Vickers 417 Wellington III

Operator:

Registration:

BJ920

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

East Moor - East Moor

Location:

Bochum

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF East Moor at 1947LT on an operation to Bochum. It crashed in the evening in the target area, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Kenneth Alan Burini, pilot,
Sgt William Gilbert John Aplin, navigator,
Sgt Joseph William Kerr, navigator,
Sgt Walter Edward Jones, wireless operator,
Sgt Ronald Dolbear, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III near Gelsenkirchen: 4 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK564

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Dalton - Dalton

Location:

Gelsenkirchen

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Dalton at 1934LT on an operation to Bochum. In the late evening, it crashed in unknown circumstances near Gelsenkirchen and was destroyed. Three crew members were killed and two others were seriously injured. One died on 12 April from injuries sustained and another became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Joseph Louis Raymond Ferrier Cartier, pilot, †
F/Sgt Preben Brandt Gustavsen, navigator, †
Sgt Harold Frank Rhodes, wireless operator, †
F/O John Frederick Spencer, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Dale King, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III into the North Sea: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1943 at 0205 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

X3696

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Dishforth – Dishforth

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Dishforth at 1922LT on March 26 on an operation to Duisburg. While returning to base the following base, it was last heard at 0205LT when its position was roughly 96 km east of the Yorkshire coastal town of Withernsea. Lost without trace.
Crew:
Sgt Eric Hall, pilot,
Sgt John Joseph Raede,
Sgt Frederick Simpson,
Sgt William Stevenson,
Sgt Clarence Darlington Reed, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Pontgouin: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 24, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

X3991

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Upper Heyford - Upper Heyford

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew departed RAF Upper Heyford to drop leaflets over the region of Orléans. The airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in Pontgouin, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O Victor Norman Ballard, pilot,
P/O Albert Raymond Dicker,
Sgt Henry Richard Kinder,
Sgt Joseph Edwin Jones,
P/O Peter William Masters,
P/O George Brian Gibson, air gunner.

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

Date & Time: Mar 14, 1943 at 0351 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK296

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 0003LT to lay mines off the Frisian Islands. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 8 km north of Norderney Island. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Charles Harrison Tidy, pilot,
P/O John Donald MacFarlane, navigator,
Sgt George Robert Douglas Hall, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Alexander Corbett, air gunner,
Sgt Harold Reddy, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Mar 13, 1943 at 2252 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK516

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Hemswell - Hemswell

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Hemswell at 1843LT to lay mines off Saint-Nazaire. Cruising over the Bay of Biscay at an altitude of 4,000 metres, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Tadeusz Kuzminski, pilot,
F/Sgt Karol Jerzy Kramarczyk, navigator,
Sgt Stanisław Napora, wireless operator,
Sgt Atanazy Papkow, air gunner,
Sgt Franciszek Polom, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III near RAF Skellingthorpe: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 13, 1943 at 1600 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK158

Flight Phase:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a local test flight at RAF Skellingthorpe. It broke up in flight and crashed near the airfield after the dinghy broke from its housing and fouled the elevators. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Terence Frederick Hockley, pilot,
Sgt Leonard George Vaughan, navigator,
Sgt Leslie Joisce, observer,
W/O Albert George Shorten, wireless operator,
Sgt Archibald McKay Cormack, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Loss of control after the dinghy broke from its housing and fouled the elevators in flight.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Echteld: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943 at 2225 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

BK348

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Topcliffe - Topcliffe

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Topcliffe at 1936LT on an operation to Essen. Over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Echteld. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Robert George Caldwell, pilot,
F/O Gordon Johnson Cory, navigator,
F/Sgt William Frederick Topping, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alfred Perry Larson, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Leslie Alfred Parker, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Aartswoud

Date & Time: Mar 12, 1943 at 2158 LT

Type of aircraft: