Zone
Norfolk

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Maisons-Laffitte: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 29, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3593
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Maisons-Laffitte
Yvelines
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2118LT on April 28 on an operation to Gennevilliers. Approaching Paris, the airplane collided with a second RAF Wellington registered X3640 and carrying five crew members. Both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in Maisons-Laffitte. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Walter Frank Reynolds, pilot,
Sgt David Tawelfryn Male, pilot,
W/O Dennis Brien McGrath, observer,
Sgt John Howard Harries, wireless operator,
Sgt Bernard Wilkes, wireless operator,
Sgt Eric Hampton Jones, air gunner.

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

Date & Time: Apr 28, 1942 at 0104 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3639
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
City
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Cologne
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2324LT on April 27 on an operation to Cologne. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in the city. Four crew members were killed and a fourth became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Leslie Godfrey Harris, pilot, †
Sgt Harry Taylor, observer, †
Sgt Francis Robert Edwin McCarthy, wireless operator, †
Sgt William Charles Garland, air gunner, †
Sgt Joseph Jerram, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III near Bevtoft: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 26, 1942 at 0208 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3633
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Bevtoft
Syddanmark
Country:
Denmark
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2223LT on April 25 on an operation to Rostock. Passing over Denmark, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed bear Bevtoft. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Alfred Thomas Fone, pilot,
Sgt Irvine John Rollinson, pilot,
Sgt Alexander Duncan, observer,
Sgt William Gardener Smith, wireless operator,
Sgt James Small Grieve, wireless operator,
Sgt Albert Edward Simmans, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Hüffelsheim: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 26, 1942 at 0006 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
W7506
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Hüffelsheim
Rhineland-Palatinate
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2132LT on April 25 to attack the Škoda factory in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. Approaching Frankfurt, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Hüffelsheim. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Harold Reuben Millichamp, pilot,
Sgt Thomas Cunningham Bird, pilot,
Sgt Philip Harold Bullock, flight engineer,
P/O John Albert Stokes Banting, observer,
Sgt David Holley Bird, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas MacFarlane, wireless operator,
Sgt Percy George Detmold, air gunner,
Sgt Stuart Alan Bain Kellie, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Clenchwarton: 7 killed

Date & Time: Apr 24, 1942 at 2320 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
W7473
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Clenchwarton
Norfolk
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2257LT on an operation to Rostock. At 2320LT, it crashed in Ingrams Field roughly 100 yards from the school at Clenchwarton. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Shirley Vincent Davidge, pilot,
Sgt Willem Joseph Gerard Paul Rieter, pilot,
Sgt Abson Squires, flight engineer,
Sgt John Hartley, observer,
Sgt Jamie Kitchener Wendle Paul, wireless operator,
Sgt Archibald John Thorburn, wireless operator,
Sgt William James Cook, air gunner.
Probable cause:
The accident was attributed to loss of power from the port inner engine, followed by a turn to the left and loss of control.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III off Urk: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1942 at 0315 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3596
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Urk
Overijssel
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 2257LT on April 12 on an operation to Essen. Passing over the IJsselmeer, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 3,5 km off Urk. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Albert Ernest Holder, pilot,
Sgt Noel Hensley Blair, pilot,
P/O Ronald William Barlow, observer,
Sgt Kenneth John Raiswell, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas James Phillips, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Ryan, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1942 at 2308 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3341
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Klecken
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 1953LT on an operation to Lübeck. It was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in Klecken, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O John Allan Weller, pilot,
Sgt William Ballard, pilot,
F/O James Brian Maher, observer,
Sgt Edward Bolton Lawrence, wireless operator,
Sgt Herbert Lloyd Suckling, wireless operator,
Sgt Patrick Wilson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

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

Date & Time: Mar 27, 1942 at 0010 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3604
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Wichmond
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 1954LT on an operation to Essen. Shortly after midnight, passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Wichmond. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Geoffrey Gordon Soames, pilot,
Sgt Patrick Austen Gwyer Finch, pilot,
Sgt William Lionel Mogford, observer,
Sgt Victor Charles Rudkin Baker, wireless operator,
Sgt Alan Burns, wireless operator,
Sgt Roy Freak, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III near Goch: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1942 at 2359 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3589
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
Goch
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 1953LT on an operation to Essen. While returning to base in the late evening, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed southeast of Goch. All six crew members were killed.
Crew.
Sgt Emrys Owen, pilot,
Sgt Harry Taylor, pilot,
Sgt Edgar Albert Bailey, observer,
Sgt George Williams, wireless operator,
Sgt James Herbert Watkinson, wireless operator,
P/O Henry Taylor, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III into the North Sea: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 9, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3419
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Marham - Marham
Location:
North Sea
World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Marham at 1910LT on an operation to Essen. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed somewhere in the North Sea. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/Off Ronald Percy Runagall,
Sgt Herbert John Hickman,
F/O Russell Lloyd George Hosea,
Sgt Sydney William Stevenson,
F/Sgt John Alfred Chamberlain,
P/O John Moore Runner.
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