Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Lakenheath

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1942 at 0332 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3719
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Lakenheath - Lakenheath
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Lakenheath at 2212LT on April 22 on an operation to Cologne. After landing at base the following night, it swung onto uneven ground, whereupon the undercarriage gave way and the bomber was wrecked. There were no injuries among the crew.
Crew:
Crew:-
F/Sgt Graham Howard Roy Woodhouse, pilot,
Sgt Geoffrey Ernest Robertson, pilot,
Sgt Gordon James Victor Lock, flight engineer,
Sgt Ronald Jack Nason, navigator,
Sgt Ronald Herbert P. Waite, bomb aimer,
Sgt Hanna, wireless operator,
Sgt Gerald Grant, air gunner,
F/Sgt Haywood, air gunner.

Crash of a Vickers 417 Wellington III in Sapiston: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 23, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
X3759
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Honington - Honington
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Honington at 2220LT on April 22 on an operation to Cologne. The following night, while returning to base, it crashed on approach in a field located in Sapiston, less than 2 km east of the airbase. Five crew members were killed while the air gunner was injured.
Crew:
Sgt Warren Thomas Ramey, pilot, †
Sgt John Monteith, pilot, †
Sgt John Whiteside Jasper, observer, †
F/Sgt Joseph Seberras, wireless operator, †
Sgt Eric Edwin Eglinton, wireless operator, †
Sgt P. G. Russel, air gunner.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Newmarket

Date & Time: Apr 15, 1942 at 0510 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N6076
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Wyton - Wyton
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Wyton at 2343LT on April 14 on an operation to Dortmund. While returning to base the following morning, the crew encountered technical problems with the undercarriage. He diverted to RAF Newmarket where the airplane belly landed and was damaged beyond repair. There were no injuries among the crew.
Crew:
F/O Neville Arthur Bennitt, pilot,
Sgt Ronald Sawyer, flight engineer,
Sgt Gordon Lewis John, navigator,
Sgt Henry William Aldridge, air gunner,
Sgt Cornelius Johannes Du Preez, air gunner,
F/Sgt K. W. R. McMillan,
Sgt Sullivan,
Sgt Worley.
Probable cause:
Technical problems with the undercarriage.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Newmarket

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1942 at 0426 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3679
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington at 2225LT on April 12 on an operation to Essen. While returning to base, the crew encountered technical problems with the undercarriage that could not be lowered. The crew diverted to RAF Newmarket where a wheels up landing was completed. All seven crew members escaped uninjured and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
P/O Norman Edward Winch, pilot,
Sgt Geoffrey Edward Booth,
P/O R. Colwell,
F/Sgt John Hankin,
Sgt B. A. Iverson,
Sgt E. D. Williams,
P/O George Ramsay Wood.
Probable cause:
The port undercarriage unit had a broken pylon strut and this prevented the wheel from being locked in the down position.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV at RAF Wattisham

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1942 at 0142 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
T2396
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Wattisham - Wattisham
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane was engaged in a local training flight at RAF Wattisham. It failed to level out, resulting in a smashed undercarriage. Chance lights, although available, were not in use at the time of the accident. The crew escaped uninjured and the airplane was written off.

Crash of a Vickers 406 Wellington II in Creeting St Mary: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1942 at 0019 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
W5531
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Pocklington - Pocklington
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Pocklington at 2245LT on April 12 on an operation to Essen. About an hour into the flight, the crew encountered technical problems with the right engine. Due to unsuccessful attempts at quelling the fire, the captain ordered the crew to bail out. Four crew members were able to bail out and were rescued while two others remained on board and were killed when the airplane crashed in Creeting St Mary, southeast of Stowmarket.
Crew:
F/Sgt David Kilgour Lloyd, pilot, †
Sgt W. R. Ferrier, pilot,
F/Sgt G. M. Phillips,
F/Sgt R. A. Gardiner, wireless operator,
W/O Grant Russell Graves, wireless operator, †
F/Sgt H. J. Thomas, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Lakenheath

Date & Time: Apr 7, 1942 at 0446 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3726
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Lakenheath - Lakenheath
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Lakenheath at 0037LT on an operation to Essen. While passing over the Netherlands, it was shot up by a German fighter. The crew was able to leave the area and to return to base with one engine inoperative. After landing, the undercarriage collapsed and the airplane came to rest. All eight crew members evacuated safely.
Crew:
F/Lt Michael Roquier Evans, pilot,
Sgt Rawdon Hume Middleton, pilot,
Sgt Smith, flight engineer,
Sgt Felstead, navigator,
Sgt Coman, bomb aimer,
F/Sgt Mace, wireless operator,
Sgt Frederick Bertram Pomeroy, air gunner,
F/Sgt Hanson, rear gunner.
Probable cause:
Undercarriage collapsed on landing.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC off Orford Ness

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1942 at 0005 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R1393
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Elsham Wolds - Elsham Wolds
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed RAF Elsham Wolds at 2027LT on March 25 on an operation to Essen. Over the target area, it was hit by the German Flak, which holed petrol tanks and rendered the airplane's hydraulic system unserviceable. Shortly after midnight, while approaching the British coast, the crew ditched the airplane some five miles off Orford Ness on the Suffolk coast. All six crew members were rescued and the airplane was lost.
Crew:
Sgt G. O. John,
Sgt A. Talky,
Sgt C. S. Campbell,
Sgt S. Albiston,
Sgt T. K. Wright,
Sgt G. Thompson.
Probable cause:
Hit by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Ilketshall St Margaret

Date & Time: Mar 11, 1942 at 0225 LT
Operator:
Registration:
AT173
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Skellingthorpe - Skellingthorpe
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Skellingthorpe at 1935LT on March 10 on an operation to Essen. While returning to base the following night, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with low visibility due to a thick layer of mist. After the airplane ran out of fuel, the crew abandoned the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed near Ilketshall St Margaret and was destroyed. All four crew members were uninjured.
Crew:
P/O Philip John Stone, pilot,
Sgt Jack Hudson, wireless operator,
Sgt Alan John Mills, wireless operator,
Sgt O'Connor, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Mildenhall: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 11, 1942 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R9295
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Mildenhall - Mildenhall
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Mildenhall at 2000LT on March 10 on an operation to Essen. While returning to base the following night, it overshot the runway and crashed into trees. A crew member was rescued while seven others were killed.
Crew:
S/L Lloyd Watt Coleman, pilot, †
F/O Charles Leslie Pilkington, pilot, †
Sgt Donald Arthur Graham, observer, †
Sgt Reginald Arthur Shea, flight engineer, †
F/Sgt Louis Kowalski, wireless operator, †
Sgt John Millichip, wireless operator, †
Sgt Harold Skelton, air gunner, †
Sgt Harris, air gunner.