Date & Time:
Aug 5, 1942 at 1715 LT
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated LB-30 Liberator
Operator:
Registration:
AL588
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Marston Moor - Marston Moor
MSN:
086
YOM:
1941
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in an air gunnery training exercise with a RAF Spitfire. Shortly after takeoff from RAF Marston Moor, while climbing, the captain initiated a sharp turn when he lost control of the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed in a huge explosion in a field located about 800 metres from the airbase. The airplane was destroyed and all 10 crew members were killed.
Crew (1653 HCU):
F/Sgt Bryn Williams, pilot,
Sgt Alan Francis Bell, pilot,
P/O Thomas Henry Jones, air gunner,
Sgt Wilfred Anthony Kup, observer,
Sgt Edward Thorley, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Sidney Sampson, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Edward Albert Smith, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth Caselton, air gunner,
Sgt William Henry Charles Booth, air gunner.
Sgt Douglas Arnold Wood.
Crew (1653 HCU):
F/Sgt Bryn Williams, pilot,
Sgt Alan Francis Bell, pilot,
P/O Thomas Henry Jones, air gunner,
Sgt Wilfred Anthony Kup, observer,
Sgt Edward Thorley, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Sidney Sampson, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Edward Albert Smith, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth Caselton, air gunner,
Sgt William Henry Charles Booth, air gunner.
Sgt Douglas Arnold Wood.
Probable cause:
Loss of control in initial climb caused by the failure of the tail section, maybe due to a structural issue.
