Wellington HZ715

Wellington HZ715
On the 16th June 1944 this aircraft crashed into the near summit of Red Pike nr Buttermere in the Lake District .

Susan finds some more parts further up the hill whilst I photograph this small pool of wreckage

 Very little remains at the location today , just a few molten scraps .
The crew were flying on a cross country training exercise when they presumabely crashed into the hillside in cloud at around 1:35 in the afternoon.

The whole crew of 8 were killed . A larger crew than the Wellington carried on operations due to the training nature of this flight . Some were trainees some were trainers with  experience .

We made a very short video of our visit to the site , it starts in the valley and finishes above the impact point on the crags of the fell . view it by  copyand pasting the link into your browser , it will take you to YouTube
http://youtu.be/vdc_Qxy6zcc

The  crew were members of the RCAF and as such died a very long way from home 

They were


 P/O Albert Digby Cooper  Pilot
 F/O Frederick Allen Dixon Pilot
 F/Lt Emil Unterseher Pilot
 F/O Daniel Titleman Navigator
 Sgt George McCrimmon Anderson Nav
 F/O Roy Edward Simonson W/Op A/G
 WO1 George Richard Coathup W/Op A/G
 Sgt Campbell McRae Hodges A/G

The shot above was high on the scree slope and was the highest peice we found  .....we missed the actual impact point largely due to the rain and the need to concentrate on getting up to the top without slipping down the treacherous when wet mossy scree .!
The site is in a dramatic location but if I were to visit again would pick a more comfortable day to do so . The rain , hail and wind made conditions difficult .