P-39 Airacobra BX195 - Settle - 22nd November 1942

Note: While this investigation was not a LAIT recovery project - it was carried out by the Pennine Aircraft Recovery Team (PART) - I was involved at all stages of the operation and the aircraft's armament is now in the LAIT collection.

Another crash site which had received the attentions of a number of groups of enthusiasts over the years, was that of P-39 Airacobra BX195 near Settle. The fact that the site was easily accessible and the elderly farmer clearly recalled the "engine" has having been thrown clear and easily removed by the recovery crew at the time, probably did not lead to high expectations from those earlier visitors. Small fragments were found in the indicated area of the field, but no substantial readings were received by those early detectors and no clearly defined crater was visible.

The aircraft in question was one of a batch of P-39s originally delivered to the RAF and fitted with a 20mm M2 cannon in place of the more usual 37mm model, this and a number of other minor changes led to the model designation of P-400. Following disappointing performance and maintenance problems, they were handed back to the USAAF and this machine flew with the 1st Fighter Group based at Goxhill. On the 22nd November 1942 BX195 was apparently on a cross-country navigation exercise, but as it flew over the small Yorkshire market town of Settle, a few of the more observant onlookers realised that something was wrong with this unusual aircraft. Black smoke was seen emitting from the exhausts on the aircraft's side and the powerful roar of the engine was reduced to a spluttering cough as it passed from view heading towards the higher ground around the town. It is clear that Lieutenant Cecil Rhodes in the cockpit was guiding his stricken aircraft clear of the houses below, perhaps looking for a suitable area to make a forced landing. But the direction he was heading led to rugged and rocky fells rising before him and soon after clearing the town he elected to bale out. Unfortunately he had left it too late and his parachute barely opened before he hit the ground and was killed instantly, his aircraft diving into the ground only a few hundred yards away. Lieutenant Rhodes is one of two pilots, who were killed locally, and are commemorated on Settle's war memorial.

By chance BX195 came to rest in a "sink-hole" - a natural feature of Limestone moorland - allowing the wreckage to bury itself almost completely in this otherwise impenetrable rocky terrain. The recovery team took advantage of this and after removing any surface wreckage and the radio equipment from the exposed tail section in the "crater" they simply leveled the site off with loose rocks. This barrier proved most efficient at protecting the site from later disturbance, including in recent years - metal detectors, until a Fisher two-box machine was used. PART's excavation of the site proved a success beyond all our best expectations - no-one thought that a P-39's mid-fuselage positioned engine would have actually embedded itself deeply enough to have been left in-situ. However this arrangement did mean that the physical damage to many items from the cockpit area was far more severe than is usually encountered, though the excellent condition of the engine made up for this disappointment. The dig also uncovered a couple of mysteries, such as why no .50 cal. Ammunition was present? - the 20mm drum was full (later blown up by EOD), but only a few links were found in the ejection chutes on the former guns. Also why did the pilot carry so much personal equipment? - A parachute bag was uncovered containing a full dress uniform, pyjamas, towel, spare overalls, socks and washbag! Though one mystery was apparently solved - a dropped valve on the engine would certainly explain the misfire heard by witnesses 50 years before.

Acknowledgements:

D. Stansfield (PART),

Email: lait@ukonline.co.uk

This page & all articles on this site Copyright © Nick Wotherspoon 1999