A-20 Havoc Crash in Erith

Pictured is a mock-up of the A-20 Havoc with the number and code letters that appeared on the plane on the day of the crash. The mock-up was done by Russell Pearman.

The mission to bomb the V1 site in France was going to happen in the afternoon. Ground crews at the station were busy preparing the 32 planes for the mission, with fuel and ammunition, and loading the bombs into the bomb bays. The crews would have been to briefings to get target information and also to get the latest intelligence about anti aircraft gun sites and German fighters they might expect to encounter on the mission.

The weather was cloudy for the afternoon as the planes set off for their mission at 14:20. Thirty-two Havocs formed up at the rallying point, and flew in formation across the Essex countryside.

The formation of planes flew through overcast weather and the pilots struggled to maintain formation to avoid colliding with other planes in the formation as they approached Erith at around 3,000 ft. Lt. Beck was the leader of number three flight. Lt. McDonald, S/Sgt. Joseph Shields, and S/Sgt Leroy Barnard plane was positioned to the left of the leader. About 20 minutes into the flight the order was given to ascend through the thick outcast; as the pilots did this they realised as the clouds were so thick they were unable to maintain sight of the other planes in their box, so the pilots—for safety—moved apart to avoid any possible collision.

S/Sgt. Joseph Shields

Lt. Peck, while going through clouds, noticed Lt .McDonald above him and called for him to come down and go through the hole in the clouds that he had discovered where he could see the ground. At 14:47 he saw a big explosion below, but did not know what it was until later.

The squadron continued flying through the bad weather reaching the coast. The squadrons were recalled to base as the weather was too bad to continue. Once they returned to base they learned the awful truth that Lt. McDonald’s plane had crashed killing the three man crew.

On the ground eyewitness watched and could hear the bombers approaching through the clouds. 

One witness who was tending his allotment plot at the rear of Turners Asbestos Company, south of Manor Road, where the plane crashed, was the closest person to witness what happened. PC Scobell, who was a policeman at Erith Police Station, reported the following:

At about 3 pm on 24th April 1944, I was working on my allotment at Manor Road, Erith, when I saw the machine about 150 feet in the air, diving vertically, it seemed to pull out of the dive slightly, and hit the bank about 80 yards from where I was working. It immediately burst into flames. I ran towards it for the purpose of rendering assistance, but could see no sign of life.

The authorities recovered the bodies of the three crew men and transported them to the local mortuary in Erith. Capt. Garland Murphy, flight surgeon to the squadron, travelled to Erith to collect the crew’s remains which were taken to the American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridgeshire, where they were buried.

On the 29th of April, the squadron produced the official aircraft accident report with various statements taken from pilots who flew that day with Lt. McDonald, and engineer statements on the condition of the aircraft, as well as the statement from PC Scobell. The official cause could not be determined, and was listed as unknown.

S/Sgt. Joseph Shields, aged 22, from Collingdale, Pennsylvania, had arrived in England only three months previously and had been on missions with the squadron from the very start on 3rd March 1944. He  had already flown ten missions with Lt. McDonald. Joseph entered the Army Air Force on 1st August 1942 and after training around the U.S., embarked for England in January 1944. He worked for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company before joining the military.

Sgt. Shields now rests at the American National Military Cemetery, Cambridgeshire, UK. Plot E, Row  3 Grave 63.

From letters home to his family you can sense the strain the missions were putting on him. He regularly wrote home  and in one of his letter said:

If you could see the big fires from my turret which are scorching France, you would realise how devastating this war really is...

In his last letter dated April 23rd he wrote to his family:

I’m working long, hard days and nights. Often we don’t get ‘home’ until well after 10 pm. I am tired now and have to rest as we have a big mission tomorrow. I will write to you again when I get back...

Sadly that was the last letter he wrote to his family as he was killed the next day (24th April).

Joseph’s remains are buried in the American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridgeshire, UK, as no request was made for his remains to return to the U.S.