On October 21, 1944, a United States Army Air Forces Douglas C-47A transport aircraft crashed at the top of Kop Hill near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, killing all five crew members. The aircraft had departed Grove Airfield, Oxfordshire, carrying supplies to Stansted, Essex, for an onward flight to France. It crashed at approximately 10:30 a.m., about fifteen minutes after takeoff, in conditions of low cloud and fog.
The aircraft, serial number 42-93525, belonged to the 321st Transport Squadron of the 27th Air Transport Group. Its final flight ended in the English countryside before it could complete the first stage of its supply journey. The loss offers a local reminder that wartime flying could be fatal even away from combat.
A memorial at Kop Hill commemorates the five American airmen who died. It connects the surrounding landscape with a specific wartime loss, preserving the memory of a transport crew whose service ended far from the front lines.
Photo Caption:
The Kop Hill Memorial — Remembering Five American Airmen
The memorial at Kop Hill near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, commemorates the five American crew members killed when their United States Army Air Forces C-47A transport aircraft crashed on October 21, 1944. The aircraft was carrying supplies from Grove Airfield to Stansted for an onward flight to France when it crashed in low cloud and fog.
