Zone
Durham

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II at RAF Middleton Saint George

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1942 at 1120 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT540
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Middleton St George AFB
Durham
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a local training exercise at RAF Middleton Saint George where the airplane crashed for unknown reasons upon landing. There were no injuries.
Crew:
F/Sgt M. O. Frederick, pilot,
F/Sgt D. L. Moher,
Sgt E. Connolly,
Sgt G. Sayers,
Sgt J. Rock.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III off Sylt Island: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 9, 1942 at 2006 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
Z1679
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Sylt Island
Schleswig-Holstein
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton Saint George at 1753LT on an operation to Hamburg. Approaching Sylt Island, it was shot down by the German Marine Flak and crashed into the sea. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Walter Stanley Beale, pilot,
W/O Cornelius Collard, wireless operator,
F/Sgt John Duncan McDonald,
F/Sgt Armand Joseph Marcel Smith,
F/Sgt Charles Solomon Snider.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Marine Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III off Vlieland Island: 5 killed

Date & Time: Oct 15, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 417 Wellington III
Operator:
Registration:
X3808
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Vlieland Island
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 1852LT on an operation to Cologne. While returning to base in the late evening, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the North Sea off Vlieland Island. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt Lloyd Ernest White, pilot,
P/O Gerrard Roy Bing,
P/O Frederick Walter Buck,
F/Sgt David Beverley Smyth,
F/Sgt John Millar Joynt, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Sep 17, 1942 at 0036 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
R9365
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Rubrouck
Nord
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2035LT on September 16 on an operation to Essen. While returning to base the following night, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Rubrouck. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O A. C. Campbell, pilot,
Sgt S. G. White, flight engineer,
Sgt S. A. Witchell, navigator,
F/Sgt M. J. Standley, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt W. N. Geddie, wireless operator,
Sgt J. R. Runnicles, air gunner,
Sgt A. Moffat, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Düsseldorf: 7 killed

Date & Time: Sep 10, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
DT491
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Düsseldorf
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 Middleton St George at 2014LT on an operation to Düsseldorf. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
P/O Charles Joseph Stevenson, pilot,
Sgt Robert James Roy, flight engineer,
Sgt Bruce Bisset Warren, navigator,
Sgt Albert Edgar Arnold, wireless operator,
Sgt Wilfred Hodgson, wireless operator,
Sgt William Charles Henry Hiscock, air gunner,
F/Sgt John Hamilton Woodford, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Abthorpe

Date & Time: Sep 9, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1252
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Abthorpe
Northamptonshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2016LT on September 8 on an operation to Frankfurt. It was damaged by the German Flak and, later, abandoned at an altitude of 5,000 feet, probably in the vicinity of Abthorpe. Prior to this instruction, the pilot had been trying to make an emergency landing, but each time speed was reduced, the Halifax become near impossible to handle.
Crew:
F/O R. W. Atkinson,
Sgt C. C. W. Crofton,
P/O W. Harris,
Sgt A. E. Thomas,
Sgt C. E. J. O'Keefe,
Sgt F. Lister,
Sgt G. McBride.
Probable cause:
Hit by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in Sclayn: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 8, 1942 at 2330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7782
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Sclayn
Namur
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 1935LT on an operation to Frankfurt. In the late evening, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Sclayn. Three crew members were killed, two became PoW and two evaded.
Crew:
F/Lt Philip Hampden Tippetts-Aylmer, pilot, †
P/O Edgar William Thomas Gibbs, air gunner, †
F/Sgt George Reginald Yeates, air gunner, †
W/O Thomas Speers Brandon,
Sgt Eric Theodore Hazell Hodge,
Sgt R. Brown,
Sgt J. A. Winterbottom.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Woumen: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 2, 1942 at 0330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1244
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Woumen
West Flanders
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 Middleton St George at 2310LT on September 1st on an operation to Saarbrücken. Over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the De Blankaart Lake located southwest of Woumen. The pilot was killed while six others crew members became PoW.
Crew:
P/O Humphrey Gordon Sherwood, pilot, †
Sgt David Walter Rogeric Coverley,
Sgt Harry Fowler,
Sgt Edward Joseph Kington,
Sgt Leslie Norman Park,
Sgt Claude Herbert Melhuish Smith,
Sgt Henry Frank Turvey.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II near Overijse: 7 killed

Date & Time: Aug 29, 1942 at 0116 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W7809
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Overijse
Flemish Brabant
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 Middleton St George at 1941LT on August 28 on an operation to Nuremberg. Passing over Belgium, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed near Overijse, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt John Alexander Brock Marshall, pilot,
Sgt George Edward Dunn, flight engineer,
Sgt Joseph Potton Martin, observer,
W/O Terence Michael Manning, observer,
Sgt John George Mellor, air gunner,
F/Sgt Terris Haggie Miller, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Samuel Ross, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

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

Date & Time: Aug 12, 1942 at 0305 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1061
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Middleton Saint George - Middleton Saint George
Location:
Wommelgem
Antwerp
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Middleton St George at 2137LT on August 11 on an operation to Mainz. While returning to base, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Wommelgem, west of Antwerp. Two crew were killed, four became PoW and one evaded.
Crew:
W/O William Everett Lunan, pilot, †
Sgt Francis Alfred Scotland, flight engineer, †
Sgt John Randall Dickinson,
Sgt John Kingsley Howes,
F/Sgt Leslie Charles Jupp,
Sgt John Hugh Wyatt,
F/Sgt A. E. Fay.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
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