Vickers Valiant WZ363

Vickers Valiant WZ363

Traces of what is supposed to be the remnants of the impact crater today

On the 6th May 1964  at 23.50 ,WZ363 crashed into farmland near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire .
flying out of RAF Marham on exercises they had just finished doing a practise PAN rolling landing at RAF Binbrook  and  had been cleared to turn in a southerly direction to return to Marham .
  It is thought that the tailplane actuator malfunctioned in some way , this though as never been  proven . The crash was so violent as to make an absolute  reason for the crash impossible to work out .  However the pilot was in contact with  Radar Approach Control at Brinbrook only moments before the crash  and seemed relaxed , so it must have been a sudden and quickly developing event .
All 5 crewmen were killed instantly .
 They were :

F/Lt  F.C. WELLES        Captain
F/Lt  G.A. MILLS           Co-Pilot
F/Lt  J.R. STRINGER     Navigation Plotter
F/Lt  L.R. HAWKINS      Navigation Bomber
Sgt R. NOBLE                 Air Electronics Operator

I have never visited the site myself . These shots were supplied by my friend and  keen aviation fan and historian Al who has kindly given me permission to use his shots .

There is a webpage on the 207  Squadron website worthy of note which covers the crash in very great detail , so much so that it leaves nothing new to be said . I include a link here, just copy and search .  http://www.207squadron.rafinfo.org.uk/valiants/welles_060564.htm

 At the local railway station a plaque and memorial has been raised in memory of the crew

Two more shots of the crash area

As a footnote .  The aircraft type flew its last missions (as tanker and another in a conventional role) on December 9th 1964 . The type was struck off in early 1965 . The change in tactics during the Cold War required Britains   nuclear V-force bombers to fly in at low level to avoid radar contact . The Valiant was not designed for this and its airframe could not stand the extra stresses involved . A glorious aircraft whose operational life was brought to a sharp end due to technological advances in other areas of warfare.
ASN as the crash record for Valiants as this

WB210                   12/1/52               1 fatal                    prototype

WP222                  29/7/55                4 fatal

WP202                  11/5/55                3 fatal                   

WZ398                  13/9/57               

XD869                   11/9/59                6 fatal                   at Marham              

XP864                    12/8/60                5 fatal

WP205                  17/11/60             

WZ399                  3/11/61               

WP200                  14/3/61

WZ363                  6/5/64                   5 fatal                    Rasen crash

WZ396                  23/5/64

Thanks Al for finding this out for me .