Inside the ‘The Globe Inn’.

There are 2 framed displays for the ‘Lady Luck’ inside The Globe. The first is a map and account of the basic facts, written in English. The second framed display is what looks like the Nelson Trowbridge model of the Lady Luck, and the ‘Revell’ kit box that it came in. Outside the pub grounds, in the Soke Gardens, another plaque commemorating the event can be seen.

On 26 September 1943 the B17 Flying Fortress “Lady Luck”, carrying a full bomb load, got into difficulties over Alresford. Captain Cogswell ordered his nine crewmen to bail out remaining on board the aircraft himself in an attempt to steer the bomber away from the town. The plane crashed just east of Old Alresford Pond Captain Cogswell having jumped to safety, although injured in the bail-out, shortly before it crashed.

The crew:

Pilot: Robert Cogswell

Co-pilot: Dallas Kendall

Navigator: Ed Cobb

Bombardier: Frank Kulesa

Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Gil Bendston

Radio Operator: Ed Deerfield

Ball turret gunner: John Deffinger

Waist gunner: Simeon Oxendine

Waist gunner: Elmer Peterson

Tail gunner: Paul Davis

(10 Returned to Duty)

Source of information: alresfordmemories.wordpress.com, www.americanairmuseum.com

Source of photos: alresfordmemories.wordpress.com

Take-off

On 26th September 1943, at 2:46 pm Captain Cogswell lifted Lady Luck off the runway at Molesworth and, with the rest of the formation, headed for Nazi U-Boat (attack submarine) pens at Nantes in German occupied France. Each crew member wore either a backpack or chestpack parachute from takeoff to landing (or kept in close), which is what saved their lives when they bailed out over Hampshire. T/Sgt Eddie Deerfield sat by his radio with two .50-calibre machine gun in the waist0gun positions not far behind him. Eddie tells me he fired a single gun through a batch in the roof of the radio room which was situated in the middle of the place between the wings. Ten five-hundred-pound demolition bombs were in the bomb bays.

A Chaplain was available at Molesworth before each mission and men who wished to do so were allowed time to attend a short service.

The crew bailed out

Lady Luck crossed the south coast between Portsmouth and Southampton (Ref: Eddie), so must have passed over the Isle of Wight where I was a teenager. I might have seen her. We saw many planes limping home. She was flying south of Winchester at about 10,000 feet when the crew were ordered by the pilot to bail out. Captain Cogswell remained at his post to guide the plane, together with its full bomb load, unused ammunition and more than half-full fuel tanks, away from built-up areas. Five men left from the waist section door in rapid succession, and four from the nose.

Landings

Eddie landed in a field somewhere south of Winchester and was momentarily stunned. When he regained consciousness a farm worker was standing over him holding a pitchfork pressed to his chest. He convinced his captor that he was not a German parachutist (no doubt an American accent helped), was taken to a cottage and the police were contacted. The other eight crew members landed in fields, trees and on roofs. None of the nine was seriously hurt, just a few bruises and grazes, and when all had been found they were taken to an RAF hospital where they were checked and sent the night.

The next day they were taken back to base.

Captain Cogwell was still in the plane when it passed over New Alresford. He set course for open country and bailed out at the last possible moment, so late that ligaments in his back were torn when his parachute opened. The plane was on its own now, with an engine on fire and one wing falling off. With no pilot, it veered off the set course, turning back 180 degrees. Alresford residents saw this happen. Robert Cogswell probably saw it, too, and would have been horrified. Alresford's centre was again in danger of destruction. Luckily Lady Luck lost height fast and crashed on fields just east of the Pond. A few more degrees of turn and a few hundred yards further on and St. John's Church might have been smashed (it was Battle of Britain Sunday - perhaps a service was in progress.) or Broad Street demolished.

Lady Luck's Crash

From now on the exact truth is difficult to discover. Memories fade during fifty eight years. They also evolve as bits from different people's tales told and retold, merge, however, a "best fit" has emerged. This is what follows, and I believe it is not far from what actually happened.

On impact at about five pm (the mission was aborted at 4.35 pm) the plane rebounded, perhaps somersaulted, and skidded, shattering into "thousands" of pieces including a complete wing, an unbroken gun in its turret, seperate guns, engines, unexploded bombs, ammunition and fragments of various sizes scattered over a large area.

The fuel caught fire and burned furiously for a short time and, possibly (people report bangs) ammunition near the blaze, exploded. I am told that a person standing by the letter box at the bottom of Broad Street, looking over the old fire station, could see a plume of smoke from the crash site in a straight line beyond.

In the County Record office, Winchester there is only one relevant incident report (Sheet 412, H/Ep1/1, date of incident 26th September 1943, date of report 29/9/1943). This records that two cows owned by Manor Farm (some way away), had been killed, one seriously injured and a fourth slightly injured, but because of wartime regulations no cause is recorded (the Ministry of Information had been set up in September 1939). A handwritten annotation following the report states that this incident was not confirmed by the police.

A special constable was stationed to keep people off the site, but teenagers who knew all the paths, still explore! The next day military guards took over.