A recently unearthed photo could show the Norfolk girlfriend of a bomber pilot who died in a tragic accident during the Second World War.

Captain John Neal 'Hutch' Hutchison was one of the 21 airmen from the USAAF 385th bomb group who lost their lives in a crash in the cloudy skies over the Reedham Marshes on February 21, 1944.

The men were part of a 900-plane bombing mission that was returning to base, and was only a few minutes from landing.

The 80th anniversary of the devastating collision is being commemorated in Reedham, at the village's war memorial on February 21.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Captain Hutchison’s crew in December 1943 with their new Flying Fortress Sleepy Time Gal ll. Captain Hutchison’s crew in December 1943 with their new Flying Fortress Sleepy Time Gal ll. (Image: Courtesy of Ian McLachlan)

READ MORE: Temporary road restrictions for B17 commemoration confirmed

The ceremony, organised by the parish council and starting at 11am, will include an honour guard from the USAAF 385th Bomb Group Association, RAF Mildenhall and Royal British Legion standard bearers, as well as a wreath-laying event.

Ian McLachlan, a historian from Oulton Broad in Lowestoft, said the photo shows a woman who Captain Hutchison was dating during the war.

She has never been identified but it is believed the captain had a girlfriend in Great Yarmouth

The photo was returned to Captain Hutchison's family with his belongings after his death.

"It shows a woman he called his 'English actress'," Mr McLachlan said. 

"And there was a story - I heard it years ago from one of the veterans - that he had a girlfriend who lived in Great Yarmouth."

Great Yarmouth Mercury: The unnamed woman who Captain John Neal Hutchison called his 'English actress'. The unnamed woman who Captain John Neal Hutchison called his 'English actress'. (Image: Supplied)

The US 8th Air Force 385th Bomb Group was stationed at and flew B-17s from Great Ashfield in Suffolk from June 1943 to August 1945.

On February 21, 1944, two aircraft from the 549th and 550th Bomb Squadrons were participating in day two of an operation later known as the 'Big Week' - a series of missions to bomb airfields and aviation industrial targets in Germany.

The two planes, one of them piloted by Captain Hutchison, did not make it back to base - but collided over the marshes at Reedham.

There were no survivors. The aircraft had been on a raid to Diepholz in northwest Germany and were approaching their base at Great Ashfield when they crashed.

READ MORE: Sacrifices of US airmen in 388th Bomb Group remembered at Norfolk festival

Great Yarmouth Mercury: 'Collision Final Flights' - an artwork by Norwich artist Ian Z Gartska from Ian McLachlan's book Final Flights. 'Collision Final Flights' - an artwork by Norwich artist Ian Z Gartska from Ian McLachlan's book Final Flights. (Image: Ian Z Gartska)

For Mr McLachlan, researching the story has been a personal odyssey which began back in 1964 when he got involved in recovering the wreckage of two B17 Flying Fortress bombers buried in marshland near Reedham.

At the time, he was a young cadet in 469 Lowestoft Squadron ATC and people knew nothing of the background to the crash - but over the ensuing decades there was a lot of research and numerous visits to the crash sites.

Mr McLachlan covered the story in his first book, Final Flights, which prompted the TV series 'Time Team' to include the story in their first foray into aviation archaeology, broadcast in 1999.

A year later, a memorial was unveiled in Reedham.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Ian McLachlan, historian from Oulton Broad, at the Reedham War Memorial in 2014. Ian McLachlan, historian from Oulton Broad, at the Reedham War Memorial in 2014. (Image: Supplied)

Mr McLachlan said: "The tragedy of it is they were on their last mission, coming home. They were basically ten minutes from home."

Mr McLachlan, who is resident historian for a series of programmes that continue to run on Sky's History Channel, said research into the event continues.

"I won't finish it in my lifetime. I'm hoping to leave my archive to the Suffolk archives. I have hundreds of documents relating to the group," he said. 

Great Yarmouth Mercury: An image from the Lowestoft Journal (January 1964) showing cadets of 469 (Lowestoft) Squadron Air Training Corps working on the site with Sergeant Richard J Wagner of the USAF providing advice on the ammunition being found. An image from the Lowestoft Journal (January 1964) showing cadets of 469 (Lowestoft) Squadron Air Training Corps working on the site with Sergeant Richard J Wagner of the USAF providing advice on the ammunition being found. (Image: Newsquest)

Also marking the anniversary, local brewers Humpty Dumpty have created a 'bomber brew' called Sleepytime Gal II, a strong US style IPA.

The commemoration event will lead to road closures, between 10am and 1pm.

The affected roads are a portion of Station Road, The Hills, and 165m of Riverside starting from its junction with Station Road.

The alternative route will be through Freethorpe Road, Pottles Lane, Church Road, Mill Road, The Hills, and Riverside.