WARNING:serious thread-drift.
The mention by megan,of the book 'No Moon Tonight' prompted a memory,so thought I would post it here.Apologies if it's the wrong place,but it may be of interest to readers.
I and some of my friends read this book in 1973(&I haven't read it since).Anyhow,the author told of an incident that occurred while he was training at RAF Lichfield,when,as I remember it,a Wellington got airborne and immediately suffered an engine failure,and came down beyond the runway.I believe the crew may have got out,but some hours later the aircraft exploded
At the time I was living in Lichfield ,and one cold February day,I and 3 of my friends,all in the local ATC squadron,decided to go to the airfield,which was now an industrial site,and follow the extended centreline,to see if there was anything remaining from the above incident.We didn't have to walk too far over the frosty fields before we came across a large,but fairly shallow depression in the ground,evidently caused by an explosion.Lying on the surface was lots of associated debris,including; a mangled pilots seat,semi-circular control yoke,rubber oxygen mask,2 oxygen bottles,remains of a steel helmet,and various sundry pieces of wreckage.We piled up the recognizable parts,and a day or two later I persuaded my father to collect them in his car,and transport them to our ATC squadron HQ,where we set-up a small museum.
Many years later,I heard that all these items had subsequently been thrown in a skip.