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B-17 (#42-3124) Crash Site Memorial

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Details:

On the rocky summit of the 854m mountain, a memorial plaque will be plainly visible next to the mountain top maker.

Marker

A brass inscribed plaque (18”x 3ft) mounted within a frame of the mountain top stone.

 

The village of Bala placed the maker after the war in 1945 remembering the sacrifice of the crew and remember them each year on the anniversary of the crash.  The plaque was replaced in 2019. 

 

From the records of the 303rd Bomber Group:

 

303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 56A 4 August 1943 Crew Loss: 

  The 303rd BG(H), 427th Bomber Squadron, suffered a tragic crew and aircraft loss on 4 August 1943. B-17F #42-3124 (No Name), flying out of Molesworth, piloted by 1Lt. James N. Pratt, crashed on the summit of Arenig Fahr, a 2,800 ft mountain in Snowdonia, Wales (six miles due east of Bala), while on a night cross-country flight. 

Eight men in the makeshift 427BS crew were killed. Lt. Pratt is buried in Idaho. Co- pilot 2Lt. William A. Bowling is buried in Kentucky. Gunner Sgt. Philip Simonte is buried in Michigan. Navigator Allen M. Boner, Radio Operator T/Sgt. Frederick J. Royar, Engineer S/Sgt. Walter J. Johnston (whose normal crew position was Left Waist Gunner), Gunner Sgt. Walter B. Robinson and Passenger Pfc. Alfred B. Van Dyke are buried in Cambridge American Cemetery, England. 

Sgts. Robinson and Simonte and Pfc. Van Dyke were not regular members of the 427BS(H) Pratt crew. It is not known why they were on the night cross-country flight. Regular Pratt crewmen who were not on the night cross-country flight were: 1Lt. Leonard B. Bierman Bombardier, S/Sgt. Glen R. Allen Ball Turret Gunner; S/Sgt. Joseph E. Scheuerer Engineer, S/Sgt. Robert R. Humphreys Tail Gunner and Sgt. D. E. Schilling, Right Waist Gunner. 

427BS Engineering Officer Capt. Quentin Hargrove and Capt. Louis A. Lame, 303rd Medical Officer, were dispatched to the crash site to investigate. 

A group of caring people erected a memorial at the crash site to pay tribute to this unlucky 303rd BG(H) crew that hit the mountain that stood away from the population center of Snowdonia 

BBC News Reported on September 4, 2019:  Volunteers carried the silicon bronze plaque up the 2,802ft (854m) mountain and the new memorial will be officially unveiled, including a dedication from the RAF Chaplain.

"There has always been a strong connection between the community of Bala and what happened on that night up on the mountain," added councilor Morgan. 

"We, as a community, remember what these young men did for us. It was important that we kept that tradition going."

Monument Text:

 

The text is in English and reads:

In memory of the crew of the Flying Fortress
which crashed on the Arenig Fawr 4th August 1943.


1st Lt James N Pratt, Boise, Idaho
2nd Lt Allan M Boner, Tinley Park, Illinois
2nd Lt William A Bowling, Covington, Kentucky
T/Sgt Frederic J Royar, Queens Village, New York
S/Sgt Walter J Johnston, Fayette, Ohio
Sgt Walter B Robinson, Sacramento, California
Sgt Phillip Simonte, Highland Park, Michigan
Pfc Alfred B van Dyke, Brookville, Pennsylvania

 

Commemorates:

People:

Allan M Boner

William A. Bowling

Walter J Johnston

James N Pratt

Walter Brown Robinson

Frederic J Royar

Philip Simonte

Alfred Brace Van Dyke

Units:

303rd Bomber Group

427th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, Heavy

8th Air Force

US Army Air Corps

Wars:

WWII

Other images :