Pocklington AFB

Operator:

Registration:

W1230

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

Hamburg

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

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The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2300LT on July 26 on an operation to Hamburg. The exact circumstances of the loss remains unclear. It is believed that the airplane may have been shot down by enemy fire while approaching the target area. The exact crash site remains unknown. Six crew members were killed and a seventh became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt William Smith, pilot, †
Sgt John Albert Knox, flight engineer, †
F/Sgt John Victor Potter, observer, †
Sgt Cyril Wood, wireless operator, †
Sgt Robert Bruce Prentice, air gunner, †
F/Sgt Thomas Austin Withers, air gunner, †
Sgt Richard Alexander Myers.

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Horneburg: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jul 27, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W1186

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2312LT on July 26 on an operation to Hamburg. It is believed that it exploded in the air and crashed in marshy ground near Horneburg. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Joseph Daniel Creede, air gunner,
P/O Norman Leslie Laing,
Sgt John Walter Macaulay, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Henry Maximilian Slezak,
P/O Douglas Alfred Street, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Arthur Douglas Swansburg,
F/Sgt Gerald Robert Titus,
Sgt Kenneth Storey Watson.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Pocklington: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jul 24, 1942 at 0453 LT

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

W7769

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 0037LT on an operation to Duisburg. At the end of the night, the crew was returning to base and initiated the approach. While circling the airfield for the second time in readiness for landing, an engine cut and the Halifax crashed into New Street, in Pocklington village. In those last few seconds, the bomber sheered a corner off a private house and then smashed into a school, bursting into flames. All eight crew members were killed. There were no injuries on the ground.
Crew:
P/O Robert Baker Albright, pilot,
P/O George Frederick Strong, pilot,
Sgt Maxwell Warnock Apperson, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Charles Thurlow, navigator,
Sgt William Colloton, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Robert William Hexter, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Reid Owens, air gunner,
Sgt Albert James Western, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Engine failure on approach.

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

Date & Time: Jun 30, 1942 at 0214 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W7714

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

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Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington 2306LT on June 29 on an operation to Bremen. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Dearsum, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
W/O Lawrence Sidney, pilot,
Sgt Cecil Stephen Walsh, flight engineer,
Sgt Edmund Keith Brennan, navigator,
Sgt George Arthur White, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Raymond Albert Amie Gorieu, wireless operator,
Sgt Thomas Gower Gunn, air gunner,
F/Sgt Charles Pearn Philp, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Bimolten: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 30, 1942 at 0146 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W7715

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2304LT on June 29 on an operation to Bremen. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Bimolten. Six crew members were killed and an air gunner became a PoW.
Crew:
F/Lt Harold Liversidge, pilot, †
Sgt Lawrence Harold Bradbrook, flight engineer, †
Sgt John Edward Thomas Foot, flight engineer, †
Sgt William Etherington Alcazar, observer, †
Sgt Alan Garfield McFee, wireless operator, †
Sgt Lewis Nelson Dearlove, air gunner, †
Sgt Jack Wesley Dumond, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Noordwolde: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jun 30, 1942 at 0108 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W1113

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington 2301LT on June 29 on an operation to Bremen. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Noordwolde, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O Henry Aldolfus Echinn, pilot,
F/Sgt William Jessop Harrell, pilot,
Sgt Alexander Simpson, flight engineer,
W/O James William Bell, observer,
F/Sgt Winston James Dickinson, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Paul Patrick Augustus Oneson, wireless operator,
Sgt Walter Percy Beare, air gunner,
F/Sgt Reginald Thomas Adams, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Jun 28, 1942 at 0300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W1110

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

Country:

Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2331LT on June 27 on an operation to Bremen. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 20 km southwest of Den Helder. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
W/O William Lawrence Scott, pilot,
Sgt George Bertram Tatham, flight engineer,
W/O Gordon McLean Phillips, observer,
P/O John James Hughes, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt James Edward Cole, wireless operator,
Sgt Sidney Bertram Rowland, air gunner,
P/O Joseph Harvey Milton Lacelle, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II into the North Sea: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 28, 1942 at 0245 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

W1175

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Pocklington - Pocklington

Location:

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Region:

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Circumstances:

The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2332LT on June 27 on an operation to Bremen. It failed to return to base and is believed to have been shot down by the German Flak and to crashed into the North Sea off the Dutch coast. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt William Ewart Nixon Field, pilot,
Sgt Ronald Frank Ansell, flight engineer,
W/O Rowan Charles Fitzgerald, observer,
Sgt Alan Danby, bomb aimer,
Sgt Eric Omar Smith, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Murray Ralph Kleisdorff, air gunner,
F/Sgt John Drew Ailey, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Bruchem

Date & Time: Jun 9, 1942 at 0345 LT

Type of aircraft: