Zone
Yorkshire

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson in United Kingdom: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 24, 1946
Type of aircraft:
Avro 652 Anson
Operator:
Registration:
EG113
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Rearsby - Melbourne
Location:
United Kingdom
All United Kingdom
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a flight from Rearsby to RAF Melbourne, Yorkshire. As the aircraft failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted on a large area but eventually suspended a week later as no trace of the aircraft nor the five crewmen was found. It is believed the aircraft may have crash into the Humber or maybe into the North Sea after encountering electrical problems, causing the failure of the communication (radio) systems.
Crew:
W/O Reginald Arthur Webb,
W/O Kenneth Crabtree,
F/Lt John Ireland,
F/Lt Leonard Jack Lawrence,
S/L Bernard Frederick Perkins.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota IV in RAF Melbourne

Date & Time: Aug 25, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
KN548
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
16408/33156
YOM:
1945
Location:
Melbourne AFB
Yorkshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On touchdown, the right main landing gear collapsed. The right wing hit the runway surface and the aircraft slid for several yards prior to stop in flames. There were no casualties but the aircraft was destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
Gear collapse on landing.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Liebenberg: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jan 20, 1944 at 1936 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JN899
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Liebenberg
Brandenburg
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 1636LT on a bombing mission over Berlin. Claimed by Oblt Wilhelm Johnen 5/NJG5 - NNW Berlin at 1936LT. Also claimed by 3rd battery of the Railway Flak Department 416. Crashed in a forest near Liebenberg, between Grüneberg and Liebenberg, southeast of Löwenberg. All seven occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Aarle-Rixtel: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 29, 1943 at 0234 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT783
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Aarle-Rixtel
North Brabant
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2337LT on June 28 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Aarle-Rixtel, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/O Stanley Peate, pilot,
Sgt Horace Pape, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Paul Leopold Rakoczy, navigator,
F/O Horace Horatio Pearson, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alfred Bailey, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Harry Erickson, air gunner,
F/Sgt Joseph Gerald Swe, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Maastricht: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 29, 1943 at 0127 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
HR697
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
City
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Maastricht
Limburg
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2309LT on June 28 on an operation to Cologne. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in the city of Maastricht. Seven crew members were killed and one air gunner became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Roy Hamilton Geddes, pilot, †
Sgt Robert Stirratt White, pilot, †
Sgt David Brown, navigator, †
P/O Herbert Ernest Cross, navigator, †
P/O Reginald Eric Bradshaw, bomb aimer, †
F/Sgt Clifford Entwistle, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Robert Shannon, air gunner,
Sgt Albert William Booth, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II off Zandvoort: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943 at 0236 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
BB324
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Zandvoort
North Holland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2322LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea 10 km west of Zandvoort, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Robert Mitchell Pinkerton, pilot,
Sgt Frank Holmes, flight engineer,
Sgt Frederick Thomas Nuttall, navigator,
Sgt William Waring, bomb aimer,
Sgt John Conway, wireless operator,
F/Sgt James Franklin Karl Crowe, air gunner,
F/Sgt Timothy Leo MacAskill, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Bretteville-sur-Laize: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 20, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD109
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
YOM:
-1
Location:
Bretteville-sur-Laize
Calvados
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2215LT on June 19 to attack the Schneider factory in Le Creusot. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Bretteville-sur-Laize. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Jack Watson, pilot,
Sgt Gerald Wilfred Rockwood, flight engineer,
Sgt Henry Charles William Nash, navigator,
Sgt William George Brown, wireless operator,
Sgt William John McKay, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Jack Edwin Lewis, air gunner,
Sgt Jack Sutcliffe, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Bardel: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 13, 1943 at 0156 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7909
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Bardel
Lower Saxony
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2321LT on June 12 on an operation to Bochum. Passing the Dutch/German border, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Bardel, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt George Matthew Inness, pilot,
Sgt Wilfred Sharp, flight engineer,
Sgt James Ernest Senger, observer,
Sgt Kenneth Avon Jenkins, navigator,
Sgt Frederick Charles Walter Michell, wireless operator,
Sgt Ernest Smith, air gunner,
Sgt Ronald George Lepetit, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Wuppertal: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 30, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT787
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Wuppertal
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2302LT on May 29 on an operation to Wuppertal. It failed to return to base and have crashed in the target area. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/Sgt John Ernest Clarke, pilot,
Sgt Jasper Robert Cranham, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Robert Scott, navigator,
Sgt John Hayden Pickles, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Henry Harris, wireless operator,
F/Sgt John Arthur Saunders, air gunner,
Sgt James Wingate Sellars Birrell, air gunner.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Den Hool: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 28, 1943 at 0147 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JB958
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Melbourne - Melbourne
Location:
Den Hool
Drenthe
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Melbourne at 2306LT on May 27 on an operation to Essen. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Den Hool. Five crew members were killed and two others became PoW.
Crew:
F/O George Rawlinson, pilot, †
Sgt John Howarth, flight engineer, †
Sgt William Kenneth Warren, navigator,
Sgt Stanley Grieve Beattie, bomb aimer, †
Sgt E. Williams, wireless operator,
Sgt Edward Samuel Buck, air gunner, †
Sgt Ernest Bernard Blackbarow, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
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