Wreckage has been reported in this vicinity.

The remains of this aircraft are designated as a Protected Place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. The Act makes it an offence to interfere with the wreckage of any crashed, sunken or stranded military aircraft without a licence. For further information on this Act and its administration with regard to aircraft, please contact the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, RAF Innsworth, Gloucester, GL3 1RZ.

Event and Historical Information:
The investigation of the incident noted that the P-47D was assigned to the 8 AFCC, 495 Fighter Training, 521nd SE Fighter Training. The pilot was 1st Lt John W Beauchamp (killed) and had some 330 flying hours, 84 on this model of aircraft. The aircraft had cleared from Atcham on a non-operational aerobatics and instrument training flight. From eye-witness accounts, the investigators noted that the pilot had been zooming over the hills and into valleys (down a valley, picking up steeply and executing a double roll each time). In his last roll, the aircraft flicked and spun. After two complete spins, the pilot applied full power for recovery but failed to clear the high ground. His recovery height was estimated at 2000ft, which gave him only 600ft clearance above the terrain. The investigators suggested that the aircraft had stalled. However, other eyewitnesses stated that immediately after completing what appeared to be a controlled spin, the aircraft began to spin downwards... A flame was seen coming from the back of the starboard wing where the wing joins the fuselage... Black smoke was seen coming from both exhaust pipes and suddenly the plane caught fire.... Whether the cause was ultimately a combination of too low an altitude to recover or a mechanical failure, the pilot was killed when the aricraft crashed into Llwynglas Mountain, Mallwydd, on 4 May 1944 at 19:30. The body was recovered by the Home Guard.

Sources include:
Doylerush, E, 1999, No Landing Place Volume 2: More Tales of Crashed Aircraft in Snowdownia, pg33, photo wreckage pg31
Doylerush, E, 2002, No Landing Place: A Guide to Aircraft Crashes in Snowdonia, pg93
US Army Air Force Report of Aircraft Accident 44-05_04_524, RCAHMW Digital Collections.

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, December 2013.