Summary : The notional point of the fatal aerial explosion of an American Liberator aircraft PB4Y-1, serial number 32271, said to have taken place over woods, named "Newdelight Covert", on 12th August 1944. On board was United States Navy Lieutenant (Lt.) Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr., the elder brother of the future American President J.F. Kennedy. The aircraft was part of a secret mission using an experimental system to attack a German V-weapon site in occupied France (probably a V-3 "supergun" site at Mimoyeques). The system and the special United States Navy unit that operated it were codenamed "Project Anvil"- the Navy version of a similar project called "Aphrodite". The premise of the system was the deployment of a "Drone" aircraft (the Liberator) packed with Torpex high explosives, which once started on its flight by a picked crew of two people, would be guided to crash into its target by radio remote control by a "mother-ship" aircraft. The crew of the "Drone" were intended to have previously bailed out over England on radio control being firmly established. The other crew-member was Lt. Wilford John Willy, who designed most of the weapons system. First based at Dunkeswell in Devon, the project moved to Fersfield Airfield on July 31st 1944. The Drone was equipped with a nose camera that was part of the aircraft's remote guidance system, codenamed "Block". Although the cause of the explosion was not conclusively proven, it may have been because of lack of electrical shielding on "Block"- causing a detonator to set off the Torpex. The resulting huge explosion scattered wreckage over a large area, estimated at three by two miles across. The remains of the crew were never found. Contemporary aerial photographs of the immediate area do not show any major damage relating to the crash. Should any traces relating to the incident be found, they would be covered by the 1986 Military Remains Act, and a licence from the Ministry of Defence would be required to recover them. |
More information : The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum website contains a section on the loss of Liberator aircraft PB4Y-1, serial number 32271, on 12th August 1944. On board was United States Navy Lieutenant (Lt.) Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., the elder brother of the future American President J.F. Kennedy. The aircraft was part of a secret mission using an experimental weapons system to attack a German long-range V-weapon site in occupied France. The museum website states that the target was a V-3 "supergun" site under construction at Mimoyecques in occupied France. This installation was being partly built by slave labour amid appalling conditions and under SS guard, the workforce also included off-duty German servicemen). The V-3 was an experimental arrangement of huge long-range guns mounted in banks of five; theoretically capable of reaching London (none were ever completed). Mimoyecques had already been recently hit in July 1944 by massive "Tallboy" bombs dropped by 617 RAF, led by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire. Although in that earlier raid the bombs had only apparently caused minor structural damage to the main site above ground they led to massive water ingress drowning a large number of people in the lower levels of the complex. The new attacking system of American aircraft and the special United States Navy unit that operated it were codenamed "Project Anvil". The intended premise of the system was the deployment of a "Drone" aircraft (the Liberator) packed with Torpex explosives, which once started on its flight by a picked skeleton crew of two people, would be guided to crash into its target by radio remote control by a "mother-ship" (a Ventura aircraft); the crew of the "Drone" were intended to have previously bailed out over England on radio control being firmly established. As a very experienced aviator, Lt. Kennedy had volunteered for the project after completing his normal combat tour. The other crew-member was Lt. Wilford John Willy, who designed most of the weapons system. Initially based at Dunkeswell in Devon, the project moved to Fersfield Airfield on July 31st 1944. In addition to the Liberator Drone, the attack force consisted of a fighter escort of 4 Mustangs, two Ventura mother ships, a P38 and a B17 filming the mission and two US Mosquitoes observing. The Drone was equipped with a nose camera that was part of the aircraft's remote guidance system, codenamed "Block". The website suggests that the explosion may have happened because of lack of electrical shielding on "Block"- causing a detonator to set off the Torpex. The resulting huge explosion over New Delight Wood scattered wreckage over a large area (estimated at three by two miles across). A wide area of heathland caught fire. The remains of the crew were never found. The mission remained classified for a long time after the war. (1)
Account from the John F Kennedy Library and Museum website. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was born on 25th July 1915. During the Second World War he broke off his law studies to volunteer as a navy aviator. Initially he took part in Caribbean Patrols before going to England as part of the first US Navy B24 squadrons to fly with British Naval Command, taking part in dangerous missions for example over the Bay of Biscay. He volunteered for a secret mission using radio controlled "Drone" aircraft. This account states that a "V-2 rocket launching site in Normandy" was the target of the attack on 12th August. Note that this account, partly derived from the testimony of "a fellow officer", also states that there were two explosions on board and that the cause was never fully established. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and the Air Medal. After the war a former destroyer, now a museum ship was named after him. A further legacy was a foundation set up in his name to improve the way society deals with people with intellectual disabilities. (2)
American website with lists of serial numbers and fates of United States Navy aircraft: "32271 (ex USAAF B-24J 42-110007) in special unit SAU-1. Loaded with Torpex explosives, exploded in midair over Newdelight Wood, Suffolk, UK 8/12/1944. Lt Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr (JFK's older brother) and Lt Wilford J. Willey killed. Intended target was V-site at Mimoyecques". (3)
The area of woodland is consistently labelled as "Newdelight Covert" on post-war and pre-war Ordnance Survey mapping. It is centred at roughly National Grid Reference TM 45580 73197. (4-6)
A small memorial to Lt. Kennedy exists at the underground "catacombs" at the former V3 site of Mimoyecques in France Pas de Calais area- Landrethun-de-Nord District). Here the mission is referred to under the wider code name of "Aphprodite". Other, separate memorials exist there to the allied airmen killed in the "Tallboy" raid and also to the forced labourers who died either through maltreatment or in the July 1944 bombing raid. (7)
Official Website of Mimoyecques V3 site. The intended target of the raid is now a museum, a programme of refurbishment work was carried out in 2010 and it has re-opened. The website includes a gallery of images of the V3 site and images relating to RAF Tallboy raids. (8)
Aerial photograph evidence is inconclusive. Comparison of aerial Photographs of the area around Newdelight Covert from 4th August 1945 (8 days prior to the crash) and 16th October 1945 (a little over two months after the crash) shows no great change, no signs of a major explosion or scorching. There are "pock-marks" of craters- but these appear on the earlier photographs as well. This leads one to speculate that either the damage to the surface of the land was not as evident as supposed or the explosion did not occur exactly at the alleged point. (9)
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