BEDFORD — 1944 · Missing Person
The Disappearance of Glenn Miller over the Channel
Major Glenn Miller, one of the most popular musicians of the Second World War and leader of the US Army Air Forces band, boarded a small single-engine Norseman aircraft at RAF Twinwood Farm in England on the afternoon of 15 December 1944, bound for Paris. Three people were aboard, including the pilot and another officer. The aircraft took off at 1:55 pm and vanished without trace over the English Channel; neither wreckage nor bodies were ever found. Bad weather, icing or a fuel-system failure are the most common explanations. Another theory holds that the plane was hit by bombs jettisoned over the sea by British bombers returning from an aborted raid. Miller's fate remains one of the war's most enduring mysteries.
- Date
- 1944
- Place
- RAF Twinwood Farm, Bedfordshire, UK, Bedford, UK
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 52.1878, -0.4659 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 13-14 December 1944Miller's flights to France were cancelled due to bad weather.
- 15 December 1944, 1:55 pmThe Norseman left Twinwood Farm and was never seen again.
- 2001The theory that British bombs downed the aircraft resurfaced.
- 2019A US team investigated a possible crash site.
Sources
- BBC News — What happened to Glenn Miller? The 80-year mystery bbc.com ↗
- The Guardian — Glenn Miller 'died under hail of British bombs' theguardian.com ↗
- BBC News — Glenn Miller: Possible crash site investigated by US team bbc.com ↗
- BBC News
- The Guardian
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.