Middleton St George AFB

The aircraft was on a flight from Middleton St. George to Birmingham, and the crew of one pilot and one photographer planned to complete several photographic survey jobs en route. Shortly after sunset, when flying at 2,000 ft. a.m.s.l. at an estimated position five miles west of Sheffield and near high ground rising to 2,000 ft. a.m.s.l., the pilot decided that the fuel remaining was insufficient to reach Birmingham with the existing headwind of 40 knots. He established contact with Manchester Approach Control and was given permission to divert to Manchester Airport on a special VFR clearance "not above 3,500 ft. a.m.s.l. on a QNH of 1013 mbs., clear of all cloud, and in sight of the surface". Shortly after this, when on a north-westerly heading to intercept a QDM of 270°M to the 'ME' (Manchester) beacon, the pilot saw hill tops about four miles ahead and commenced climbing from 2,000 ft. to 3,500 ft. The pilot states that the aircraft entered cloud at 2,500 ft. and that, on reaching 2,700 ft., he noticed that the vertical speed indicator was showing a descent of 2,000 ft./min. He states that he applied full power and eased the nose up but, after this, he remembers nothing further until he regained consciousness lying on the ground, alongside the photographer in front of the wrecked aircraft.

The aircraft left RAF Middleton Saint George at 1845LT on a night navigation exercice. At 2137LT, the crew informed ground that the mission was uneventful until this time. Twenty-three minutes later, the aircraft went into a dive. At an altitude of 1,000 feet, it partially disintegrated and eventually crashed in a pasture. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
S. J. Murdoch, pilot,
F/Lt W. A. Ryde, navigator,
F/Lt H. Seiman, navigator,
Sig A. E. Bazen.

During an airshow in RAF Middleton Saint George, the crew was involved in a demonstration mission consisting of para-dropping a low height. On final approach, during the last segment, the airplane nosed down and crashed at runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

While cruising in VFR mode over the region of Coventry at an altitude of 4,500 feet, the Anson collided with a BEA C-47 registered G-AHCW and carrying four crew members and six passengers from Northolt to Glasgow. Following the collision, both aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in Exhall, north of Coventry. All 14 occupants in both aircraft were killed.

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2114LT on April 16 on an operation to Mannheim. Over Luxembourg, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Froidlieu. Four crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Lawrence Melville Horahan, pilot, †
F/Sgt James Earl Isaacs, navigator, †
F/Sgt Lester Kenneth Plank, navigator, †
Sgt Horace Stanley Pullen Radford, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt Kenneth Thomas Peter Allan, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2109LT on April 14 on an operation to Stuttgart. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Rocquigny, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
W/O Paul Joseph Cozens, pilot,
W/O William Gerald Blight, navigator,
F/Sgt Stephen Graham Giffin, bomb aimer,
W/O John Paplowski, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Leonard Dutton, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2112LT on April 14 on an operation to Stuttgart. Homebound the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Mesnil-Saint-Laurent. Two crew members were killed, two evaded and one became PoW.
Crew:
S/L F. V. Taylor, pilot,
F/O Sydney Brown, bomb aimer, †
P/O John Alexander Simpson, †
F/O G. C. Crowther,
Sgt Hugh Neil McKinnon.

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at2305LT on April 10 on an operation to Frankfurt. While returning to base the following night, it strayed from track and with the automatic pilot system selected, it was abandoned by the crew and crashed near Tenby. Four crew members parachuted to safety while the pilot was killed after he fell into the sea and drowned.
Crew:
F/O Charles Warner Jackson, pilot, †
Sgt H. B. Elhorn, navigator,
Sgt Alexander Hugh MacDonald, bomb aimer,
Sgt James Thomson Kydd, wireless operator,
Sgt K. T. Allan, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2147LT on an operation to Duisburg. Over Krefeld, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed. Six crew members were killed and the flight engineer became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt John Hubert Morris, pilot, †
Sgt Lavern Elmer Turner, flight engineer,
Sgt Kenneth Herbert Godbold, navigator, †
F/O Arthur Reginald Hickey, navigator, †
Sgt Reginald John Amos, wireless operator, †
Sgt Percy John Ireland, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Delmar Cyril Way, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 2115LT on an operation to Duisburg. Approaching Essen, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Borbeck, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O William Alexander Walkinshaw, pilot,
W/O David Finlay Evans, observer,
P/O Kenneth Watson MacDonald, navigator,
W/O Frederick Bemi, wireless operator,
W/O Ronald George Rispin, air gunner.