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Parking coordinates given separately. You can do this cache by itself or you can do our other cache nearby, The Lt Joe Kennedy Memorial Cache. Both are on the same Byway which cuts through the beautiful New Delight Covert. Area not overly suited to buggies and Wheelchairs unfortunately.
The cache is just to the side of the track, not inside fenced off area. Please do not go inside fenced off area for any reason- THANK YOU!
Wilford John Willy, was born on the 13th May 1909. He volunteered for the U.S. Navy in 1933 as an able seaman and worked his way up through the ranks, studying electronics and becoming an expert in radio controlled systems for Top Secret U.S. Navy weapon projects. He also became a pilot and was certified to fly various aircraft including the B24 Liberator.
Lt Willy had not seen any action during the war because of his involvement with Top Secret projects - project Anvil had prevented him from serving on active duty. He designed most of the weapon system for the Liberator drone he would eventually die in. Lt Willy had pulled rank on Lt Kennedy's co-pilot Ensign Simpson, not because he could not do the job, but because he was determined to make project Anvil work, the V3 weapon site just had to be destroyed.
On the 31st July 1944 a U.S.N. special air unit, codenamed Project Anvil, moved to Fersfield from Dunkeswell in Devon. The mission was to involve the use of explosive-laden PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers under radio control. The crew of two, Lt Joe Kennedy (pilot), and Lt. Wilford John Willy (radio control technician/co-pilot), were to take off with 21,150 lbs of Torpex in 347 boxes and establish radio control of the Liberator by a Ventura mother-ship. Once full control was established and tested, at a pre-determined point the crew would parachute from the aircraft through the nose wheel bay emergency exit and the bomber would continue the rest of its mission under radio control, finally crashing onto the target.
At 5.59pm August 12 1944, after all the aircraft had taken off from Fersfield airfield, Lt Kennedy lined up his drone on the main 6,000 ft runway. After making a text book take-off he slowly climbed to the operating height of 2,000 feet and continued to fly on the planned course, forming up with the rest of the formation over Halesworth, Suffolk. The formation consisted of two Ventura motherships (because if there were a problem with one, the second could assume radio control of the drone once the crew had bailed out), one P38 camera aircraft, 4 Mustangs from the 20th Fighter Group as low level escort, one B17 filming, and two American Mosquitoes on detachment from the 25th Bomb Group Photographic Wing observing the mission.
Once the formation had cleared Halesworth the Liberator switched over from manual flight to radio control. The pilot in the Ventura mothership was making test turns under full control. Lt Kennedy, now flying as a passenger, radioed the codename "Zoot suit" to tell the other crews that every thing was fine. Lt Willy then switched on "Block", which was the codename for the TV camera in the nose used to guide the drone onto the target (Mimoyecques V3 Site). Two minutes later the drone suddenly exploded over New Delight Wood, Blythburgh, Suffolk.
The wreckage was scattered over an area 3 miles long and about 2 miles wide. 3 square miles of heath land was set on fire, 147 properties - some up to 16 miles away were damaged, and hundreds of trees in New Delight Wood were felled as a result of the blast. Despite all this, no civilians were killed. However, no remains of the crew were ever found. The cause of the explosion is believed to be a lack of electrical shielding on "Block" which caused electromagnetic emissions to open up a relay solenoid that should have been closed. When the solenoid opened it set off one of the MK9 detonators, which in turn set off the load of Torpex.
You are looking for a micro and will need your own pencil and log extraction tool.
This cache has been placed with the kind permission of Natural England.
Additional Hints
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