Jumpseater
Thanks for your responses. Second hand testimony indicates that the witnesses were hoeing sugar beet at the time that the accident took place. This would be consistent with a time of year around April or May. However memory is a funny thing and your months of October and November would be wholly appropriate for harvesting sugar beet. I would not be too surprised if this was the case.
The only reference that I have found within the accident reports on the website suggested by Pronto occurs on the 8th May 1944 2 miles NE of the airfield. There are a couple of problems with this particular incident, firstly the farm is about 1 mile NW of the field and secondly the aircraft in question is a P47 (probably from nearby Atcham) Clearly this is not consistent with testimony indicating that the aircraft was a heavy bomber.
I have spoken with my father again this morning and it appears that the aircraft was attempting to return to Halfpenny Green following its departure and I presume following (multiple?) engine failure was dragging it through the weeds on what I guess would be a glide approach for 16. The pilot tried to lift the aircraft over the top of a small wood adjacent to the farm and I guess as a result stalled/spun into the trees.
I think it is perhaps possible that the aircraft was actually an RAF heavy rather than a USAAF aircraft with some Canadian crew members rather than Americans. I doubt if the local farm hands at the time would have made a distinction between them. I wonder if anyone has a source of further information similar to that suggested by Pronto above for RAF losses?
As a final comment you indicate that your references only cover combat missions. The accident in question was not a combat loss and although I could not certainly say that the aircraft was not involved on a combat mission at the time of the accident I gather that is was a positioning flight.
Once again thanks to you and Pronto for your comments. I hope others may have something to add.