On 21st December 1943, HF208 was struck by lightning and crashed in flames into a remote hillside in the Irish Republic. I have known about this crash for quite a while now and felt sad at the agonising deaths experienced by the crew. The thought of death by fire has always horrified me since I was in a house fire many years ago.
I have recently discovered that these men were not burnt at all; they were thrown clear of the aircraft but were killed by exploding ammunition from their own machine guns. Today I received this photograph of some of the wreckage, still lying where it fell sixty five years ago; a poignant memorial. Thanks for the photograph go to Dennis Burke, whose own website on the subject of air crashes in Ireland is one of the most impressive I have ever seen.
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