On the morning of 26th January 1943,a consignment of
some 45 Lockheed P-38s left their 78th Fighter Group
base at AAF Station Goxhill, Lincolnshire, for a trip
to Base Air Depot 3 at Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland
for modification for use in tropical cimates.
Whilst enroute the flight encountered bad weather and
dense cloud made visibility very poor, so poor in fact
that two of the aircraft suffered a mid-air collision
over the Pennines, one of the aircraft 42-12905 dived
into the ground at Dunsop Fell,above Slaidburn, whilst
the other, struck the barren moorland a mile further
on at Baxton Fell, both pilots were killed in the two
losses.
Pilot of 42-12905: 1/Lt H.L.Perry.
Pilot of 42-12928: 2/Lt S.L.White.
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P-38s 42-12978/12905. W.Pen.
