Date & Time:
Apr 8, 1943 at 1815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 683 Lancaster
Operator:
Registration:
L7545
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Wigsley - Wigsley
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
8
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wigsley at 1745LT on a night training sortie. About 30 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the bomber collided with a RAF Airspeed AS.10 Oxford. Registered AB665, it was carrying a crew of two who were performing a training mission out from RAF Ossington. Following the collision, both airplanes dove into the ground and crashed in a field located 3 km southeast of RAF Melton Mowbray. All 10 crew members in both airplanes were killed.
Crew (1654 HCU):
Sgt John Wallace, pilot,
P/O James Herbert Wolton, flight engineer,
Sgt George Frederick Maurice Walker, flight engineer,
Sgt Leslie Raymond Upperton, navigator,
Sgt Thomas Bailey, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Fairbairn Davison, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas George Gordon Martin, air gunner,
Sgt Brian Gordon Pilgrim, air gunner.
Crew (1654 HCU):
Sgt John Wallace, pilot,
P/O James Herbert Wolton, flight engineer,
Sgt George Frederick Maurice Walker, flight engineer,
Sgt Leslie Raymond Upperton, navigator,
Sgt Thomas Bailey, bomb aimer,
Sgt Robert Fairbairn Davison, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas George Gordon Martin, air gunner,
Sgt Brian Gordon Pilgrim, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Due to negligence, both crew were unable to see and avoid each other.
