Lough Erne

Crashed in unknown circumstances into the Louigh Erne off Enniskillen. Nine crew members were rescued while P/O James Leslie Hodgens and Sgt Thomas Galbraith were killed.

Following an uneventful maritime patrol mission over the Atlantic, the aircraft and its crew were returning to their base in RAF Lough Erne in early morning. While approaching the Irish coast from the west, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Clare Island, west of Wesport. All 11 crew members were killed.
Crew (422nd Squadron):
F/O Ernest F. Paige, pilot,
F/O James W. Clarke, pilot,
Sgt William G. Hopps, pilot,
W/O Wallace Roy Thompson, navigator,
Sgt James Hird, flight engineer,
Sgt Donahan A. O’Dowd, flight engineer,
Sgt John Rowe, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt David Purvis, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Derek H. Richardson, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Ronald Sherwood,wireless operator and air gunner,
W/O Robert B. Bryers, air gunner.

The crew was performing an instruction mission. While landing on Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, the seaplane hit violently the water surface and bounced. The pilot in command increased power on the right engine when the aircraft banked left at an angle of 45°. The left wing hit the water and the aircraft ground looped and came to rest. While the Saro was damaged beyond repair, all three crew members were slightly injured.

The floatplane crashed in unknown circumstances in the Lough Erne, near Gay Island, while on a maritime patrol flight out of Killadeas NAS. All 10 crew members were killed.
Crew:
LAC Henry Atkin Cottam,
Sgt Joseph Leslie Elwell,
P/O Kenneth Bernard Fuller,
Sgt John Sterling Hesk,
F/O Hugh Harold Hirst,
P/O Denis William Hockney,
LAC Leslie Roy Holmes,
F/Sgt William Peebles,
F/Lt Peter Cecil Thomas,
Sgt Henry Ernest Wilson.