The 79th anniversary of the infamous Sheffield plane crash is coming up, with locals gathering at the memorial in Endcliffe park on Sunday February 19th to honour the deaths of the 10 crew members on board.
In February 1944, in the midst of World War Two, the RAF fighter plane nicknamed ‘Mi Amigo’ crashed into the hillside of Endcliffe Park, narrowly missing a group of Sheffield schoolchildren, and tragically killing all men on board.
Amongst the schoolchildren was Sheffield local Tony Foulds, who witnessed the crash and has tended to the memorial since it was set up in 1969.
He said: “This memorial has been my life since 1944. I was eight years old.
“You do not forget when 10 lads have died to save you.”
Tony describes the men who died that day as like “family”.
The 10 men had travelled through Nazi-occupied Denmark, where their B-17 bomber jet had been badly damaged under enemy fire. The plane had been diverted to a daylight attack to bomb the Luftwaffe military air base located at Aalborg, Denmark.
Attempting to return to their RAF base in Chelveston Airfield in Northamptonshire, the brand new bomber jet flew through British countryside, eventually crash landing in the hills behind where Endcliffe Park’s cafe stands today.
Lieutenant John Kriegshauser was the pilot navigating the jet at the time of the crash. In Paul Allonby’s book ‘Courage above the clouds: the true historic story of the crew of B-17 ‘Mi Amigo’ he quotes that the Lieutenant “began to descend cautiously, and suddenly came out through the clouds low over a major city – Sheffield, in South Yorkshire. Ahead were houses, roads, trees and a splash of green: Endcliffe Park, a public play area, complete with a river, woods and a bandstand.
“As Lt Kriegshauser used every bit of his skill and experience, at least one engine began to cut out. Seeing only the grassed area of the park ahead, a split-second decision was needed.”
According to reports, 20 firefighters fought for an hour to put out the blaze whilst bystanders tried to pull out the victims, but there were no survivors.
The memorial is property of the Sheffield RAF association, and this week the Sheffield Council has started works on the memorial ahead of a planned refurbishment for the 80th Anniversary in 2024.