Ridgewell AFB

The aircraft was on its way from RAF Ridgewell to Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport with a crew of five and 26 US soldiers on a 3-day leave. While cruising at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt North Barrule located 2 miles south of Ramsey. The wreckage was found meters from the summit and all 31 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Charles Earl Ackerman,
Cpl Earl G. Ammerman,
Cpl Edward G. Bailey,
Pvt Andrew R. Barbour,
1st Lt John P. Fedak,
Cpl Thomas P. Flaherty,
T/Sgt William E. Geist,
M/Sgt Edward Z. Gelman,
S/Sgt Ralph L. Gibbs,
T/Sgt Joseph L. Gray,
Cpl Herbert C. Gupton Jr.,
T/Sgt Wesley M. Hagen,
Sgt Irwin R. Hargraves,
1st Lt Wayne W. Hart,
1st Lt James M. Hinkle,
F/O Edwin A. Hutcheson Jr.,
Sgt Michael J. Kakos Jr.,
T/Sgt David H. Lindon,
S/Sgt Wayne K. Manes,
Sgt Jose M. Martinez,
S/Sgt Alfred M. Mata,
1st Lt Martin M. Matyas,
Cpl Leslie H. Maxwell Jr.,
Tec Walter A. McCullough,
1st Lt Lawrence E. McGhehey,
Tec Andrew Piter Jr.,
Pfc Angelo Quagliariello,
Cpl Merle L. Ramsowr,
T/Sgt Joseph W. Sullivan.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2226LT on April 4 on an operation to Dortmund. Approaching the target area, it crashed in unknown circumstances in Derne, 8 km northeast of Dortmund. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Frederick Charles Maxwell, pilot,
Sgt Leonard Stuart Broomfield,
Sgt Harold William Burton,
Sgt John Kay, navigator,
Sgt James Thomas Pooley,
Sgt Sandom Sweet,
F/O Ronald Jack Davis, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2019LT on April 28 for mine laying duties in the Quince region. Passing over Denmark, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea off Korsør. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
S/L Robert Seayears May, pilot,
Sgt Norman Marshall, flight engineer,
P/O William Greenhalgh Monk, navigator,
Sgt Kenneth George Horne, bomb aimer,
Sgt Leslie Hainin, wireless operator,
P/O Gerald Frederick Heathcote-Peirson, air gunner,
Sgt Basil Horace Reeve, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 0037LT on an operation to Duisburg. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the IJsselmeer. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Ian Fraser Mackenzie, pilot,
Sgt Joseph Wilson, flight engineer,
F/O Philip Alsop Walker, navigator,
Sgt Ronald Francis Cocking, navigator,
Sgt Victor George Leak, wireless operator,
Sgt Robert Edward Hardingham, air gunner,
Sgt James Riby Boyes, air gunner.

The crew was performing a local training flight at RAF Ridgewell. While approaching the airbase and as the wheels were lowered, the dinghy broke loose from its stowage. On touchdown, the port oleo gave way and the Stirling was damaged beyond repair. All six crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
P/O F. R. Pugh, pilot,
Sgt D. Rosser,
Sgt E. Jones,
Sgt S. Tomany,
Sgt N. J. Coles,
Sgt W. E. Edwards.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2153LT on April 20 on an operation to Rostock. While returning to base the following night and passing over Denmark, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea west of Halsskov. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Sydney Nelson Cross, pilot,
Sgt Cyril Leslie Cruttenden, flight engineer,
Sgt Norman Shield, navigator,
Sgt Lancelot Tagg, navigator,
Sgt Thomas Edwin Hall, wireless operator,
Sgt Edwin Marley Offen, air gunner,
Sgt John Desmond Lindrea, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2149LT on April 20 on an operation to Rostock. Passing over Denmark, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Teglgård. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Antony Seton Wombwell Prioleau, pilot,
Sgt Harold Munnery, flight engineer,
Sgt Dennis Stowe, navigator,
Sgt William Trevor Leathley, bomb aimer,
Sgt Charles Dale McKelvie, wireless operator,
Sgt Reginald Herbert Dunstan, air gunner,
Sgt Mervyn Leonard, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2128LT on April 20 on an operation to Rostock. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the Baltic Sea, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O Reginald Frederick Elliott, pilot,
Sgt Basil Leonard Neal, flight engineer,
Sgt Clarence Bertram Barrott, navigator,
F/Sgt Charles McKerns, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alfred Chadwick, wireless operator,
Sgt Norman Louis Fauvel, air gunner,
P/O Clifford Leigh Maunder, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2200LT on April 16 on an operation to Mannheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Commenchon. All seven crew members parachuted to safety, six evaded and the pilot became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Peter Dunk White, pilot,
Sgt Wallace E. Phillips, pilot,
Sgt A. Smith, flight engineer,
P/O Stanley Ford Everiss, navigator,
P/O Donald Graham Ross, bomb aimer,
Sgt Reginald George Gaisford, wireless operator,
Sgt John B. Ford, air gunner,
Sgt W. J. Fitzgerald, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Ridgewell at 2148LT 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 Soudé, 24 km south of Châlons-en-Champagne. Six crew members were killed and the pilot became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Ross John Beldin, pilot,
Sgt Harry Noar, flight engineer, †
Sgt Robert John Palmer, navigator, †
Sgt Edwin Arthur Shaw, navigator, †
W/O Richard Barnett Blake, wireless operator, †
Sgt Stanley Francis Gould, air gunner, †
Sgt Samuel Hammond, air gunner. †