Wellington Z8990

A visit on a snowy day

Wet conditions for this visit

 On the 17th of July 1942 the crew of  Wellington Z8980  flying out of RAF Lichfield on a night navigation exercise bailed out at a low level after losing control of the aircraft. the Wellington crashed into Ringinglow Moss and burnt out . The moor is a watery bog of a place unfit for humans !
The crew all survived this incident. They were

 Sgt Thomas Frank Thompson  Pilot RAFVR

 P/O John William Moore Nav RAAF

 Sgt Joseph Howe Levett Nav RAAF

 Sgt Kennington John Hythe Harris WO/AG RAAF

 Sgt Jacob Henry Roden WO/AG RAAF


Unfortunately , Sgt's Thompson , Harris and Roden all recovered enough from their injuries to continue serving. All  three were later killed on service ,two in action over occupied Europe and one by then F/O Thompson killed crashing   Oxford PH235 into high tension cables near Holmes Chapel in Cheshire .

A watch perhaps or some sort of cockpit instrument

Hampden AE831

Looks like the sign has been replaced since my last visit , says the same but must be a new one by the looks of things  or at very least has been cleaned and had a paint job!.
This was one of my earliest crash site  visits and I have not done a proper write up of this site .So i am redressing this now !
On the 21st January 1942 this aircraft was returning from an abortive leaflet dropping operation over France in bad weather to its base at RAF Skellingthorpe, when it crashed into high ground at Cluther Rocks on the edge of the Kinder plateau .
The crew were lost and looking for Ringway Airport and had even been in contact with them before they crashed . The Hampden burnt out and all the crew were killed .
They were

Sgt . R.G. Heron    Pilot
Sgt. W.C. Williams    Nav
Sgt. W.T. Tromans    WO
Sgt. S.A. Peters        WO/AG

Sgt. Heron and Sgt. Williams were members of the  Royal Australian Air Force

Wellington BJ697

BJ697 took off from Chipping Warden on a night- time cross-country training exercise on the 26th September 1942 .
Off route presumably lost the aircraft descended through cloud crashing near to Fan Hir on Black Mountain in the Brecon Beacons .
The crew of four all initially survived the impact , one unharmed three badly injured . Subsequently , three days later, the pilot died of his injuries.
The crew were

F/Sgt Kenneth S. H. Bird (died of injuries, 29.9.42)
Sgt J. Head (unhurt, helped locals carry the injured off the hill )
Sgt. W.D. Barr Injured
Sgt.W.A.Fairweather Injured

Flight Sergeant Bird is buried in St Leonard's churchyard, Cliddesden, Hampshire.

I have found mention of a Sgt Troubridge who is alleged to have been in the crew and was an injured survivor in the crash but have been unable to substantiate this claim at the present time .

The scar which marks the imact is now denoted with a small cairn

Vampire VZ106

On the 9th October 1953 flying out of RAF Pembrey this De Havilland Vampire aircraft was flying as the lead aircraft of a pair of Vampires . Descending through cloud the pilot must have failed to see the ground approaching and hit the western slope of Fan Fir on the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The pilot of the second aircraft did see the ground and managed to avoid collision with it , a fortunate escape for him.
The pilot of the first Aircraft died in the crash. He was

P/O John Raymond Baldock

A huge amount of this aircraft remains at the site . Someone as collected the majority of it and layed it out into the rough shape of a Vampire aircraft .
These shots show the location of the main wreckage pool amidst the mountains!

Definately better on black in the lightbox , Thanks for pointing that out Al. You can see the depth of field thingy better there! gives a 3D style effect .

Wellington MF509

 On the 20th November 1944 this Wellington bomber crashed on Carrog Goch in the Brecon Beacons, Wales.
Flying out of RAF Wellebourne for a nightime  navigation exercise. Shortly before  20.50 hrs the crew sent a radio message asking permission to go below cloud as they were having trouble with the starboard engine. They descended and hit the hill.
 All six crewman were killed.
They were
  Sgt CHARLES HAMEL Pilot
 Sgt JULES ROBERT RENE VILLENEUVE Nav
 F/O WILLIAM JOSEPH ALLISON B/A
 Sgt JOSEPH PAUL ERNEST BURKE WO/AG
 Sgt ARTHUR GROUIX A/G
 Sgt GERARD DUSABLON A/G
 Probaly this parks best preserved crash site, it is often visited by enthusiasts and casual walkers alike .
Despite feeling in the middle of nowhere once there,  it is in fact quite easy to get to without too much hardship..

Martin B-26 44-68072

 An unusual last journey for this aircraft and crew began in Morrisfield, Florida before continuing on its exotic way through Trinidad ,Brazil , Dakar, Marrakech,before finally landing at RAF St. Mawgan in Cornwall. The last section of the journey was to Burtonwood in Lancashire . They set off from St. Mawgan at 12.38 for the final short leg on the 1st. February 1945 . They were destined to never arrive at Burtonwood .
Low cloud and high winds resulted in them going off course and flying at just over 3000 feet they decided to either land not realising they were off course or to attempt to get a fix by dropping beneath the clouds . Perhaps unaware of the dangers of flying in the UK in cloud they descended straight into the  near  summit   of Y Garn in the Snowdonia mountain range Wales.
The aircraft broke in two on impact the front section hurtling over the ridge and down into Cwm Cywion . One crew member lay dead near the summit the other four remained in the wreckage that went down into the Cwm . Eyewitness accounts of the scene state that they could  not have  survived  the intial impact .
It was another two days before the bodies were recovered from the snow covered mountain.
The crew of 5 were
2ndLt. Kenneth W.Carty Pilot
2ndLt William H. Cardwell Co-pilot
1stLt. Nolen  B. Sowell Nav.
Cpl. Jack D. Arnold Rad. Op.
Cpl. Rudolph M . Aguirre Eng.

All were from States across America .
Up to the 60's and 70's much wreckage remained but since then 'enthusiasts ' have removed it .....very little remains now at the summit , we found small pieces of alloy from an engine cylinder casing and a few shards of glass there. More is to be found in the Cwm and on the scree but even then it amounts to very little .
A tragic event , the crewmen never really had a chance to aclimatise themselves to the weather over the UK which claimed a very many lives during the war .
An undercarriage leg in a stream   is pictured above.

Ian stood on the impact point

Canberra WK129

 On the 9th of December 1957 this Canberra B2 whilst working on Radar trails, with the radar station on the  near-by mountain  'Drum', crashed at high speed into a mountain  ridge just below the summit of Carnedd Llwelwyn  . Hitting the North-West facing slope the aircraft travelling at high speed continued over the ridge and disintegrated over and around Ffynnon Llyffant , the highest lake in Wales.
Wreckage can be found over a great distance , there is so much in fact as to be near impossible to miss. The reason for the crash is not known.
 Tragically both crew men were killed in the crash . They were

F/Lt William Albert Bell  Pilot
F/Lt Kenneth Charles Frederick Shelley Navigator

This shot shows a plaque made from part of the aircraft attached to one of the engine parts

Bristol Blenheim L9039

 On the 8th April 1940 flying out of RAF Bicester L9039 crashed into The Carneddau mountain range in Snowdonia North Wales.
The crew of 4 were on a cross country training flight when they broke formation and crashed  high on the mountain .the wreckage is strewn from the impact point down to the boggy  valley floor below.
The crew who were all killed were

Sgt Alfred Ernest Hall Pilot
Sgt.Fred Graham ObsSgt. Anthony Charles Catton Obs
LAC Geoffrey Halstead JamesW/O+Obs

Avro Anson EG686

Flying out of RAF Cark (nr Cartmel ) on a night navigation exercise the aircraft crashed into the South -Eastern flank of Swirl How .
All three of the crew members were killed .
They were :
Sgt. K.M. Snelling Pilot
Sgt. K.J.Brettell Co-Pilot
Sgt. W.W. Younger Air Gunner

This area is dotted with crash sites , some famous such as the Halifax LL505 which hit the summit of Great Carrs much of which can be found below Swirl How on the Northern flank in a coombe called Broad Slack and others whose exsistance are almost spurious in that the exact location of the sites have yet to be located such as Hurricane AG 275 , an unknown Spitfire that was found close to this very Anson during the search for the Anson and another unknown aircraft upon the Old Man of Coniston whose engine is alleged to still be in the tarn . Low Water !
Here is a short video of our finding and travel down the wreckage trail from this crash site .
youtu.be/tnQxRbFaXhg

looking back up the mountain to the impact point

Hurricane AG264

 On the 23rd April 1943 this Hurricane along with AG275 crashed into Brim Fell in the Lake District .
The pilots were on at the end of a  training exercise when they entered low cloud never to come out of it ! The location of AG264 is seldom visited being off path in a precipitous location , the location of AG275 is not presently known to me  , but hopefully one day I will discover it.

 The  pilots who were both killed were:
Sgt Henry Marinus Atherton RAAF (AG264)
and
Sgt. Leonard Thomas Cook RAAF (AG275)

Here is a short video of our  attempt to locate this site and  photgraphing of it
youtu.be/Xwx2nwHcZhA

Ian taking a shot of the wreckage pool

 Looking back up to the impact point

Wellington N2848

On the 30th of January 1942 this aircraft crashed onto the top of Buckden Pike in the Yorkshire Dales .
The crew were on a night training flight and had earlier in the evening taken off from RAF Bramcote .
They became lost when hit by a sudden snowstorm , flying around trying to get a glimpse of land so as to locate their position they clipped a wall and crashed leaving a two hundred yard wreckage trail over the fell .
Four of the crew were killed instantly , the rear gunner Sgt. Joe Fusniak survived , his turret fell from the aircraft on impact ,he sustained a broken ankle.
On realising his predicament he tried to find the aircraft to see if the others survived . Struggling with his ankle in the snow he eventually came upon the fuselage remains and found that only one , Sgt. Jan Sadowski (Wireless Op.), of the crew beside himself were still alive . He was too injured to be moved and realising that the only chance of them surviving was to get help Joe decided to make his way off the fell .
Here the story becomes legend , setting off the wrong way , deeper into the moors ,Joe saw the footprints of a fox going in the opposite direction . realising that the Fox would be heading downhill out of the worst of the weather Joe began to follow the footprints . After much trial and hardship he eventually made it down into the small hamlet of Cray. Found by the local pubs (The White Lion) Landlords daughter they took him in to warmth and safety . Unfortunately the rescue team arrrived too late to save the Wireless Operator ,who was found dead at the crash site.
The crew were
F/Lt Czeslaw Kujawa Pilot
P/O Jerzy Polczyk Co-Pilot
F/O Tadeusz J Bieganski Observer
Sgt Jan Sadowski W/O A/G
Sgt Jan A Tokarzewski A/G
Sgt Jozef Fusniak A/G - survived

Joe was to recieve the Empire medal for his actions in attempting to save his crewmate.

An interesting footnote is that Joe Fusniak was later this same year blown out of his turret on a bombing raid, surviving this he was captured and held till the end of the war by the Germans and had to take part in the infamous POW death march as the Nazis moved prisoners from the advancing Russians .

This aircraft was built in Chester by Vickers as a Mk IC as part of a batch of a hundred.

This shot shows the location of the memorial and the wall a part of which was hit by the aircraft . A much photographed spot , it is difficult to capture something new and original . here I have tried to use the red of Susans jacket to contrast with the dull cloud enveloped hill.

The full story , the fullest ever told , can be found here www.buckdenpike.co.uk/mainstory.html

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Manufacturers stamp

A bronze of the fox

Susan pictured with a part found amongst the heather in the background

Wellington DV718

On the 2nd September 1942 this aircraft took off from Bassingbourn on a training flight with 5 other aircraft . It was a very cold night and with moisture in the air freezing on the aircrafts body became a big problem . Two aircraft of the flight crashed onto the Yorkshire moors , this one is on Blake Hill . the other being Wellington Z8808www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44/4937408653/
Two more turned for base , only two of the six completed the nights exercise , one of them crashing on landing !
All but one of this crew were killed in the crash . the surviving crewman died a year later on a mission . The crew were
Sgt George F. Ridgway RNZAF Pilot
P/O Donald H. Lyne Nav. Injured
Sgt Willie Allinson B/A
Sgt Howard W. Spencer R/Op
Sgt Paul McLarnon A/G

The site today has an impact site which I deleted in error:-) This contains small fragments of wreckage and the grass doesnt grow because of fuel contamination.. Away from the impact site can be found chunks of wreckage ,the largest of which is a piece of wing with a leading edge in place . Much of the wreckage was stolen for 'private ' collections in the 1970's . Preserved maybe but who can view it now?