In the early afternoon of May 15th 1943 2nd Lt Wayne Peterson of B Flight, 62nd FS took off from Horsham St Faith in P-47C-5-RE 41-6397 LM-S.

This was a test flight to check the supercharger regulator. However, as Peterson reached 7000ft he noticed that the oil pressure was dropping dramatically, and he began to return to base.

Finding that he wasn't going to be able to make Horsham he crash landed the aircraft on Hellesdon Golf Course. The aircraft was a complete write-off, but 2nd Lt Peterson escaped with only minor cuts and bruises. A fine example of the ruggedness of the P-47.

The photos on this page show the recovery operation getting underway with armourers making the .50cal Brownings safe, always the first job when recovering a crash landed aircraft.

Note the British policeman keeping an eye on proceedings and the officer's cap perched on the whip aerial. No doubt this event was the main topic of conversation in the Clubhouse that evening!