Bleaklow Bomber
United States Air Force Boeing RB-29A Superfortress · Descent too early in low cloud
From Scampton near Lincoln to Burtonwood near Warrington
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 13 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Boeing RB-29A Superfortress
- Aircraft type
- Boeing RB-29
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 44-61999
- Operator
- United States Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 13
- Route
- From Scampton near LincolnTo Burtonwood near Warrington
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The Bleaklow Bomber was a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RB-29A Superfortress that crashed near Higher Shelf Stones on Bleaklow in the Peak District in 1948. It was modified as a reconnaissance aircraft, rather than a bomber.
Crash site
In 1988, a memorial was erected at the site by servicemen from RAF Finningley, with a plaque in memory of those who died in the crash.
Much of the wreckage is still exposed, including the Duplex-Cyclone engines, wing sections, fuselage sections, undercarriage and gun turrets. One of the gun turrets is on display at the air museum in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. In the 1970s a local man found a ring at the crash site, which was identified as Captain Tanner's wedding ring and was returned to his daughter.
The area around the crash site is challenging to navigate. The most obvious route is from the trig pillar at the summit of Higher Shelf Stones. It is about a 2 mi walk to the crash site from the lay-by at the summit of Snake Pass, starting along the Pennine Way footpath through Devil's Dyke. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom in 2020, local Mountain Rescue teams issued warnings that inexperienced hikers should exercise caution before attempting a winter visit.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bleaklow Bomber” (revision 1374286752, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Bleaklow Bomber
- Article
- Bleaklow Bomber
- Revision
- 1374286752 · 2026-09-11 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q97357142
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Bleaklow Bomber" (page 64318707, revision 1374286752)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: total_fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.