Sheffield artist unveils artwork dedicated to downed plane Mi Amigo

A new painting paying tribute to the crew of an American bomber plane which crashed in Sheffield during World War Two is set to go on public display.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th May 2016, 11:53 BST
Updated 2nd Jun 2016, 09:38 BST
Lo to r:- Sheffield author, Paul Allonby, Keith Peters, eyewitness, and Sheffield artist Paul Rowland at the unveiling of the painting.Lo to r:- Sheffield author, Paul Allonby, Keith Peters, eyewitness, and Sheffield artist Paul Rowland at the unveiling of the painting.
Lo to r:- Sheffield author, Paul Allonby, Keith Peters, eyewitness, and Sheffield artist Paul Rowland at the unveiling of the painting.

All 10 crew members of B17G Mi Amigo were killed when the aircraft crashed in Endcliffe Park in 1944 while returning home from a bombing raid.

Despite being born and bred in Sheffield, artist Paul Rowland had never heard of the disaster and only knew about it after stumbling across a memorial.

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The find peaked his interest in the story and he decided to complete a painting of Mi Amigo flying over the skies of Sheffield. He now hopes to showcase the artwork as part of the ‘Art in the Gardens’ exhibition at the Botanical Gardens in September.

He said: “I was surprised that I had never heard about ‘Mi Amigo’ before. Several months of research followed to ensure the accuracy of the scene before I even began to paint. Now, after six months work of painting, it is just about finished.”

Paul read ‘Courage Above The Clouds - The True Story of the Heroic Crew of B17 ‘Mi-Amigo’ by Sheffield author Paul Allonby. He also spoke to eyewitness Keith Peters, who was aged just nine at the time and was playing football when the aircraft went down.

Official accounts state that the stricken bomber had become damaged by a German fighter plane during a bombing raid over Denamrk. It knocked out its navigation equipment and the plane ended up off course over Sheffield. Eyewitnesses said the plane was trying to land in the park but after seeing children playing football swerved into nearby trees. The pilot, 1st lieutenant John Kriegshauser, received a posthumous medal for avoiding the children.