HOBBY MASTER 1/72 USAF BOEING F-15E EAGLE 92-0364 “Mi Amigo”(HA4522)

Shortly before 5pm on 22 February 1944, Lt John Kriegshauser, a 23-year-old American pilot, found himself in grave danger. His B-17 Flying Fortress, nicknamed ‘Mi Amigo’, had been badly damaged by enemy fighters over Nazi-occupied Denmark and, struggling back to base in Northamptonshire, he urgently needed somewhere to land. With the aircraft’s engines fading fast, Lt Kriegshauser realised he would need to crash-land in Endcliffe Park, Sheffield, where a group of schoolchildren was gathered , narrowly avoiding them he crashed into woodland in the park, the aircraft exploded, killing all 10 airmen on board. Had it not been for Kriegshauser’s skill – for which he was posthumously awarded the US Distinguished Flying Cross the death toll could have been considerably higher. This F-15, one of four commemorates the 75th anniversary of the event when a special flypast from RAF Lakenheath was conducted on 22 February 2019.