458th Bombardment Group (H)

"I was eight years old in January 1945, I lived with my mother in a bungalow a few hundred yards from the take-off runway at Horsham St Faith.  My father was serving in the Royal Air Force.  A school friend and I were watching the returning the B24’s on that day having trembled with excitement and trepidation watching the same bombers clawing into the sky in the morning.  We were used to seeing planes with smoking engines, pieces hanging off the various parts of the structure, flares being fired into the sky and a chaff falling down like tinsel.  When it seemed like the last hand landed another ship came into sight, I do not recall seeing a propeller feathered or even if the wheels were lowered but it was an all silver coloured aircraft whereas most of the previous B24’s were a drab green even one being all black. 

"Lassie Come Home seemed to be flying steadily and in a correct attitude that I was completely shocked when I saw the port wing drop and the plane seemed to throw itself head first into the ground.  I was with a fellow boy of my own age and after gulping in what had happened he and I made short work of the distance riding our pedal bikes like crazy.  We couldn’t miss the giant plane standing on its nose and leaning against a brick dwelling house.  It was complete with wings and tail unit in place I recall the engines and the four part of the plane were in-bedded into the ground up to the leading edge of the wing.  I am sure there must have been many people there but I didn’t notice them because it was strangely so silent.  I expect at my age it was too much to take in and only the crashed plane was of any concern to me.  We moved around the edge of the garden and on the pavement was a stretcher covered in a white sheet protruding out of one end were a pair of light brown boots and the other end a large area of blood as we stared at the sad sight we were told in no uncertain way to clear off in good old US dialogue. 

"For some years it has bothered me as to why the tragedy occurred and whether any of the crew survived.  We were unaware of any casualties on the ground as during the war years people didn’t talk much about the war especially to eight year old's.  It is probably of no consolation to anyone now but whoever shut down the fuel switches in the last seconds pilot or co-pilot is all kinds of hero, had there been a fire with fuel and ammunition exploding amongst the close packed houses it would have been a bigger catastrophe than it was already." - Brian Breeze

B-24JAZ-155 CO 44-40283         I           J4 (753) LASSIE COME HOME

NMF

Original AZON aircraft. Lead aircraft.

Repaired at Braintree, Essex, 18 - 27 Aug 44 - # 2 engine.

Crashed 14 Jan 45 in the garden of 14 Spynke Road, Mile Cross, Norwich, on return. (Hallendorf)  Salvaged 15 Jan 45.