Sheffield service marks Mi Amigo bomber crash 80th anniversary

Ten US Air Force crewmen died when the Mi Amigo crashed in Sheffield in February 1944

The 80th anniversary of a World War Two B-17 bomber crash in Sheffield in which 10 US airmen were killed has been marked by a service in the city.

The plane, known as Mi Amigo, crashed in Endcliffe Park in February 1944 while returning from a bombing raid.

Descendants of those who died travelled to Sheffield from across the US to take part in the service.

The family of Mi Amigo pilot John Kriegshauser said it was "very emotional" to see how many attended.

Gene Cogorno, one of Mr Krieghauser's relatives, said: "Just the outpouring of the British people - the support, the memories - it's just incredible."

Susannah Kriegshauser added that it was "amazing" that people in Sheffield still remembered the men who died in the crash 80 years on.

Descendants of the US airmen who died in the bomber crash attended the memorial service

Kristine Fronk, the grand-daughter of co-pilot Lyle Curtis, whose young pregnant wife Irma was left behind in Idaho, also attended the memorial service.

She said the family had been "learning a lot" about Mr Curtis.

"This has been a journey for us to learn about him," she added.

Colton Fronk, Mr Curtis's great-grandson, said the airman's death had really affected his family.

Barry Darwin, who was just four years old when he witnessed the crash's immediate aftermath in the park, said the memorial services which were held every year were "very special".

Mr Darwin is a member of Sheffield RAF Association, which previously organised a crowdfunding campaign to refurbish the memorial to the dead airmen and make it more visible and accessible.

In 2019, BBC presenter Dan Walker helped arrange a 75th anniversary flypast over Endcliffe Park after he met Tony Foulds, another witness to the Mi Amigo crash who went on to tend the memorial.

A memorial to the victims of the Mi Amigo crash was erected in Endcliffe Park in the 1970s