Bleaklow is a raised moorland plateau in the northern Dark Peak sector of the Peak District National Park. Close to its summit is an extensive debris field from a notorious aviation accident, the crash site of the Bleaklow Bomber.
A surprising amount of the wreckage is still visible at the site, where you will find a small memorial, an unofficial US flag and, normally at weekends, a small number of visitors. The landscape is sufficiently inhospitable to protect the wreckage, but the site is easily accessible to a reasonably equipped walker.
The story of Overexposed
3 November 1948 was a grey overcast day in the Peak District. At 11am the US Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber named “Overexposed”, en route to RAF Burtonwood near Warrington, crashed close to the Higher Shelf Stones on the Bleaklow plateau. All 13 crew members died in the incident and substantial wreckage remains on the surface.
The B-29 Superfortress was one of the largest military aircraft in service at the time, originally designed as a long-range bomber for use in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. This aircraft was delivered to the US Air Force in July 1945 and, with the war finishing the following September, it was soon surplus to requirements. The aircraft was one of many to be repurposed as a photographic reconnaissance platform and was provided with state-of-the-art cameras. Following this, she returned to the Pacific and was based in the Marshall Islands, close to Bikini atoll where the USA was proposing to carry out nuclear bomb tests.
These tests, Operation Crossroads, were to be the first tests acknowledged in advance and were controversial at the time. They were almost certainly environmentally disastrous because the second nuclear explosion was carried out underwater. An experiment never to be repeated chiefly because the US Navy could not decontaminate some of its observation vessels after the tests. Overexposed was part of the photographic reconnaissance team and observed the explosions from a distance of about 7km. This was somewhat closer to the detonation than most of the observers based on land or sea. It has been said in many accounts of its history, that the Overexposed name came from the aircraft being nearer than intended to at least one of the nuclear tests.
The last flight to RAF Burtonwood
Once the aircraft was decommissioned, it was assigned to normal reconnaissance duties and was transferred to Europe where the Cold War between the USA and the USSR was beginning. Based in the UK, at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, Overexposed almost certainly was involved in observing the build-up of Soviet forces in Eastern Europe that occurred between 1945 and 1948, culminating in the Berlin blockade in June 1948.
The Berlin Airlift, supplying blockaded Berlin by using aircraft to transport food and coal through the winter of 1948-49, prevented the USSR taking over control of the city, and it is claimed that Overexposed took part in this work. However, if it did fly into Berlin, it was almost certainly not to ferry food because it was not a cargo plane. More likely, it was to carry out photoreconnaissance of the build-up of Soviet forces around Berlin, whilst ostensibly ferrying supplies. It was during this period that the aircraft made its final flight to RAF Burtonwood.
RAF Burtonwood was close to Warrington. The M62 now cuts through its site, and it is partially occupied by Burtonwood Services. It was a major engineering site for US Air Force aircraft maintenance and there were regular flights to other USAF sites in the UK, such as RAF Scampton, to move parts, personnel, correspondence and US Service payrolls. It was one such task that Overexposed was carrying out on the morning on 3 November.
The weather that day was typical for the Northwest in late Autumn, overcast with clouds brushing the tops of the moorlands between Manchester and Sheffield. We do not know the precise details of the final flight, but on crossing the Pennines, the plane would begin its final descent towards Warrington and RAF Burtonwood. In those conditions the aircraft would be flying guided principally using instrumentation and fairly simple navigation procedures. For whatever reason, the pilot misjudged the approach and hit the ground on Bleaklow, with catastrophic impact.
The accident was observed on the ground and reported. Coincidentally, there was an RAF Aircraft Rescue Training exercise in progress in the area, and the rescue team arrived at the crash site soon after impact, but there were no survivors. The cause of the accident was never conclusively determined, and it remains one of a number of poorly understood aircraft accidents that tragically occurred in the Peak District in 1940 –1950.
Getting to the Bleaklow bomber crash site
The site of the wrecked aircraft is very close to the Higher Shelf Stones rock outcrop, close to the summit of Bleaklow and is easily accessible from either Glossop or Hadfield. Starting from these towns is easiest because, although it is close to the Snake Pass road, there is very limited parking available. Although sited on boggy moorland, there is a clear path leading from the Pennine Way and even a dedicated white arrow on a Pennine Way guidepost indicating where to set off.
From Glossop, it is a straightforward walk from the centre of Old Glossop along the Doctor’s Gate old packhorse trail (a public bridleway), and allegedly the Roman Road until it reaches the Pennine Way. Using this route to travel north towards Bleaklow Head, you can see the junction after a couple of kilometres, and it is then about a further 500m to the crash site. Take care in sticking to the paths, as the ground is very boggy and treacherous after rain. The site remains at risk from damage and degradation due to high numbers of visitors, so please consider this ahead of your trip. The site should be treated with respect, and it is an unofficial memorial to those who perished in the accident. Under no circumstances disturb the wreckage or take any souvenirs of a visit.
