.
The route out, typical Pennine conditions
The Wreck Site
A very poignant explore (in the truest sense of the word), a reminder that death can happen in the blink of an eye. Thanks for taking the time to look.
A matter of feet, and a matter of seconds - the difference between living well, or dying hard.
On November 3, 1948 in low cloud conditions, a Boeing Superfortress RB-29A 44-61999 "Over Exposed" of the 16th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 91st Reconnaissance Group, 311th Air Division, Strategic Air Command, USAF took off on a routine flight from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. The trip to the USAF base at Burtonwood, near Warrington should have taken no more than 25 minutes even in those conditions - the crew, navigating on instruments and looking forward to their forthcoming leave, were experienced and confident.
A slight miscalculation in flight time, a slightly stronger headwind or just bad luck resulted in "Over Exposed" emerging from the cloud too early, and too low - she crashed into the hillside on Shelf Moor near to the High Shelf Stones and was destroyed by fire, all 13 crew members being killed.
The walk to the crash site crosses Bleaklow, a high, largely peat covered, gritstone moorland, with much of it being nearly 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level. The route out follows the Pennine Way, the route back is by line of sight if you're lucky, or more typically, on compass bearings.
The route out, typical Pennine conditions
The Wreck Site
