Armstrong Whitley T4138

On the 15th of December 1940 T4138 came to grief on Arden Great Moor in the North Yorks Moors .
The crew took off from RAF Topcliffe on a mission to bomb Berlin along with 70 other aircraft . Unfortunately they developed engine trouble and returned to base with a full bomb load . The aircraft hit the hill whilst circling to land .
The bombs did not explode although the aircraft did burn.
Of the crew of five only one crew member died.
They were
P/O. H.H.J. Miller Pilot
Sgt. D.H. Gilbert Co-Pilot
Sgt.G.Thorpe Obs
Sgt. A.E. Hammond A/G,W/O
who all survived
and
Sgt. Cyril Williams A/G, W/O ...Killed.

At the site today in a slight hollow amidst a barren patch of moor a few small fragments still survive .
No Whitleys have survived to this day .
The bombing raid was a failure less than half the aircraft dropped thier bombs anywhere near Berlin and those that did inflicted little damage.
These early raids upon Germany were largely ineffectual , due to the great distance of almost 600 miles , the slow aircraft speed , low ceiling height , light bomb load, and the poor method of target finding . many lessons were learnt over the coming years which eventually resulted in the huge operations which devestated entire cities.