Handley Page Halifax BB310

Handley Page Halifax BB310

The view from the still visible impact crater amongst the scree . Small pieces of wreckage can still be seen deep amongst the rocks. The view indicates the probable line of flight of the aircraft prior to the crash .

The memorial just next to the impact point

On the 12th April 1944 Halifax BB310 crashed into Blea Crag on Great Dun Fell in the North Pennines . The crew were in their 8th hour of a training flight . They were flying out of RAF Longtown in Cumbria from 1674 HCU which provided crews for Coastal Command . Indeed BB310  had been a Coastal Command aircraft with 502 Squadron prior to being used for training purposes . It was built by LAPG  as a MkII Series 1 between November 1942 and January 1943 . It was a 'Special' which meant it was fitted with a Mk3 ASV radar and it could have had its armament uprated too to offset the change in the German submarines tactics of attempting to shoot attacking aircraft out of the sky instead of diving .
The aircraft exploded upon impacting the fell ,creating a still visible crater within the large scree rocks . The entire crew were killed , probaly instantly .
They were:

F/O Paul B. Stevens RCAF, pilot
F/O Sydney Brookes RAFVR, second pilot
Flt Sgt William ''Alan'' Johnson RAFVR DFM, wireless op / air gunner
Flt Sgt Frank Pess RCAF, wireless op / air gunner
Flt Sgt Harold S. Seabrook RCAF, wireless op / air gunner
Sgt Robert J. Littlefield RAFVR, flight engineer
Sgt William J.  Morrison RAFVR, navigator
Sgt Hugh Dunningham RAFVR, wireless op / air gunner
Sgt Dean W.  Swedberg RCAF, wireless op / air gunner

F/O Stevens whilst part of the Royal Canadian Air Force was  actually an American rather than  a Canadian .
Our visit this day was on the 70th anniversay of the crash . The weather was dreadful but cleared long enough whilst we were at the crash site for me to take a few pictures .

The plaque placed as a memorial in 1994

Paint still adorns this fragment

small fragments some showing signs of an intense fire

Handley Page Halifax LL505

Handley Page Halifax LL505

memorial cairn on the summit under a blanket of snow

the same on a warmer day

 On the 22nd october 1944 this aircraft flying out of RAF Topcliffe crashed into the summit of  Great Carrs in the English Lake District . The crew who were on a night navigation exercise were probaly descending under a cloud layer to try and get a navigation fix but we will most likely never know for certain for all were killed on impact with the mountain .
They were

F/O J.A. Johnston         Pilot    RCAF
F/O F.A. Bell                   Nav  RCAF
F/O R.N Whitley             BA   RCAF
Sgt W.B. Ferguson       Flt Eng.  RAFVR
Sgt H.E. Pyche              Flt Eng  RCAF
Sgt C.G. Whittingstall  WO/AG  RCAF
Sgt D.F.Titt                     AG    RCAF
Sgt G. Riddoch             AG      RCAF




After the crash the wreckage was broken up and thrown into the coombe below the summit . To this day quite a lot remains  there ,including a large wing section and an engine amongst other items scattered down the valley .

An engine from the aircraft can also be seen at the Ruskin Museum  in Coniston village at the foot of the mountain . Here is alink to a short video I made of the engine .
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44/7337345824/in/set-72157622370101728/

Looking up the valley to the coombe containing the wreckage

Reduction gear , our route today was up the crags in this shot , it was an hairy scramble in the conditions

An engine in a stream

wing section

wing section

engine outside Ruskin Museum 

Halifax at Yorkshire Air Museum

 A visit to Yorkshire Air Museum  , a  right royal treat for my 5oth birthday  . These are shots of inside the Halifax there ....one of only two that exsist today . The shot above is of the pilot seat and controls .

looking toward the bomb aimers /front gun position

navigators table

rear turret