RAF Station Ghosts

[Dick Turpin]

If it's a sudden, violent, unexpected, death sort of thing you would think
the WW1 airfields and battle fields would be knee deep in ghosts,
you can imagine the way they were treated that a good many would
be more than a little peeved at the time of passing.

Very much so I would imagine. There is an old RAF base one village down from me (the area was scatted with air base’s during WW2, and normally used by the USAAF – bet the local village girls loved that (not the village boys though lol).

I was once told by a villager, that in 1944 a US bomber coming back from a raid was leaking fuel, and the pilot didn’t think he’d make it, so told the crew to bail to lighten the load. Apparently, he didn’t want to, bail himself as he was worried that the plane would come down on one of the villages that surround the base, so heroically he stayed at the controls. He was only a few hundred yards from the main airstrip when the plane crashed into a field killing him instantly.

The villagers created a memorial flower bed for him in a local park, which is still touchingly tended by the people of the village in the summer months.

And yes, at certain times of the year, a solitary figure is said to walk the fields where the air base once stood.

 

[AgProv]

My old university residence site began as RAF barracks accomodation at RAF Horsham St Faith (now Norwich Airport).

I wrote here about its own hauntings:

Haunted airbase in Norwich

 

[escargot]

Very much so I would imagine. There is an old RAF base one village down from me (the area was scatted with air base’s during WW2, and normally used by the USAAF – bet the local village girls loved that (not the village boys though lol).

I was once told by a villager, that in 1944 a US bomber coming back from a raid was leaking fuel, and the pilot didn’t think he’d make it, so told the crew to bail to lighten the load. Apparently, he didn’t want to, bail himself as he was worried that the plane would come down on one of the villages that surround the base, so heroically he stayed at the controls. He was only a few hundred yards from the main airstrip when the plane crashed into a field killing him instantly.

The villagers created a memorial flower bed for him in a local park, which is still touchingly tended by the people of the village in the summer months.

And yes, at certain times of the year, a solitary figure is said to walk the fields where the air base once stood.

There are two memorials like that within cycling distance of'ere.
One wonders if the stories of how the crashes came about would have lapsed into a form of urban legend without the markers.

 

[RaM]

One of the worst not far from here is at Warton we’re a USAF Liberator crashed on a school in a storm not heard any ghost stories about it though.
It says Freckleton but I am not sure were Warton and Freckleton begin and end.


https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/a...r-the-story-behind-the-tragedy-in-lancashire/

 

[SimonBurchell]

One of the worst not far from here is at Warton we’re a USAF Liberator crashed on a school in a storm not heard any ghost stories about it though.

That reminds me of stumbling across an unexpected cemetery on a hike out of Petworth, West Sussex, a couple of years ago. A German bomber had dropped its bombs on Petworth House, but IIRC, one of the bombs ricocheted off a tree and landed on the boys school, killing 28 boys and 4 adults. I've no idea if there is any haunting associated.

Horsham Road Cemetery at Gravelroots

Petworth Bombing at West Sussex County Council - this one has some interesting downloads, and eye witness testimonies of the event

 

[escargot]

That reminds me of stumbling across an unexpected cemetery on a hike out of Petworth, West Sussex, a couple of years ago. A German bomber had dropped its bombs on Petworth House, but IIRC, one of the bombs ricocheted off a tree and landed on the boys school, killing 28 boys and 4 adults. I've no idea if there is any haunting associated.

Horsham Road Cemetery at Gravelroots

Petworth Bombing at West Sussex County Council - this one has some interesting downloads, and eye witness testimonies of the event

Brrrr...

Of some small boys only scraps were found...

 

[Mr_Hermolle]

Maybe if RAF stations are more haunted than other places its to do with the transience of the places - people are posted for a few years and then move on. Thousands of people pass through these places over decades. The place is never permanent for anyone really and places like this open up spaces - either paranormally or psychologically. Its like visiting a school in the quiet times - theres almost a tangible feeling of something. Old houses have it in a way that fewer new houses do. Even psychologically theres that knowledge of lives having been lived there before - even if theres nothing paranormal going on - and as for the existence of ghosts I still dont truly believe one way or the other. RAF married quarters are the same - that feeling of lives lived before - and that your time there isnt permanent too. It certainly does something to the way you interact with a place

 

[MorningAngel]

I wasn’t sure where to put this. It’s not a ghost as such but very unusual. How on earth did the plane land by itself? I can understand it continuing to fly, but landing in the right place on its own is completely different.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-B-17-Ghost-Plane

 

[RaM]

They did convert war weary bombers to flying bombs, they were loaded with high explosive
and flown into the air by a crew who after setting the remote controls bailed out, the aircraft
was then flown by remote onto a enemy target, a future presidents brother I think was killed
in one that exploded when he switched on the remote, don't think it did the bit of England it
was flying over at the time much good ether.

Aphrodite was I think the code word associated with the operation.
though if this as any bearing on this incident I don't know.

 

[MorningAngel]

They did convert war weary bombers to flying bombs, they were loaded with high explosive
and flown into the air by a crew who after setting the remote controls bailed out, the aircraft
was then flown by remote onto a enemy target, a future presidents brother I think was killed
in one that exploded when he switched on the remote, don't think it did the bit of England it
was flying over at the time much good ether.

Aphrodite was I think the code word associated with the operation.
though if this as any bearing on this incident I don't know.

I found out about this on World War Weird and they mentioned the planes being converted to flying bombs. Pointing out that they flew into things to blow them up they weren’t programmed to land. This was a normal plane whose crew had bailed out that then proceeded back and landed.

 

[Beresford]

They did convert war weary bombers to flying bombs, they were loaded with high explosive
and flown into the air by a crew who after setting the remote controls bailed out, the aircraft
was then flown by remote onto a enemy target, a future presidents brother I think was killed
in one that exploded when he switched on the remote, don't think it did the bit of England it
was flying over at the time much good ether.

Aphrodite was I think the code word associated with the operation.
though if this as any bearing on this incident I don't know.

It was Joseph Kennedy Jr who died. He and his co-pilot removed the safety pin, arming the explosives. Unfortunately they detonated before the crew bailed out.

 

[Paul_Exeter]

I wasn’t sure where to put this. It’s not a ghost as such but very unusual. How on earth did the plane land by itself? I can understand it continuing to fly, but landing in the right place on its own is completely different.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-B-17-Ghost-Plane

Love this one....!

Are we able to rule out wartime propaganda here? You know the sort of rumour-mongering to confuse the enemy.

Otherwise, I do like the idea of the inadvertent landing of a remote controlled prototype but is there any evidence for this huge advance in aeronautics at the time...?

 

[maximus otter]

I wasn’t sure where to put this. It’s not a ghost as such but very unusual. How on earth did the plane land by itself? I can understand it continuing to fly, but landing in the right place on its own is completely different.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-B-17-Ghost-Plane

THE GHOST SHIP Written by Unknown

The date was November 21, 1944; Lt. Harold R. DeBolt with the 401st Squadron was assigned a B-17G number 43-38545 from the 324th Squadron, Hal's 33rd mission. The plane was so new; it didn't have a
"Name" yet. It was only the 3rd mission for this plane. The mission was to go back to Merseburg, Germany and was lead by Major Klette.

The weather was terrible, with solid clouds everywhere as the mission proceeded. Most things had been routine until he turned on the bomb run. The formation tended to slow up in the turn and with bomb bay doors open, DeBolt's aircraft stalled and dropped out of formation. At this instant he was attacked by enemy fighters and also began the run through a very heavy and accurate flak barrage. Due to malfunction with the bomb release mechanism, the bombs would not drop. This caused the aircraft to fall further out of formation. About this time the whole ship took the blast from a flak burst just below the bomb bays, the plane was badly damaged.

The explosion caused the bombs to drop but No. 2 and No. 3 engines also went out. No. 2 was out completely and No. 3 was wind milling and causing undue vibration throughout the aircraft. The crew began jettisoning all surplus equipment in an effort to lighten the Fortress as DeBolt set course for home. The plane was losing altitude and was turned to a heading of 270 degrees west, for friendly lines. The crew stayed with the plane as long as they could and when it was down to 2,000 feet, Hal gave the signal for everyone to "bail-out" and they did, while the Fort continued on its way with the autopilot doing its job. All chutes opened and the men were picked up by British infantrymen soon after landing.

The damaged Fortress continued onward, losing altitude and remaining in a perfect landing attitude. The Fortress mysteriously made a perfect three point landing in a plowed field. It ground looped at the end of the field and sat there with engines still running, undamaged in an open field, near Liege, Belgium. The landing was in a flat strip area, near a British Army encampment. A British Officer ran out to help the crew, but only found neatly stacked flying gear inside and was astonished to find no one on board. He inspected the Fort (as a possible German trap) but found no one. He then turned off the operating engines. The British Officers name was Major John Crisp.

The Stars and Stripes published the story the next day and called DeBolt's B-17 - a Ghost Ship, or Phantom Fort.

http://www.91stbombgroup.com/91st_tales/58_the_ghost_ship.pdf

The B-17’s Automatic Flight Control Equipment​

maximus otter

 

[Floyd]

THE GHOST SHIP Written by Unknown

The date was November 21, 1944; Lt. Harold R. DeBolt with the 401st Squadron was assigned a B-17G number 43-38545 from the 324th Squadron, Hal's 33rd mission. The plane was so new; it didn't have a
"Name" yet. It was only the 3rd mission for this plane. The mission was to go back to Merseburg, Germany and was lead by Major Klette.

The weather was terrible, with solid clouds everywhere as the mission proceeded. Most things had been routine until he turned on the bomb run. The formation tended to slow up in the turn and with bomb bay doors open, DeBolt's aircraft stalled and dropped out of formation. At this instant he was attacked by enemy fighters and also began the run through a very heavy and accurate flak barrage. Due to malfunction with the bomb release mechanism, the bombs would not drop. This caused the aircraft to fall further out of formation. About this time the whole ship took the blast from a flak burst just below the bomb bays, the plane was badly damaged.

The explosion caused the bombs to drop but No. 2 and No. 3 engines also went out. No. 2 was out completely and No. 3 was wind milling and causing undue vibration throughout the aircraft. The crew began jettisoning all surplus equipment in an effort to lighten the Fortress as DeBolt set course for home. The plane was losing altitude and was turned to a heading of 270 degrees west, for friendly lines. The crew stayed with the plane as long as they could and when it was down to 2,000 feet, Hal gave the signal for everyone to "bail-out" and they did, while the Fort continued on its way with the autopilot doing its job. All chutes opened and the men were picked up by British infantrymen soon after landing.

The damaged Fortress continued onward, losing altitude and remaining in a perfect landing attitude. The Fortress mysteriously made a perfect three point landing in a plowed field. It ground looped at the end of the field and sat there with engines still running, undamaged in an open field, near Liege, Belgium. The landing was in a flat strip area, near a British Army encampment. A British Officer ran out to help the crew, but only found neatly stacked flying gear inside and was astonished to find no one on board. He inspected the Fort (as a possible German trap) but found no one. He then turned off the operating engines. The British Officers name was Major John Crisp.

The Stars and Stripes published the story the next day and called DeBolt's B-17 - a Ghost Ship, or Phantom Fort.

http://www.91stbombgroup.com/91st_tales/58_the_ghost_ship.pdf

The B-17’s Automatic Flight Control Equipment​

maximus otter

Very strange considering;

Since the autopilot had no altitude sensor, adjustments had to be watchfully made to the plane’s altitude by the pilot referring to the altimeter on his instrument panel.

 

[maximus otter]

Very strange considering;

Since the autopilot had no altitude sensor, adjustments had to be watchfully made to the plane’s altitude by the pilot referring to the altimeter on his instrument panel.

Not really strange considering that the ship would have been at 20-30,000' over Germany, yet landed in Belgium. With no pilot to correct altitude, it's only natural that a plane with only three functioning engines would gradually lose altitude unless managed carefully.

maximus otter

 

[Floyd]

Not really strange considering that the ship would have been at 20-30,000' over Germany, yet landed in Belgium. With no pilot to correct altitude, it's only natural that a plane with only three functioning engines would gradually lose altitude unless managed carefully.

maximus otter

I mean how it happened to land safely in a plowed field though.

 

[RaM]

With all the thousands of aircraft that crashed in WW11 one had to get lucky.

 

[Sgt Girth]

I hate to be picky (Actually, that’s probably false) but we’re still working our way towards World War 11…..Give it time though….Give it time!

 

[Paul_Exeter]

Aviation ghosts from the UK Paranormal Database:

"Hazy Airman​

Location: Bridgend (Mid Glamorgan) - RAF Stormy Down (abandoned)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: June 2005 (man and son encounter), 08 April 2012 (photograph)
Further Comments: A man and his twelve year old son watched a hazy figure dressed in a Second World War uniform walking towards them, even though the figure did not actually move closer. The uniformed man then reached down to the ground as if to pick something up and slowly faded away. Other people have seen an airman near the former Hangar One and have also heard an air raid siren. A photograph taken in 2012 is said to show a phantom figure."

Many more at:

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/aviation/pages/avdata.php

 

[JudSawyer]

I read some of Michael 'Potty Time' Bentine's memoirs about 20 years ago. His parents were Spiritualists. From memory, he wasn't an RAF pilot as such for health reasons but worked with the RAF, I think flying planes around to other airfields. He said he developed an unwanted psychic ability to know which pilots would die on their next mission. This made it difficult for Bentine to interact with them normally. I think he said he could 'see' a skull superimposed on their faces. In the end he got the camp/airbase priest to pray over him and it stopped happening.

 

[Beresford]

I read some of Michael 'Potty Time' Bentine's memoirs about 20 years ago. His parents were Spiritualists. From memory, he wasn't an RAF pilot as such for health reasons but worked with the RAF, I think flying planes around to other airfields. He said he developed an unwanted psychic ability to know which pilots would die on their next mission. This made it difficult for Bentine to interact with them normally. I think he said he could 'see' a skull superimposed on their faces. In the end he got the camp/airbase priest to pray over him and it stopped happening.

He wasn't able to fly after accidentally being injected with a pure culture of typhoid, rather than being inoculated. He became an intelligence officer, and at one time was posted to 300 Squadron. My grandfather was with that squadron for a period, I sometimes wonder whether their postings overlapped and they may have met.

 

[SimonBurchell]

Anyone know if the old airfield at Harrington, Northamptonshire, is supposed to be haunted? I hiked across it about a month ago, and it was a forlorn place.

 

[Floyd]

Anyone know if the old airfield at Harrington, Northamptonshire, is supposed to be haunted? I hiked across it about a month ago, and it was a forlorn place.

US Airmen​

Location: Harrington (Northamptonshire) - Road leading to Lamport
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Heading towards an old USAAF airfield, this car full of military personnel slowly fades from view as travels the road.

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/...hp/?pageNum_paradata=2&totalRows_paradata=158

 

[SimonBurchell]

US Airmen​

Location: Harrington (Northamptonshire) - Road leading to Lamport
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Heading towards an old USAAF airfield, this car full of military personnel slowly fades from view as travels the road.

https://www.paranormaldatabase.com/...hp/?pageNum_paradata=2&totalRows_paradata=158

I walked along the northernmost kilometer of that road into the village! Didn't see any ghosts though.

The Paranormal Database is great, my one gripe is it doesn't give its sources.

 

[Giant R]

It was Joseph Kennedy Jr who died. He and his co-pilot removed the safety pin, arming the explosives. Unfortunately they detonated before the crew bailed out.

You wouldn't think you would need to arm anything if the aircraft is going to hit the ground from a few thousand feet?
A high explosive shell explodes on impact.

 

[Giant R]

Love this one....!

Are we able to rule out wartime propaganda here? You know the sort of rumour-mongering to confuse the enemy.

Otherwise, I do like the idea of the inadvertent landing of a remote controlled prototype but is there any evidence for this huge advance in aeronautics at the time...?

I wonder if it was a bit like the V-2 though? Calculate the fuel required and just let it run out and crash?

Radio control had been around a long while before WW2 though as the Royal Navy converted an ex Pre-Dreadnought battleship, HMS Agamemenon, and later the battleship HMS Centurion into remote controlled target ships. The German Navy and others also had remote controlled target ships, operated by an attendant destroyer or smaller ship in the 1920s and 30s. I always imagine the chaos these might have caused if the wireless connection had broken down and a 25,000 ton unmanned battleship was sailing by itself!

The Royal Aircraft Factory began working on remote control aircraft and target drones just prior to WW1 and the first flew in 1917. Although I am not sure if they had the technology to pre-programme a flight even by WW2.