The US Air Force is to conduct a flypast over Endcliffe Park in Sheffield to mark the 80th anniversary of the crash of B-17 “Mi Amigo”.
Two F-15E Strike Eagles from the 492nd Fighter Squadron/48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk will perform two fly overs of Endcliffe Park on February 22. The commemoration was announced on the website (MiAmigoSheffield1944.com) and ‘Tony Foulds and Mi Amigo’ Facebook page. Tony’s story came to prominence after a chance encounter with then BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker in 2019.
The two Strike Eagles will first conduct a flypast at 11am in a westerly direction. The website states: “The Pilot Officers will give 'eyes right' towards the Mi Amigo Memorial, in honour and military respect for the ten airmen who tragically died on this day in history… the flight plan is for the F-15Es to make the return pass some minute later, in the opposite easterly direction, giving a salute and eyes left towards the Mi Amigo Memorial.”
When Tony met Walker he explained he’d been in the park as the stricken aircraft approached, and that he and his friends mistook the frantic waves from the crew to ‘get out of the way’ as a friendly gesture. This misunderstanding ultimately sealed the fate of the aircraft and its men. It is believed the pilot had hoped to attempt a forced landing on Endcliffe Park’s grass field, but due to children playing there at the time, it is presumed that 23-year-old pilot Lt John Kriegshauser and co-pilot 2nd Lt Lyle Curtis decided to abort the attempt.
The B-17G Flying Fortress named “Mi Amigo” was aircraft 42-31322 assigned to the 364th Bomb Squadron/305th Bomb Group, based at Chelveston, Northamptonshire and was returning from a mission to Aalborg, Denmark. “Mi Amigo” had been badly damaged by enemy fire, and eyewitnesses reported seeing a red flare fired from the aircraft seconds before it made its approach, to indicate there were wounded on board. The subsequent crash killed all ten airmen. Tony witnessed the demise of “Mi Amigo” as an eight-year-old boy and has felt a duty to its deceased personnel ever since and tended the park’s memorial to the crew for many years.
