Tragedy Over Kettlebaston

(This article was first published on the Broadsword Military Forum July 2022).

Located 3 miles east of Lavenham in Suffolk is the small village of Kettlebaston, just a few miles south of Rattlesden with both villages being south east of Bury St Edmunds. During the second world war RAF Rattlesden (Station 126) was built and occupied by the US Army Airforce 447^th Bomb Group consisting of four bomb squadrons, 708^th, 709^th, 710^th & 711^th. The 447^th was part of the 3^rd Air Division flying B17’s and recognisable by its tail marking of the letter K in a square and had been at the airfield since December 1942 following its construction by George Wimpey & Co that same year. The 447th had been involved with bombing missions over Germany and occupied Europe. One such mission (No 152) planned for October 2^nd 1944 was a primary target of an industrial armoured truck factory in Kassel, Germany. 458 B17s in total were dispatched by the 3^rd AD to also include other industrial targets of opportunity at Wiesbaden and Gesecke.

RAF Rattlesden Control Tower.

Following their briefing the crews would make their final checks 15 minutes before take off and would be at their stations in the aircraft and make final adjustments to any equipment. Take off would be at 30 second intervals and the aircraft would climb at a speed of 150mph, 400ft per minute. Assembly starting at around 500ft would consist of a V formation of 3 aircraft which would form into a squadron and finally assemble into a group. The basic principle was to form a combat box which would provide an all round defensive position for those defending the aircraft and also tighter grouping of bombs dropped. This assembly of the aircraft was fraught with danger especially that of a collision with other aircraft. Some of the crews said that this was the most perilous time when flying and felt safer once they were on their way even though they had Flak and the Luftwaffe to contend with once over the coast of mainland Europe!

Aerial view of the Airfield.

This is where this tragic story begins to unfold. A B17g of the 710^th BS No 44-6460 was being piloted by 2^nd Lt William M Wilder and was left wing man to Lt Eldon Henningsen who was right wing of a flight of 3. They were flying at 14,000 feet in formation and heading east towards the coast when Lt Henningson noticed a B17 off to his left nose diving towards the ground and then saw Wilder’s B17 start to bank away to the left with the tail section of a B17 stuck in the bomb bay. Wilder’s plane then began to nosedive towards the ground and disappeared from Henningsen’s site with no parachutes reported as opened.

The first B17 that Lt Henningsen saw go down was B17g 43-38245 of the 711^th Bomb squadron piloted by Capt Clifford T Leach. Capt Leach who was on his second tour of duty having already completed 25 missions on his first tour was climbing through cloud cover when his plane collided with the underneath of Lt Wilders B17. The propellers from 8245 sliced off the plexiglass of 6460 and realising something was wrong Capt Leach pushed the controls of 8245 forward only for the tail section to wedge itself in the bomb bay of Lt Wilders plane 6460. This resulted in the tail stabiliser section to snap off and plunge Capt Leach and his crew down towards the ground with no one being able to escape the doomed aircraft.

Leach’s B17g 43-38245 crashed at Wetherden Hall Farm, Hitcham with its tail section landing near to Kettlebaston Hall. Some reports say that the stabiliser was wedged into Wilders plane and as Leachs plan dropped forward the rest of the tail section was cut off by Wilders plane propellers.

Wilders B17g 44-6460 crashed at Treacles Farm (now demolished) with eight of the crew killed and one survivor. The navigator 2^nd Lt Eliot G Mishler grabbed a chute and exited the plane via the missing front plexiglass nose, attaching the chute on the way down and successfully opening it! He suffered a broken ankle on landing and was assisted by two farm boys only for Mishler to throw himself on top of these boys when the ammunition from the crash started to explode. Wilder and the Bombardier 2^nd Lt Charles B McQuire also escaped the aircraft but their chutes failed to open. 2^nd Lt Mishler was sent home and survived the war. I believe he passed away a few years ago.

Crew Names.

Wilder Crew. 710^th BS B17g 44-64602^nd

Lt William M Wilder – Pilot

2^nd Lt Norman B Manock – Co-Pilot*

2^nd Lt Eliot G Mishler – Navigator (survived)

2^nd Lt Charles B McQuire – Bombardier*

Sgt William D Eakins – Top Turret/Engineer

Sgt Ciriaco A Genova – Radio Operator

Sgt Eduard B Suarez jr – Ball Turret Gunner*

Sgt Thomas J Wiltze – Waist Gunner

S/Sgt Harold J Lee – Tail Gunner

Leach Crew 711^th BS B17g 43-38245

Capt Clifford T Leach – Pilot

2nd Lt David W Bowen – Co-Pilot*

1^st Lt Donald B Rubin – Navigator*

1^st Lt William L Rogers – Bombardier

Sgt Earl L Riggs – Top Turret/Engineer

S/Sgt Clyde R Klee – Radio Operator*

Sgt William A Haines – Ball Turret Gunner*

Sgt John K Henry – Waist Gunner*

S/Sgt Carl S Reitsel – Tail Gunner (S/Sgt Reitsel had survived a previous crash on 43-38245 along with two others in April 1944 at Thorpe Morieux and suffered burns but returned to flying status. The rest of the crew perished in the crash).

  *Names of those buried at Madingley American Cemetery Cambridge England.

My interest in this tragic story stems from a purchase I made of a Purple Heart attributed to Harold J Lee Tail Gunner in B17g 44-6460.

      

I have done a certain amount of research and acquired an excellent book, “Pictorial Tribute to the men and aircraft of the 447^th Bombardment Group (H) 1943-1945. Written by Derek Smith and published by East Anglia Books to whom I am indebted to Marilyn Bishop reference copyright of pictures.

Harold J Lee was born 4^th January 1919, Oregon. Enlisted San Francisco, Ca, 13^th Jan 1942. Army serial number 19065386. Originally in the Medical Admin Corp he then transferred to the US Army Air Corp. He was a resident of Butte County, California and his occupation was that of an Actor but this may be incorrect as his two older brothers were Doctor’s? His ethnicity was that of Chinese American and he was single with no dependants. His remains were interred originally at Madingley, Cambridge, England but in 1948 were returned to the United States for burial at Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo County, Ca, 22^nd July.

 

Harold J Lee is 3^rd from the right back row in the picture of Wilder’s crew. First thing that strikes me is how happy they all look and how young they all are, Lee being just 25 when he died. Wilder is 2nd from the right and Manock the co-pilot is 2nd from the left front row. They all must have realised every time they climbed aboard that plane the dangers involved, yet they still did it and some even signed on for a second tour! Massive respect for not only these two crews that perished in this tragic accident but all those that volunteered for duty in the mighty 8^th Air Force. The Wilder Crew picture above has 10 crew but this was reduced to 9 with the Radio Operator becoming a waist gunner when required.
From the names identified on the picture, Christoff, Leenhouts and Stone (who was injured during their second mission) were reassigned and replaced with Lt McGuire who replaced Stone and Sgt Eakins who replaced Leenhouts.
The crew arrived at Rattlesden 24th July 1944 and the 9 man crew flew their first combat mission 16th August. Mighty Eighth War Diary (Roger A Freeman) indicates that the 3rd AD sent 234 B17s to primary oil installation targets at Zeitz and Rositz south of Leipzig. With thanks to Kevin Harrington from North California for the updated Wilder crew picture.

There are eight graves at the American Cemetery at Madingley, Cambridge, England. These are some of the crew members of the B17’s that collided over Kettlebaston, October 2nd 1944. I visited Madingley, August 2022 to pay my respects.

My thanks again go to Marilyn Bishop of East Anglia Books of Stansted. Essex for assistance with some of the material above and also the staff at the American Cemetery, Madingley, Cambridge, England for their help in finding the graves.

Reference material I have used:

Pictorial Tribute to the men and aircraft of the 447^th Bombardment Group (H) 1943-1945. Derek Smith and published 2006 by East Anglia Books, Stansted, Essex, CM24 8UZ.

The Mighty Eighth in the second world war by Graham Smith. 2001 published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire.

USAAF Handbook 1939-1945. Martin W Bowman 1997 Sutton Publishing Ltd, Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2BU.

Mighty Eighth War Diary, Roger A Freeman, 1981, Janes Publishing Co Ltd, 238 City Road, London EC1 2PU.

Harold J Lee’s military information supplied by Daniel Griffin, Shomakersville, Pennsylvania. USA.

Update April 2024. I had the pleasure of a visit to Rattlesden Airfield in Suffolk whilst on vacation there end of March 2024 and was allowed to drive onto the runway and also visit the control tower which is run by the Rattlesden Glider Club. Charles Portway was an excellent host and I am indebted to him for showing me around the airfield and also the small museum they have in the control tower. I also visited the village of Kettlebaston to see the memorial to both aircrews at Wetherden Hall Farm.

A poem I have written in memory of the 447th and Rattlesden Airfield.

Not gone under the plough.

Upon the concrete runway once more, 

these wings now made to fly and soar, 

in silence they rise on a wire, 

training pilots to aspire, 

and years past the roar of engines four, 

taxi out for another tour, 

to deliver their payload on foreign land, 

some not to return cap in hand, 

Boeing’s might that flew from here, 

no longer have the sound of fear, 

but now a gliders wing cuts through, 

in the air above so blue, 

below empty buildings once at their best, 

some for storage some for rest, 

and did Major Miller once play his tunes, 

in the T2 hanger one assumes, 

to young men destined for history, 

with local girls a mystery, 

to those who stayed at Rattlesden, 

from across the pond now and then, 

with good intent from their shore,

they came to fight a noble war, 

a “Great Crusade” a General said, 

now these words understood and read, 

for those poor souls M I A, 

we still remember to this day, 

may God bless these men who came to serve, 

with honor, glory and no reserve, 

and for they that didn’t achieve their task, 

there are no questions we should ask, 

of their untimely misfortune, 

that took their lives far too soon, 

by the memorials that stand so tall, 

near to the perimeter gather us all, 

of people who can say a prayer, 

memories and grief to share, 

these times gone by as the control tower stands, 

a testament to many hands, 

that worked this field and did their best, 

to save us all from a dictators quest, 

with a lot of words written and said, 

of the Four Forty Seventh and their dead, 

lets not forget those that returned, 

to a homeland for which they yearned,

and remember when it was all over now, 

an airfield… not gone under the plough.

James Findon © 2025. (First Published September 5th 2025 447thBG association Facebook).