Date & Time:
Dec 19, 1942 at 1615 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.29 Stirling
Operator:
Registration:
R9265
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
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 crew was performing height and load test when a structural failure of both wings occurred as the pilot tried to recover from a steep dive. The airplane crashed in Great Cransden and was destroyed. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Harry Stuart Taylor, pilot,
F/O Edward Arthur Ronald Hunt, pilot,
Sgt George William Williams, flight engineer,
Sgt James Frederick Alpe, wireless operator,
F/Sgt George Edward Tait, observer,
Sgt Irvine Norman John McNaughtan,
Sgt Robert Macaulay, air gunner,
Sgt Leslie Eric Neary, air gunner.
Crew:
Sgt Harry Stuart Taylor, pilot,
F/O Edward Arthur Ronald Hunt, pilot,
Sgt George William Williams, flight engineer,
Sgt James Frederick Alpe, wireless operator,
F/Sgt George Edward Tait, observer,
Sgt Irvine Norman John McNaughtan,
Sgt Robert Macaulay, air gunner,
Sgt Leslie Eric Neary, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Structural failure in flight.
