Date & Time:
Jul 17, 1943 at 2100 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 440 Wellington X
Operator:
Registration:
HE962
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Kairouan - Kairouan
Country:
Tunisia
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Kairouan in the evening on an operation to Montecorvino, east of Naples. Few minutes after takeoff, the starboard engine caught fire and exploded. The captain ordered his crew to bail out then the airplane crashed in a mountainous area located near Bargou, some 70 km northwest of Kairouan. Three crew members parachuted to safety while two others remained on board for unknown reasons and were killed.
Crew:
Sgt A. R. LaBarge, pilot,
F/Sgt Robert Francis Thayer, navigator, †
Sgt A. L. Sinclair, bomb aimer,
Sgt J. C. Walton, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Leonard Walter James Norton, air gunner. †
Crew:
Sgt A. R. LaBarge, pilot,
F/Sgt Robert Francis Thayer, navigator, †
Sgt A. L. Sinclair, bomb aimer,
Sgt J. C. Walton, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Leonard Walter James Norton, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Failure of the right engine after takeoff.
