Much of it I was unaware of so a special thank you from me :)
Over to David....
I have been reading with interest the post by Rodger V Chadwick (22-3-2013), and the post about Tommy Sowter (27-3-2013), with the references to the V1 explosion at Westwood Farm, and the German bomber coming down near St Mary's.
The V1 was a winged pilotless aircraft carrying a warhead,powered by a pulse jet engine. This weapon was normally launched from a ramp by catapult, but the 31 V1's that landed in the North of England , aimed at Manchester early on Christmas eve 1944 were air launched over the north sea to give extra range.
The article about Westwood Farm, and the map of V1 impacts, are taken from the book "Flying Bombs Over The Pennines" (1988) by Peter J.C. Smith.
The pictures of Westwood Farm before and after, appear both in this publication and also "Air Launched Doodlebugs, The Forgotten Campaign"(2006) by the same author.
Westwood Farm Before
Westwood Farm After.
I have also included a photo that I took a few years ago of the V1 crater on Midhope Moor. This weapon was part of the same attack, and fell short of the target area.
The crater, numbered 24 on the map, is 15 metres in diameter
The Westwood Farm V1 is numbered 6 on the map.
My grandparents lived on St Mary's Road, and I can remember them telling me about a German plane coming down in fields behind the church. The area was quite accessible and so the wreckage would have been easy to clear. This, and the fact that intelligence officers would go over every inch of an enemy aircraft, meant that the clear up would have been thorough. I think that the area has been built over now.
If the aircraft was attacked by a Hurricane, it would most likely have been from Cranage (Byley).
I hope that some of this is of interest to you.
Thanks so much , David.
Great post indeed !
