Greenham Common, England — Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, officially dedicated three memorial stones for U.S. visiting forces at the Greenham Business Park in Greenham Common, England, on September 21.
The three-part memorial is in remembrance of 16 airmen killed when two B-17 Flying Fortresses collided above Greenham Common on December 15, 1944; 33 service members who died three days earlier when their Horsa glider crashed on takeoff at the base; and all American servicemen who were based locally and lost their lives in World War II.
“We are here to remember the 49 airmen who gave their lives in 1944 and also all who served in the area,” said Colonel Brian Kelly, 501st Combat Support Wing commander, whose wing at RAF Alconbury can trace its history back to the 501st Tactical Missile Wing stationed at RAF Greenham Common from 1982 to 1991. “We can look back at the sacrifice and struggles that united our two great nations. For the last 70 years our nations have stood shoulder-to-shoulder protecting the world, and our relationship is stronger than ever, as these memorials show.”
Greenham Common was one of the main staging points for thousands of U.S. troops in the run-up to D-Day, and continued to host U.S. Air Force units until it was closed in 1992 and converted into a nature reserve and business park.
First Part of Memorial: B17 Flying Fortress crash
The two B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group were returning from a mission over the German industrial city of Kassel when the accident occurred.
The aircrews of the 306th, known as the Reich Wreckers, were some of the most experienced in the U.S. Army Air Forces, but fog enveloped northern Europe that night; the targets in Kassel were so obscured the bombs had to be dropped by radar. The weather worsened on their return to England, and the two bombers, leading the formation back to their base at RAF Thurleigh, were diverted to RAF Greenham Common. At about 2,100 feet, the B-17 piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Charles Crooks collided with the B-17 piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Lorn Wilke.
Both planes crashed near Greenham Common, killing all but two of the 18 crewmen. Wilke remembered hearing a loud noise followed by an explosion. His plane blew apart at the cockpit and he and his co-pilot, 1st Lieutenant John Murphy, were able to bail out and deploy their parachutes. Crooks and the entire crew of his plane were killed. Because of the bad weather, the collision was unseen by other flyers in the formation.
According to the USAAF accident report, dated January 1945: “The accident was unavoidable. The formation ran into conditions of extreme poor visibility and it is apparent that neither pilot saw the other aircraft.”
Second Part of Memorial: Horsa Glider Crash
On December 12, 1944, 31 paratroopers from the 17th Airborne Division, mostly from the 194th Glider Infantry Regiment, and two glider pilots of the 88th Troop Carrier Squadron gathered at RAF Greenham Common for Horsa glider flight training.
The Horsa was constructed almost entirely of molded plywood and was bolted together in sections. The British had solved the problem of fast unloading by fixing an explosive on the rear section. Upon landing, the rear end blew off to allow easy egress. A live charge while the glider was in flight was certainly not a comforting thought for the troops inside.
Walt Wrzeszczynski, a medic with 194th Glider Infantry Regiment, was waiting on the flightline for the next available Horsa.
“Everything looked fine,” he said. “The glider was flying along smoothly when all of a sudden the tail section just came off. There was no explosion; it just fell off.”
“The glider swayed and flopped around at the end of the tow line and sank lower and lower,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “It seemed to be pulling the tow plane down. Suddenly, it either cut loose or was cut loose and then it went almost straight down. It was all over in just a few seconds.”
Third Part of Memorial: American Servicemen Who Lost Their Lives
Greenham Common and the immediate area played a prominent role in the preparations and launch of D-Day in 1944. The third part of the memorial honors the men who served at RAF Greenham Common or were stationed in the surrounding area who gave their lives in the name of freedom.
In October 1943, the U.S. Army Air Forces took control of RAF Greenham Common as the preparations intensified for D-Day. Meanwhile, paratroopers from Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Regiment, whose heroism is commemorated in the book and television series Band of Brothers, were in the nearby villages of Aldbourne and Ramsbury.
Winston Churchill visited nearby RAF Welford on March 23, 1944, to inspect the troops and meet Brigadier General Don Pratt of the 101st Airborne Division. By early June 1944, forces were at a high state of readiness. Greenham’s role changed to accommodate troop-transport C-47 Dakotas, and the base was earmarked as an assembly point for CG-4A assault gliders and the British-made Horsa gliders.
On the night of June 5, 1944, the base was ringed with armed troops. General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived to watch the first troops leave by Dakota bound for the shores of Normandy. He told the soldiers, “The eyes of the world are upon you.” More than 80 Dakotas carrying 1,430 men from the 502nd Parachute Regiment left the base at 11-second intervals. Aircraft also towed Horsa and Hadrian gliders to the front in France and later carried the wounded back for treatment in Britain.