Monument record 9970/1 - Probable WW2 aircraft crash site, north-east of Red Gables Farm

A probable Second World War aircraft crash site is visible on historic aerial photographs. Located in a field about 295 metres NE of Red Gables Farm, Bozeat, this is the crash site of an American B-17G Bomber (ser. #44-8275) of the USAAF's 379th Heavy Bomber Group which set out from RAF Kimbolton on 16th December 1944 to attack Stuttgart's railway network but bomber suffered engine failure. The B-17's probable crash site is visible as a pale spread of material in the field some 60 metres in diameter.

{1-2} A probable Second World War aircraft crash site is visible on historic aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located in a field about 295 metres NE of Red Gables Farm, Bozeat and centred at SP 90877 60118, this is the crash site of an American B-17G Bomber (ser. #44-8275) of the USAAF’s 379th Heavy Bomber Group which set out from RAF Kimbolton on 16th December 1944 to attack Stuttgart’s railway network. Piloted by 22 year old 2nd Lieut. John Joseph Ahern, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps, the bomber suffered engine failure. Ahern directed his crew to bail out, saying he would follow them when the plane was past Bozeat village. He did not follow his crew and was killed when the bomber crashed in a field behind Red Gables Farm, occupied by Mr. Cyril Drage. The farm buildings were damaged by the blast, but the farmer's family were unharmed. Bombs detonated over the fields. The B-17’s probable crash site is visible as a pale spread of material in the field some 60 metres in diameter.

<1> Vertical Aerial Photograph, RAF/CPE/UK/1994 RP 3191 13-APR-1947 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<2> Ahern, D. 2005. Lieutenant John Joseph Ahern, Jr 379th Heavy Bomber Group, Rootsweb Date Accessed 29-JAN-2019 (Website). SNN112714.

<3> Bedford Borough Council HER, Undated, Bedford Borough NMP, MD003015 (Archive). SNN113023.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 6:45PM