Zone
Yorkshire

Explosion of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax III in RAF Elvington: 13 killed

Date & Time: Dec 28, 1944 at 1425 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax III
Operator:
Registration:
NA174
Flight Phase:
Parking
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Elvington
Yorkshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
While being prepared for a bombing mission over Möchengladbach, a fire broke out in the cargo bay and a bomb exploded. Four other detonations occurred, disintegrating the aircraft and killing thirteen airmen. Five others were seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Bomb explosion.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II off Ostend: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943 at 0325 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD213
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Ostend
West Flanders
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Breighton at 2329LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 30 km northwest of Ostend. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Edwin Alfred Sims, pilot,
Sgt John Westbarn, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Desmond Henry Russell Kelly, navigator,
Sgt Terence Wilfred Charles Luther, bomb aimer,
Sgt Thomas Ogle, wireless operator,
Sgt John Fitzsimmons, air gunner,
F/Sgt Osborne David Thompson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II off Schouwen-Duiveland Island: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1943 at 0239 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT700
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Schouwen-Duiveland Island
Zeeland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2305LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea off Schouwen-Duiveland Island. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Colin Carswell Marshall, pilot,
Sgt William Frederick Eades, flight engineer,
Sgt Peter Mytton Thornycroft, navigator,
Sgt George Roland Hill, bomb aimer,
Sgt William Edward Hughes, wireless operator,
Sgt Gordon Robert Hazell, air gunner,
Sgt William Cecil Lewis, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Harskamp: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JB852
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Harskamp
Gelderland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2352LT on June 21 on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed onto a Wehrmacht artillery range located east of Harskamp. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Simon Hirsch, pilot,
Sgt John Phillips, flight engineer,
Sgt Charles William Falckh, navigator,
Sgt Raymond Geoffrey Kingsland, bomb aimer,
Sgt Norman Victor Hickling, wireless operator,
Sgt Edmund Dawson, air gunner,
Sgt William Goodman Garratt, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Boxtel: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943 at 0209 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD205
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Boxtel
North Brabant
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2350LT on June 21 on an operation to Krefeld. Passing over the Netherlands, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Boxtel. Two crew members were killed, one evaded and four others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Jack Gardner, pilot,
Sgt Sidney Henry Alfred Nicholson, flight engineer,
Sgt Frederick Geroge Hawthorne, navigator,
P/O Alfred Hagan, bomb aimer,
Sgt Dennis Antony Clark, wireless operator,
Sgt Alfred Ross Currie, air gunner, †
Sgt Rolph Henry King, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II into the North Sea: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1157
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
North Sea
World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2351LT on June 21 on an operation to Krefeld. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed somewhere into the North Sea. Lost without trace.
Crew:
Sgt M. J. Fitzgerald, pilot,
Sgt R. Forster,
Sgt G. Wood,
F/O R. C. Bishop,
W/O F. O. Turner,
Sgt J. M. Dalton,
Sgt J. J. McPherson, air gunner.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in York: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 19, 1943 at 2204 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JB863
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
York
Yorkshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2204LT to attack the Schneider factory in Le Creusot. Soon after takeoff, while climbing, it crashed in unknown circumstances in Helsington, in the southeast suburb of York. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Norman Reginald Holledge, pilot,
Sgt Albert Henry Gurry, flight engineer,
F/Sgt William Cooke, navigator,
Sgt Francis Danby, wireless operator,
F/O Arnold William Stephen Young, bomb aimer,
Sgt Ronald Edwin MacDonald, air gunner,
Sgt Desmond Henry Clinch, air gunner.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Oupeye: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 12, 1943 at 0147 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD168
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Oupeye
Liege
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2311LT on June 11 on an operation to Düsseldorf. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Oupeye, 9 km northeast of Liege. An air gunner was killed and six other crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Alfred George Endicott, pilot,
Sgt John Wilton Walsh, flight engineer,
Sgt Reginald Goodenough, navigator,
Sgt Leslie Smith Blanchard, bomb aimer,
Sgt Paul Frederick Wright, wireless operator,
Sgt Dennis Ernest Burrows, air gunner,
Sgt Stanley Frederick Hammond, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Lavesum: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 28, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JD152
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Lavesum
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2239LT on May 27 on an operation to Essen. Approaching the target area from the north, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Lavesum, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/Sgt Francis John O'Grady, pilot,
Sgt Geoffrey Herbert Garrard, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Cecil Clarke, navigator,
F/O Bernard Christopher McGrath, navigator,
Sgt Wilfred Reginald Beadsmoore, wireless operator,
Sgt William Alfred Manning, air gunner,
Sgt Charles Basil Anderson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Jülich: 7 killed

Date & Time: May 26, 1943 at 0151 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
JB837
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Elvington - Elvington
Location:
Jülich
North Rhine-Westphalia
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Elvington at 2330LT on May 25 on an operation to Düsseldorf. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Jülich, 44 km southwest of Düsseldorf. All seven crew members were killed. The airplane exploded with a full bomb load with such force that two Short S.29 Stirling flying close by, BF534 and EF361, were both knocked down and also crashed south of Jülich, killing all 14 crew members on board.
Crew:
Sgt Richard Lewis, pilot,
Sgt William Reginald Leslie Codd, flight engineer,
Sgt John Walton Richardson, navigator,
Sgt John Hunter Waterston, navigator,
Sgt Joseph Kershaw, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Joseph Fernand Rolland Laurence, air gunner,
F/Sgt David William Macfarlane, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
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