USAAF Station 126 - Rattlesden
42-31088, Heaven Can Wait
| 447th Bomb Group USAAF Station 126 - Rattlesden 42-31088, Heaven Can Wait |
| Heaven Can Wait Photos courtesy Mr. Rob Kirkwood |
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| 42-31088, Heaven Can Wait, was one of the original Harvard planes, ferried to Rattlesden in late November 1943. It flew only six combat missions with the 711th Squadron, each with a different crew. |  |
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 The Hudson crew with Heaven Can Wait at Rattlesden, probably December, 1943 Pictorial History photo |
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 Nose art detail on Heaven Can Wait |
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 Photo taken in in late December 1943, or early 1944 |
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| Combat Missions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the morning of April 12, 1944 Lt. Phillip King's crew took off on a mission to Leipzig (which was recalled before crossing the North Sea). King experienced difficulties keeping the aircraft in the air, and it crashed approximately two miles from the runway. Three members of the crew survived. The exact cause of the accident remains in dispute. Officially, a collision with "an object other than aircraft" (a tree) was determined to be the cause. Other factors may have played a part, including mechanical defects, maintenance problems, and possibly even sabotage. Official crash report: AR440412.PDF (1 MB Acrobat file) |
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| Those on board Heaven Can Wait on April 12, 1944: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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