Hiker's Trek Brings B-17 Machine Gun Home to U.S. Air Base In England After 66 Years

  • Published
  • By Peter G. Park, Jr. JAC Action Group
  • JIOCEUR Analytic Center
Royal Air Force Molesworth, United Kingdom --  "In walking all the mountains in England we have come across several wartime crash sites, most with little or no wreckage left. Crossing the moor from one hill to the other in the Cheviot Hills near the English-Scottish border in the summer of 2008, my wife Carole saw a small piece of metal sticking out of the peat. After a bit of pulling it was obvious that it was a heavy caliber machine gun. We covered it and left it where it was, marking the spot with our GPS," said English hiker Kevin Ryder.

On December 16, 1944, B-17G Flying Fortress #44-6504 of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group (Heavy) , lifted off the runway of U.S. Army Air Corps Station 107, Molesworth, England on a raid to Ulm, Germany. Recalled due to weather, the formation scattered to land at various bases to avoid collisions. 2nd Lt. George A. Kyle radioed for headings as he descended, but realized they were from German transmitters. Kyle descended further attempting to find a hole in the clouds. At 2,600 feet, the Cheviot Hills loomed out of the snow. Kyle's B-17 struck ground and skidded across a peat bog.

Flight Officer Fred Holcombe (navigator) and Sgt Frank R. Turner (bomb togglier) in the nose of the aircraft were killed on impact. Kyle, dazed and with a broken jaw, was pulled from the cockpit by copilot Flight Officer James H. Hardy. Miraculously, the rest of the crew survived with minor injuries after rescue by "Sheila," a shepherd's dog. The bombs still aboard the B-17 exploded later.

Ryder contacted the Northumbria Police who in turn notified the U.K. Ministry of Defence Joint Casualty and Compassionate Center (JCCC) which is responsible for aviation archeology. As the JCCC website notes: "Crashed United States military aircraft and their equipment remain the property of the United States Government, but the Ministry of Defence acts on behalf of the US authorities."

Next Northumbria Police Firearms Support Unit Sergeant Kevin Smith took possession of the weapon and made it safe: "... a live round was jammed in the breech of the gun. Due to being buried for a long period it was extremely corroded and all working parts had seized. Our armourer had to systematically remove all the internal firing mechanisms in order to remove the round from the breech."

An effort was made over the next two years to get the gun to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, Georgia, but an importation permit could not be obtained. With a deadline looming for the weapon to be removed from the police armory and destroyed, The U.S. European Command JIOCEUR Analytic Center (JAC) at RAF Molesworth agreed to accept, conserve, and display the weapon in the Enlisted Heritage Room at the base.

On November 9th, Police Sergeant Smith brought the machine gun home to Molesworth, and on December 3rd, hikers Kevin and Carole Ryder visited RAF Molesworth to discuss the story of their find, as well as the Ryders' recent completion of hiking all 214 of the peaks in the English Lake District and the190 Welsh mountains.

Carol Kyle Sage, daughter of the pilot of the plane noted, "I spoke with Ernest "Dutch" Schieferstein, flight engineer, and the only one still alive on my father's B-17G crew. He is very, very pleased to learn of the gun's return home. He was extremely touched by everyone's generosity and concern in ensuring this piece of history remains in good hands."

And 'Sheila?' The border collie received the Dicken Medal, the canine equivalent of Britain's Victoria Cross, and the only civilian dog to receive the award during the war. In 1946, the Royal Air Force flew "Tibbie," one of Sheila's puppies, to South Carolina at the request of Sgt. Turner's parents.

The RAF Molesworth Joint Senior Enlisted Association is preparing the weapon for permanent display in the base Enlisted Heritage Room. Advice from Imperial War Museum conservationist Chris Knapp states "... in conservation less is usually best," so a minimalist approach will be taken to cleaning of the rust and preservation of the artifact.

For the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and civilians at this base, this historic B-17 machine gun is certain to be a constant reminder of those who came before -- the 8,960 men of the 303rd Bomb Group, the famous "Hell's Angels Group," and especially the 841 aircrew for whom Molesworth was the last place that they trod the earth.

Forensic analysis of the structure of the gun have conclusively established that it is a the right gun in the two gun Bendix chin turrett of the aircraft.  The B-17 machine gun is now home.