Vickers 417 Wellington III | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed RAF Kirmington at 2312LT on April 10 on an operation to Frankfurt. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Klein-Rohrheim, 19 km southwest of Darmstadt. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Crew:-
P/O Alexander Urquhart, pilot,
Sgt William Kinniburgh, pilot,
Sgt Harold Edward Williams, bomb aimer,
Sgt Reginald George Edwards, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Michael Ralph Dixon, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Mursley: 4 killed

Date & Time: Apr 11, 1943 at 0015 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BJ879

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Little Horwood - Little Horwood

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The crew was performing a local night training exercise at RAF Little Horwood. On final approach in limited visibility due to fog, the airplane collided with a water tower and crashed in Mursley, 4 km east southeast of the airbase. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Dennis Edward John Bint, pilot,
Sgt Francis Bernard McHugh, pilot,
Sgt Cyril John Fox, wireless operator,
Sgt Joseph Leonin Lionel Belanger, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Newhaven: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 10, 1943 at 0555 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

DF611

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

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Schedule:

Seighford - Seighford

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The airplane departed RAF Seighford at 0450LT on a navigation training exercise. One hour into the flight, a loss of power on one or more engine forced the captain to attempt an emergency landing. After it crash landed in a pasture located in Newhaven, the bomber collided with a hedge and a stonewall before coming to rest, bursting into flames. Three crew members were killed and two others were seriously injured.
Crew (30th OTU):
Sgt Ronald Albert Jones, pilot, †
Sgt John Scott Spencer, navigator, †
Sgt Gilbert Kenneth Parsons, bomb aimer, †
F/Sgt R. J. Perrin, wireless operator,
F/Sgt J. Douglas, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Loss of power on one or more engine in flight.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Doullens

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1943 at 0110 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BK361

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Kirmington - Kirmington

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The airplane departed RAF Kirmington at 2118LT on an operation to Duisburg. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Doullens. All five crew members parachuted to safety, one evaded and four became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt George Stanley Barclay, pilot,
P/O B. M. Marion, flight engineer,
Sgt Robert Wesley Hart, navigator,
Sgt Arthur Herbert Conrad, wireless operator,
Sgt Ronald Francis Limage, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Heerdt

Date & Time: Apr 8, 1943 at 2345 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

DF635

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Dalton - Dalton

Location:

Heerdt

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

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The airplane departed RAF Dalton at 2122LT on an operation to Duisburg. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Heerdt, in the northwest suburb of Düsseldorf. All five crew members parachuted to safety and became PoW.
Crew:
P/O R. M. Buckham, pilot,
F/O N. W. Rodin, flight engineer,
P/O G. C. Fletcher, navigator,
Sgt J. D. Fraser, wireless operator,
Sgt T. Whitehead, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Corringham

Date & Time: Apr 8, 1943 at 1130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BJ609

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Hemswell - Hemswell

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The crew was performing a training flight out from RAF Hemswell. While flying at a height of 1,000 feet, the starboard engine failed, followed shortly later by a partial failure of the port engine. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the pilot attempted an emergency belly landing. The airplane crash landed in a field located in Corringham and was damaged beyond repair. All crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew (300th Squadron):
W/O J Kazimierczak, pilot,
Sgt E. Garczynski +3.

Probable cause:

Double engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III into the Bay of Biscay: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 7, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BK299

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Kirmington - Kirmington

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The airplane departed RAF Kirmington at 2217LT on April 6 to lay mines in the Artichokes region, off Lorient. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the Bay of Biscay. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/Lt Nigel Stuart Hally Brown, pilot,
F/Sgt Eric Edward Lancaster,
Sgt Ronald Lankester,
Sgt Malcolm Harold Victor Lewis,
Sgt Ivan Caulton, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III off Wick: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 6, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BJ979

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Upper Heyford - Upper Heyford

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The airplane departed RAF Upper Heyford on an Air Sea Rescue operation over the North Sea. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed into the sea off Wick. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/Sgt Joseph John Britton, pilot,
P/O James Frederick King,
Sgt Harold Mottershead,
Sgt Edward George Ufton,
F/Sgt John Thomas Houghton, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III off Cromer: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 5, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

X3699

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Dishforth – Dishforth

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The airplane departed RAF Dishforth at 2030LT on April 4 on an operation to Kiel. Approaching the target area, it was badly shot about by a German fighter. While returning to base the following night, following hydraulic problems, the crew ditched the airplane into the sea some 16 km off Cromer. Three crew members were killed and two others were rescued. The airplane sank and was lost.
Crew:
F/O Donald Lloyd Kennedy, pilot, †
F/O Keith Minshull Walley, navigator, †
Sgt Leslie Lester Anderson, bomb aimer,
P/O Dallas Laskey, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Charles Norman Beaton, air gunner. †

Probable cause:

Badly shot about by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in South Kilvington

Date & Time: Apr 3, 1943 at 1530 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

Z1670

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While on an air test, the airplane clipped a line of high tension cables and crashed at Borad Farm, South Kilvington. All seven crew members were injured.
Crew:
Sgt D. M. Smith, pilot,
F/Sgt D. R. Nelson,
F/Sgt W. J. Nicholl,
Sgt R. T. Crimmins,
Cpl H. Butler,
Cpl T. C. Lane,
Cpl J. L. Maddox, air gunner.

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