Monday, 1 July 2013

Short Stirling LK147

 The crash site just outside the perimeter of Gardermoen airport,Oslo can still be visited . In the dense undergrowth aircraft parts can still be seen .....the most poignant sight though is the temporary graveyard , picketfenced off and still maintained, the outline of the graves can still be clearly seen from the subsequent excavation and reinterment to Vestre Gravlund  Cemetery in Oslo in November the same year as the crash .





Stirling undercarriage frame, looking more fragile than ever

 Two days after VE Day on the 10th May 1945 .Due to adverse weather conditions  Short Stirling LK147 crashed into a steep sided ravine close to the Southern end of the runway at Gardermeon aerodrome north of Oslo in Norway.
The 20 men on board were all killed in the crash .
They were taking part in Operation Doomsday (the liberation of Norway) . Part of the 30000 men sent in case the 350000 German troops in Norway put up some resistance to the unconditional  surrender that was being imposed on them .
 It was a black day, for two other aircraft on the operation also crashed with loss of life . In total 58 men died tragically at the wars end in those crashes.

The men who died on LK147 were

Aircrew:
 F/O John L. Breed Pilot
W/O Hugh J. Kilday
Flt Sgt Harold A. Bell
Flt Sgt David Welch
W/Op Flt Sgt Lionel J.D.Gilyead
W/O Raymond C. Impett Nav


Soldiers:
Lt Frederick G. Saville
Pte Frederick Brown
Pte Thomas D. Brown
Cpl Charles Gavaghan
Pte Thomas Laycock
Pte George A. Little
Pte Robert McKeown
Pte Horace Newby
Pte Joseph Pagan
Pte George T. Phipps
L/Cpl Thomas E. Richardson
L/Sgt Frank R. Seabury
Pte Joseph Smethurst
L/Cpl Alexander B. Todd

The site itself can be visited and aircraft parts can still be seen insitu in the ravine.
This memorial is located very close to the crash site at the Forsvarets Flysamling aircraft museum.


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7 comments:

  1. Ian D B2 July 2013 at 23:04

    Very interesting Paul. An appalling loss of life in an operation which is not well known in the UK.

    ...and your first overseas crashsite visit!

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  2. Pasujoba3 July 2013 at 00:13

    3rd Ian ....but its a cheat I didnt know about it myself till I saw the memorial ....then when i researched it i found that i was very close to the crash site and there is somewhere to park the car and a trail to follow that will take you rigth to the impact point and some remaining wreckage ! so it could easily have been a proper crash site visit and not just a memorial shot !.....next time !

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  3. ang wickham11 July 2013 at 02:31

    A tragic event,especially given the nature of the task - liberation. The wrecakge displayed how it is here, seems displaced making the whole thing seem even more tragic. I can see why wreckage is stored / preserved this way: but at the same time, on-site seems so much more respectful and seems to honour those that perished there.

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    Replies
    1. Pasujoba12 July 2013 at 23:37

      I agree Ang ....this is certainly the most respectful aviation museum I have been to ! only a kilometre or so away can be found wreckage at the impact point . ...and the nuseum do not tell ya .... even me interested found out via the net after the event .

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    2. ang wickham23 July 2013 at 09:16

      Really? wow! I guess that's one way to prevent site-robbing - by creating the appearance that the stuff is now, respectfully, put to rest and no need to go looking!

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  4. Pasujoba12 August 2013 at 20:38

    Found the time to visit the site properly . down to the impact point and wreckage is still extant . Along with the cemetry .

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  5. Matthew Dowson27 July 2021 at 18:24

    John Breed the pilot married my father’s cousin Joyce, she had given birth to their son just 4 weeks before. She lived in East Yorkshire near Driffield where they had met and never remarried.

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