Many people go up on Bleaklow, from the Snake Pass, to see the remains of the B-29 Superfortress that crashed there in 1948. But I'm not sure what this lot had been up to. So many of us who venture out into the quieter parts of our countryside have been upset by the way some have treated the countryside through Covid. This lot have gone to extremes. And as if abandonning your 4x4 in such a place is just inconsiderate, what about those who have tried to rip the doors off , smash the windows and tear the vehicle apart? As I came back down the Pennine Way I saw an individual stood on top as another took a phone photo. Drawing nearer I saw an opaque 'poo' bag had been dangled over the exhaust pipe, It looked like someone had weed in it before tying it off. And where the car door was hanging open, passing walkers had tossed plastic drinks bottles and food packaging in, to make it a four wheeled public litter bin. Bleaklow is hardly a beauty spot in my eyes, but it is National Trust land and alot of people enjoy the wide open spaces and wildlife, so..............

Despite the instagram crowd going to the B-29 crash site I found that place still had some dignity, further up in the clouds.

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It's quite shocking to see a disaster site for the first time. And this one happened 66 years ago, and still the landscape is scarred with a huge debris field. The 13 US crew who died are long gone but the four Wright aircraft engines and undercarriage legs, as the more solid components of the big bomber, remain as the most recognisable pieces scattered near the top of Bleaklow. Nicknamed "Over Exposed" the B-29 Boeing Superfortress crashed in 1948 killing all the crew on this bleak and windswept summit in the Peak District overlooking Manchester, England.

On 3rd November 1948 a US Air Force B-29 Super Fortress bomber slammed into the ground 2000 feet up on Bleaklow just below the summit at Higher Shelf Stones. The huge bomber, previously named "Overexposed", had been flying into a strong head wind with a low cloud ceiling on the one hour flight from Scampton. The crew probably thought they had passed over the high ground and prepared for their decent into Burtonwood. Unfortunately they had misjudged their position, thinking they were over Manchester. If they had been just 50 feet or so higher they might have avoided the disaster. As it was, all 13 crew perished in the crash that today still scars the landscape. The site now remains as a memorial to the airmen who died in that bleak and unforgiving place called Bleaklow.

There are many, many such military aircrash sites in this area alone. They are marked out and identified here (click on the icons to get the history of each crash site) www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/pdmap.htm

Tags:   over exposed bleaklow B-29 bomber boeing superfortress crash site disaster USAF airforce

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I've wanted to go back for some time, especially with my recently aquired skill with panoramic shots (not as good as some, but I'm getting there).

But it's not the sort of place you go to every day. It's a fair walk across and up and over the peat covered moorland. And at some point you are very likely to walk up into mist/cloud/fog and get lost ....just like the 13 man crew of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress did in 1948, and slammed into the 2000 ft high summit, killing all onboard.

It's a very exposed spot, normally windy and cold, barren and a bit moon-like. How ironic the B-29 had been named "OverExposed" and that they died in a very exposed, bleak place called Bleaklow.

I had heard that the spot had taken a bit of a hammering during the pandemic with large numbers hiking up to the crash-site for Instagram shots. And Mountain Rescue had tried to discourage inappropriately kitted individuals who got lost in the cloud and were at risk from the elements. Today I managed to get there without a problem, even taking a shortcut ( I think, perhaps unintentionally). Unfortunately whilst the cloud wreathed the site atmospherically there was no colour and there was far less visible debris than I remember. Some of the poignant tributes, poppies and flags had gone, the only colour provided by orange peel, crisp packets and glass beer bottles.

Four shapes emerged out of the fog. Two girls, two boys. I heard them saying, "OMG I thought we would never find it!" But they said how worth it it was. They had got lost on the top. Quickly the girls stripped off and pulled on a big bright pink T-shirt each. Some brain cancer charity was mentioned on the front. And then they posed for the photos that obviously confirmed their achievement.

I can't say I got the shots I had envisaged getting but I did want a picture that shows the broader expanse of the site. (there are more in my album from previous visits). www.flickr.com/photos/pentlandpirate/albums/7215771845398... 73 years on from the crash there is still alot to see.

(6 frame pano)

Tags:   US AIR FORCE RB-29 Superfortress boeing bleaklow crash 1948 derbyshire peak district instagram

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Those of you who have been with me a while will know this view. It was my fall back plan for today if I didn't see a mountain hare. But I got up there in the fog and even though the light was awful I can't resist these pictures.

It's not overexposed in my opinion, but "Overexposed" was the name of the Boeing B-29 reconnaissance plane that crashed just sixty feet below the summit of Bleaklow killing 13 Americans in 1948, seventy years ago. And still, after all this time there is a huge visible crash site with the more durable parts such as engines, undercarriage and wing and fuselage parts scattered all around. It is a post-apocalyptic sight.

Tags:   B-29 Overexposed superfortress bomber reconnaissance USAF crash 1948 bleaklow derbyshire

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To appreciate the extent of the crash site you have to watch this video shot nearly 70 years after the event. It's a considerable scar on the landscape www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqd-zDTg38E

Tags:   bleaklow snake pass glossop higher shelf b-29 superfortress crash disaster wreckage usaf bomber reconnaissance

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