Hi
 
I am looking for details of a fatal crash involving 1st Lt. Gaston N. Riggs of the 503rd FS on February 26th 1945. Aircraft serial number was 43-6785 and was a P-51B. Apparently the aircraft suffered an engine failure and crashed in or around Heston. Any details on this accident and on Lt. Riggs would be greatly appreciated.
 
Many thanks.
 
Regards
 
Chris.

Chris -
Have you requested Accident Report ?
Mike

Hi Mike
 
No not yet. It is one thing i have to do. It appears that 1st Lt. Riggs was transferred to the 339th FG on January 9th 1945 after spending time with the 94th BG as a B-17 pilot.
 
Regards
 
Chris.

C A,

Website http://www.commercemarketplace.com/home/CollectAir/woodason.html has a story about the crash and pics of the house that was kind of demolished.

P-51 had engine problems soon after take-off, tried to return to base but wingtip hit corner of farmhouse.

Regards,

Leendert
Brugge/Belgium

Hi Leendert
 
Many thanks for your message and attachment. I certainly wasn't expecting something like that. Will have to order the Accident Report as soon as possible. On one of the Accident Report sites there is a 'W' after the serial number, so i believe that the P-51B was 'War Weary'. Maybe this played a crucial role in the crash??
 
Many thanks.
 
Regards
 
Chris.

Hi Guys,
I can't help with any details other than those you already have, but I have in my possession a medal given to my grandfather in connection with this.
The medal was awarded by the "Society for the protection of life from fire", and is engraved 26-2-1945 along with my grandfathers' name (he was a police constable).
With the medal is a letter from the USAAF, as follows:

                                                  HEADQUARTERS
                                                AAF STATION F-378
                                               APO 559   U. S. ARMY
                                                                                                                    13 April 1945

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
New Scotland Yard
London S. W. 1

Dear Sir,
         I would very much like to express appreciation for the heroic action of Police Constable Casling (269T) attached to the Norwood Green Station in connection with the airplane accident of 26 February 1945, at Heston, involving 1st Lieutenant Gaston H. Riggs, 0758379, of this station.
         The airplane collided with a house at 91, North Hyde Lane, Heston, while attempting to make an emergency landing at Heston Aerodrome at approximately 1325.
         Police Constable Casling, together with Mr. William L. Blake, 71 High St. Hampton Hill, Hampton, Middlesex, Mr. Arthur H. Rowles, 24 Fern Lane, Heston, Middlesex,  Mr Alfred A. Hooper, 17 North Hyde Lane, Heston, Middlesex, rushed to the aid of the pilot in spite of the fact that the wreck burst into flames and the ammunition was exploding.
        With extreme risk to themselves, these men succeeded in extricating the pilot from the cockpit in spite of considerable difficulty in freeing him from his safety straps.
        Unfortunately Lieutenant Riggs died on the way to the hospital, however the heroic and spontaneous aid rendered by Police Constable Casling and the others concerned is worthy of merit and commendation.


Sincerely yours,

(Signed)

JOHN B. HENRY, JR.,
Colonel, Air Corps,
Commanding                                   


It is not clear if it is Gaston N. Riggs or Gaston H. Riggs as in the letter.
He is listed here: http://ourworld.cs.com/The339thftrgrp/personnel.html as Gaston H. Riggs, as per the letter.
My grandfather apparently always played down his part in the rescue. He died in 1973 when I was only 12, so I didn't really understand it enough to ask questions about it, despite being interested in aircraft. Locally it was a well-known incident, probably largely forgotten now, as the area now has a high immigrant populace.  For the record, my grandfather (and my father, who was by now at work for Fairey Aviation in Hayes) lived at 51, Heston Avenue, Heston. If you look up these roads (apart from the one in Hampton!) you will see they are very close.  I understand Lt. Riggs came from New Waverly, Texas.  
Anyway, thought it might be of interest to someone somewhere, and to you, C A.

Regards,
P C 
 

Hi Pete
 
Many thanks for the additional information regarding 1st Lt. Gaston N. Riggs accident. It was certainly a very brave thing what your Grandfather and the other helpers did in trying to save 1st Lt. Riggs and especially with the added risk of exploding ammunition and fire around the crash site.
 
It is possible that 'H' is just a typing error as 'N' and 'H' are next to each other. The details from the 94th BG records and also from the WWII National Memorial show Gaston N. Riggs.
 
http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/wardept/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=1240491&popcount=1&tcount=1
 
Once again many thanks for this additional information.
 
Regards
 
Chris.

Hello ... As a long time researcher of Heston Airfield I was very interested in reading this thread as this was quite a well known incident locally as it partly  demolished the Grange Farm house.

However... the letter and account quoted by PC is very interesting... especially if you read this!!

http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2002/09/the-airman-from-the-crash/

So was there a mystery hero who was never recognised?

Colin

Colin,
Yes I had previously come across that, too, in my research! Already had in printed and kept for posterity.
Now for an interesting co-incidence. About a month before I put my information on here, my father (who's now 83) went to attend to his father's grave in Heston churchyard. (He, and I, now live near Bristol, I might add, so it's not very often he gets up there) and while he was there another 'old boy' was attending to his fathers grave. They got chatting as to how the area wasn't the same now, and it turned out he was Billy Hooper, the son of the Mr Hooper who ran a pig farm next door to Grange Farm! He too, had moved away. They spoke about the incident, too. What was amazing too, was that they hadn't seen each other since about 1936! What were the chances of them meeting like that?
I also have a publicity booklet, from the early 1930's about Heston Aerodrome, still in it's (posted) Airwork envelope. Lots of photos around the hangars etc.

Regards,
Pete (I think you may have guessed my surname!)   

Wow.... that is spooky!!

Do yo have an interest in Heston Airport?? I too have a collection of photos, articles and some original items.

Would you be interested in sharing some scans of your stuff? I would be happy to email you mine.

BTW... i have no commercial asprirations here,.... it's purely for my own consumption!

rgds

Colin

Hi Colin,
My main interest in Heston (and the airport) is that I lived there for the first twenty years of my life ( and I was born long after it closed!), in the same house my father lived in for fifty years (from the age of five), and which my Policeman grandfather involved in this incident bought new in 1931, in Heston Avenue. My father's brother was always hanging around the airport/aerodrome, and later worked for Heston Aircraft for a time. He was always adamant a Lancaster had to emergency land there, but I can find no information. Not much missed his notice, but he may have been wrong on that one!  My father was in the ATC at Heston, and he worked for Faireys at Hayes, starting there during the war. He remembers a few of the pre-war aircraft at Heston (even the HP42's), some of the wartime aircraft, the boming incidents during the war (in The Vale) and a biggie dropping in our road that didn't go off but was discovered years later in a hole in a garden. (At the time, the authorities thought it was a little 'un that had gone off!)  
Apart from the booklet I mentioned, I really only have the book 'Coming in to land', which no doubt you have too, plus one or two small articles. What sort of stuff have you got?

Regards,
Pete.

I guess we could be guilty of thread hijack here!! I'll send you a PM with my email address.

As for the Lanc landing.... I can't comment, but I do have a picture of a Wellington taking off, photographed by a HA employee using gun camera film modified to fit his camera!!

I have "grabbed" most of the stuff off the net about Heston and have quite a lot of original research and photos along with all the published stuff

I used to live in Hounslow  from 59 - 88 and went o Heston school and 86 Sqn Heston ATC

rgds

colin