LANCASTER PA411

Located above Tintwhistle in the Dark Peak

Flying out of RAF Lindholme on the 20th December 1948. The Lancaster crashed into the hillside on the stroke of midnight .

It was engulfed in flames except for the tail section which had snapped off and been thrown clear from the burning wreckage .One of the crew initially survived the impact only to die within an hour of the crash. His watch had reportedly stopped at 10 seconds to midnight .

Seven crew died in the crash they were

F/Sgt. J.S Thompson Pilot

F/Sgt. V. Graham Flt. Eng.

F/Lt P.M. Maskell Nav

F/Lt T.I. Johnson Inst.

F/Lt.D.W.H.Harris Inst

F/Sgt R.Smith Sig

F/Sgt W.A.Love Sig

This was a Mk. 1 Lancaster which was converted to Converted to Mk.VII FE (Far East),
 

MOSQUITO LR412

Located on Aran Fawaddy in Snowdonia National Park ,North Wales.

Propellor and hub with partial reduction gear .

On wednesday the 9th February 1944 Mosquito Mk.IX LR412 of Squadron No. 540 of the RAF, crashed onto the higher slopes of Aran Fawddwy , Snowdonia , SSW of the summit itself .

Both crewmen were killed in the crash .
Pilot- F/O Marek Slonski, PAF

Nav- F/Lt Paul Riches DFC, RAF


They were flying out of RAF Benson and were testing two new flaps .

Both pilot and navigator were very experienced , F/Lt Riches having been awarded the DFC in 1943.

The weather was not too bad ,some cloud but not extensive . The crash does seem to have some mystery surrounding it , the propellor does not appear to have been turning on collision with the ground ,yet a Mosquito could fly comfortably on one engine . Visability was reportedly quite reasonable and both were experienced men .

They are buried together at Chessington , St Mary, cemetery, Surrey.

The aircraft itself had taken part in many operations over enemy territory.

540 Squadron operated successfully has a photo -reconnaissance unit . Aircraft of this unit carried no squadron markings so has not to be easily identified if shot down over enemy territory

HANDLEY PAGE HEYFORD K6900

Near Old Town above Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire

These are the fragments we found , part of which appears to be a section of windshield 

Ian DB and Myself realised that this crash site whilst having well documented accounts as to the circumstances did not seem to have an actual crash site recorded by any of the regular or indeed irregular authorities .

An ommission we were determined to correct.

We spent a few weeks researching and colating all we could regarding the incident ( a part played well by Ian in Hebden Library), I had less success chasing access to the National Archives , due to prohibitive costs ( they would not even give us a quote, it was so expensive ).

With accrued info from the Library and interviews with the pilot found on the internet, we decided to use logic and map reading skills , checking areas with a metal detector once possible sites were narrowed down .

First we plotted likely trajectories then used eye witness accounts to eliminate the least probable . Very good descriptions of the terrain surrounding the crash were available and by cross refering them we continued to narrow the possibles down .

After a couple of misses , we found a very likely spot and whilst I paced out 80 yrds in a deep furrow uphill from a destroyed wall , Ian walked behind with metal detector testing the water so to speak . About 60yrds up we began to get signals in a muddy water course, delving in with our hands a series of small finds came to light , scraping away the dirt off one we found what appeared to be a part of a frame work with a small piece of glass with it. Other pieces of copper and alloy emerged , some having traces of paint others showing signs of violent impact ,some partially melted .

Surely this was the site of the crash .

We had used documentry Evidence to walk into an open moorland in search of the remains of a crashed aircraft and when we looked hard we found ,in the designated place ,evidence that resembled finds from other aircrash sites that we have seen.



We have replaced the finds in the water course .


This is the view from the furthest extent of the crash site beyond the fence is a wall demolished by the aircraft

BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT N3378

Located on Bleaklow in the Peak District

Defiants were unusual fighter aircraft used in the early stages of the 'Battle of Britain' having a turret for armament instead of wing borne forward firing guns or cannon. It enjoyed some success at first being miss recognised by the German pilots as a Hurricane , they believed they had caught an hurricane pilot out and sneaked up behind the aircraft only to be shot down by the turret gunner in the Defiant . They soon learned to attack Defiants from the front or below, heavy losses resulted in defiants being withdrawn from frontline daytime duties . They were then converted into night fighters using Airborne Interception Radar. This aircraft returning to RAF Hibaldstow from Raf Turnhouse after a period of leave for the pilot crashed into Bleaklow on the 29th August 1941. The second crew member was in fact a passenger taking a 'lift' off the pilot to enable a swift return to base .Tragically both men survived the crash but died of thier injuries at the crash site before they were found (over a month after the crash).P/O James Craig Pilot Aircraftman 2nd Class George Hempstead Passenger
Quite an amount of wreckage remains at this site , not only at the main pool but scattered across the moor . In one of the gullies burnt fragments and shards of perspex and glass can be seen indicative of an impact point (but not confirmed).

BLACKBURN BOTHA W5103


Located on Round Hill ,part of Bleaklow in the Peak District

• 
  
  This uncommon aircraft had a poor reputation largely deserved . 442 were ordered by the RAF in 1936 to provide cover for Coastal Command , Torpedo attack, bombing and reconnaissance were its intended duties. Unfortunately it never had the engine to suit its weight . Four aircraft were lost between March and July 1940 and its bad reputation was sealed .Only 30 aircraft actually entered frontline service , only one being lost in the 3 months of that service before being withdrawn . They went on to be used as trainers but proved unsuitable for this role too , eventually ending life as target tug aircraft . This aircraft was a new one en route to No.48 Maintenance Unit at RAF Hawarden , on the 10th December 1941 .
• 
  
  The aircraft crashed into Round Hill on Bleaklow in the Peak District in bad weather , nothing wrong could be found with the aircraft and it is assumed that the pilot was trying to fly between the cloud and hillside when he crashed . The pilot , sole crew member on this ferry flight was killed.
  F/O Thomas William Rodgers of the ATA
  Two large wing sections remain on site with a plethra of smaller fragments surrounding them and scattered in a number of grougths which radiate out from the hill top crash site .