East Sussex

The aircraft was flying from Dublin to Paris (Le Bourget) at a height of 25,000 feet. In the area of Petersfield, Hampshire, the aircraft began a gentle turn to the left from a south easterly heading. After the radar controller queried the departure from the expected heading the commander reported that the autopilot had 'dropped out', and the south easterly heading was resumed. Approximately 7 minutes later, the radar recording shows that the aircraft again began to turn left and started to lose height. After the aircraft had reached a northerly heading it began to lose height rapidly following which secondary radar returns were lost and the primary returns became fragmented before they also disappeared. The aircraft suffered an in-flight disintegration at approximately 19,000 feet and all 9 occupants were killed. A positive cause of the accident was not determined but there was evidence that a part of the aircraft's electrical supply had been lost. This would have caused the autopilot to disengage and also have resulted in the failure of the commander's flight director indicator. It was concluded that, following the disengagement of the autopilot, the aircraft probably entered a steep spiral dive and that the disintegration of the aircraft occurred as recovery was attempted.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a ferry flight from Nice to London-Gatwick. While descending to Gatwick Airport in VFR mode, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with rain falls and turbulences. While flying in clouds, he lost control of the airplane that plunges into the earth and crashed in a field. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

The crew left Pembroke Dock for RAF Calshot and was detached to take part to a presentation to the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) celebrations at Eastbourne, and was supposed to be displayed to welcome the Duke of Edinburgh. While landing on rough sea, the airplane hit waves, nosed down and plunged into the water before coming to rest few dozen yards off shore. Four crew members were killed, two other were injured and eight were unhurt. The aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft was performing a charter flight from Croydon to Le Mans with seven passengers and the pilot. The flight was without incident until shortly after crossing the English coast in the vicinity of Brighton at about 0855. The starboard engine gave one or two bangs which the pilot thought might be due to carburetor icing. The engine quickly recovered, however, and the flight proceeded. At about 0915 the starboard engine again began to cough. This time it did not recover. The aircraft was then twenty-two nautical miles from the nearest aerodrome, namely Le Havre on the French coast while the nearest English aerodrome was Shoreham, fifty-seven nautical miles in the opposite direction. The pilot elected to turn back to the English coast and make a 180 degrees turn to port. The aircraft continuously lost height and finally ditched twelve miles south of Brighton at 0949LT. There were only two passenger survivors who were picked up two hours later.

The aircraft left RAF Middleton Saint George at 1845LT on a night navigation exercice. At 2137LT, the crew informed ground that the mission was uneventful until this time. Twenty-three minutes later, the aircraft went into a dive. At an altitude of 1,000 feet, it partially disintegrated and eventually crashed in a pasture. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
S. J. Murdoch, pilot,
F/Lt W. A. Ryde, navigator,
F/Lt H. Seiman, navigator,
Sig A. E. Bazen.

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Wilmington, East Sussex, killing both pilots, 1st Lt Sidney J. Gibson and S/Sgt James F. Maloney.

En route to RAF Greenham Common, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. While cruising in low visibility at a height of 600 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of a hill and crash near Lewes, some 3 miles northeast of Brighton. Five passengers were rescued while all 25 other occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the ceiling was low with a maximum horizontal visibility estimated at 800 meters. In addition, the wind was blowing from the south at an estimated speed of fifteen knots.

The airplane crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea off Beachy Head. Three crew members including Roy O. Yonker, pilot, were killed. The fourth occupant Francis J. Priest survived and was rescued.

While flying over the county of East Sussex in low visibility, the bomber collided with another Martin B-26 Marauder of the USAAF. Registered 42-96249, it was also carrying a crew of six. Following the collision, both bombers dove into the ground and crashed in a field located in Battle. A crew member on board 42-107592 survived while all 11 other occupants were killed.
Crew (394th BG):
Lt Tommie Potts,
Sgt George J. Kyle, †
Lt Christian Burger, †
Lt Leroy A. Dyer, †
Sgt James M. Long, †
Sgt George W. Williams. †

While flying over the county of East Sussex in low visibility, the bomber collided with another Martin B-26 Marauder of the USAAF. Registered 42-107592, it was also carrying a crew of six. Following the collision, both bombers dove into the ground and crashed in a field located in Battle. A crew member on board 42-107592 survived while all 11 other occupants were killed.
Crew (394th BG):
Lt Thomas Jenkins,
Lt Walter Winter,
Sgt Boris R. Salinsky,
Sgt William C. Hoeb,
Sgt Ralph D. Parker,
Sgt Edward F Bailey.
Source: ASN