Halifax DK116
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| The code letters of the aircaft can be seen stamped into this valve |
The crew were instructed to bail out by the pilot , unfortunately only 3 of them managed to get out before the aircraft plunged into Glendhu Hill at Kielder .
There is much speculation that those who remained on board were trying to free the rear gunner who it is alleged was trapped .
This though seems just one possible explanation of many . It could equally be that the pilot thought everyone had bailed and decided it was time for himself to attempt to bail the aircraft could have gone into a dive as he left the controls resulting in centrafugal forces preventing any of the remainding crew from escaping ...it is unlikely that the absolute truth will ever be known .
The men who died in the crash were
P/O Herbert George Haddrell Pilot
Sgt John Neilson Flt.Eng
W/O Maurice Fredrick James A/G
W/O Geoffrey Symonds A/G
those who successfully bailed out were
Sgt John Mahony Nav
Sgt Reid W/Op
and Sgt Hammond A/G
Visiting the crash site, situated with Kielder forest , involves a very long walk and/or some atrocious terrain to cross if taking the shortest route . Its probaly the reason that so much wreckage still remains at the site .Here is a very short video that I took at the site
http://youtu.be/1xjqi76j030
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