Date & Time:
Mar 14, 1945 at 0233 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.25 Sunderland
Operator:
Registration:
ML743
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Castle Archdale - Castle Archdale
Country:
Ireland
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
12
Crew fatalities:
12
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
12
Captain / Total hours on type:
705
Circumstances:
The crew left RAF Castle Archdale at 0203LT to localize German submarine cruising off the Irish coast. Weather conditions were marginal and the visibility was limited due to a cloud layer at 1,000 feet. The night was very dark. The aircraft passed over the village of Kellybegs and continued to the north when it hit the slope of Mt Cró na Roda (Mt Crownarad) at a height of 471 meters. All 12 occupants were killed.
Crew (201st Squadron):
F/Sgt R. D. A. Becker,
F/Sgt S. B. Frith,
F/O V. Howkins,
Sgt J. R. Mansfield,
F/Sgt J. G. Robinson,
F/S G. R. Kennedy,
Sgt F. N. G. Ford,
F/Sgt D. J. T. Twist,
F/Sgt C. J. Ryder,
F/O R. Delby,
Sgt R. F. Woodward.
Source: http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/ml743.htm
Crew (201st Squadron):
F/Sgt R. D. A. Becker,
F/Sgt S. B. Frith,
F/O V. Howkins,
Sgt J. R. Mansfield,
F/Sgt J. G. Robinson,
F/S G. R. Kennedy,
Sgt F. N. G. Ford,
F/Sgt D. J. T. Twist,
F/Sgt C. J. Ryder,
F/O R. Delby,
Sgt R. F. Woodward.
Source: http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/ml743.htm
Probable cause:
The cause of the accident must remain obscure. From the evidence it would appear that the aircraft was under the control of the pilot rather than the navigator at the time immediately preceding the crash. The use of the landing light seems to indicate that the pilot was trying to pin point himself (or make a forced landing) in the opinion of this court, the pilot and navigator did not know where they were - which presupposes that they S.E. was u/s or not being used. The fact that the aircraft was on a course of 240 degrees when it crashed may indicate that the pilot realized that he was too far north and was turning back towards the southwest.
