Sabre F4 XD712

On the 16th June 1955 whilst flying in a four aircraft formation XD712 broke up in mid air killing the pilot  Flying Officer  Lawrence Michael Percival Harryman.
The official report states ''This a/c No.3 in a tail chase was seen to commence to pull out from a dive. Shortly before the nose came above the horizon the a/c rolled onto its back and entered cloud. It was next seen by ground witnesses with the forward part of the fuselage on fire and cartwheeling through the air. When the remainder of the a/c crashed the pilot, still strapped in the ejector seat, was thrown clear and killed.''
It goes on to say that ''It is considered that the pilot blacked out when attempting to follow his No.2 and on regaining consciousness overstressed the a/c to such an extent that it broke up''

A reliable witness on the ground says that the aircraft was flying level when it broke up rather than pulling out of a dive. This same witness visited the area in which the aircraft fragments fell to earth. They were scattered around a land drain near a road bridge across the drain south of the Humber in Lincolnshire a few miles from Elsham.  The pilot was found still in his ejector seat in the drain itself.

No trace of the crash is now visible in the area. There may be fragments in the fields or the waste from dredging the drains but we found nothing.

Looking North toward the Humber

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

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 .

Grumman Avenger FN821

On the 3rd February 1944 this aircraft from 848 Squadron crashed into Trum y Fawnog during a snowstorm . The aircraft apparently shed a wing before crashing into the ground at high speed , Doylerush says the aircraft was armed with a torpedo.
It was on a flight from Gosport to HMS Robin in the Orkney Islands stopping at Machrihanish on the way .
It is also said that there were Four people killed on the flight but some sources only say three were killed .
Whatever the truth is ,only three names are at present known . If any one can bring light to the subject please feel free to add comment with the facts .

The site showed signs that it had been recently dugby someone after loot and  aviation treasures . The very fact that this was a violent aircrash and there is a distinct possibility of a missing crewmember/passenger this is near to being grave robbing . 

The known crew who were killed were

1st Pilot S/L William Seddon Appleby (24)
2nd Pilot S/L Ernest Hartley Green (22)
Observer S/L Joe Lupton (21)

Pilot Appleby was from New Zealand , he died in the cold a long long way from home .

we found poking out of the ground the emergency door lever in part open position still attached to part of the  cockpit frame .
It occured to me that one of these mens last actions on earth may have been to attempt to escape the aircraft using this handle . See below for a clear shot of the writing on the handle .

.

Squadron badge

A Fleet Airarm Grumman Avenger

The emergency door release handle

PZL.P.11c

a  PZL.P.11c

PZL.P.11c

On the 1st September 1939 at a few moments after 05.15 this aircraft flown by Captain Mieczyslaw Medwecki became the very first allied aircraft to be shot down during the war . Indeed it was shot down before the 'allies ' had even formed  . Although I suppose it is a mute point as to if the allies formed on the Nazi invasion or the declaration of war by  the British and French .

After bombing attacks on Krakow air base by He111's ,  Ju87's and later by  Do17's a number of these gullwinged fighters took off in an   attempt to repel the attacks .
The Polish aircraft  clashed with a flight of Ju87's  unfortunately Captain Medwecki's aircraft was shot down a few kilometres from the airbase under what is now the new JohnPaulII terminal building for Krakow Airport.

The location is now marked with a plaque just by the entrance to the terminal building .
The actual number of the aircraft involved is not known at this present time .

Captain Mieczyslaw Medwecki

Vickers Wellington HE226

Flying out of Turweston ,on the 28th May 1945 HE226 crashed into Bycliffe Moor , Conistone ,Yorkshire.

Part of No.17 OTU on a training flight the whole crew of five were killed .

They were

Pilot W/O E.C. Cole 

Nav Sgt. J. Mann 

BA F/Sgt. A.J. Griffiths 

 AG Sgt. J.Duncan

AG Sgt. H.H. Rawnsley

A huge amount of wreckage still can be found at this site in 5 or 6 pools and a spread over a wide area with small fragments can be seen .

Republic P-47 42-22758

little remains visible at this site now

 Taking off out of East Wretham in Norfolk on the 6th February 1944 as part of a flight of 5 P-47.s on route to BAD2 Wharton ,the pilot became lost in deteriorating weather . It is believed that he circled trying to find his whereabouts until he ran out of fuel . Then with little options open to him he began a gradual glide ,controlled descent , but unfortunately clipped one of the  ridges of Pendle Hill and crashed into its flank .

The pilot who was killed was 

Flt.Officer J.R.Runnells

At the site today can be seen a very few small fragments of wreckage and a number of exlpoded and unexploded 20mm shells. We also found amongst the heather what appears to be the tip of the aircrafts aerial antennae .

Handley Page Halifax DT578

Traces of paint still remain on some wreckage

On the 23rd of November 1943 DT578 flying out of No.4 Group's airfield at Ricall ,in a flight of 6 aircraft on a very stormy night, crashed into Great Whernside above Kettlewell.
3 of the 6 crashed that night ,Halifax Mk.II JB926
crashed over at Masham with all crew lost.

The crew of DT578 were also all killed , they were

Pilot Sgt. S Chadwick 1453551
AG Sgt. K. Vincent 1819902
Flt. Eng. Sgt. F.W. Robson 1451671
WO Sgt. D.P. Aitken 1322354
BA Sgt N. Martin 1600285
Nav Sgt. F. J. Robinson 538137
AG Sgt. Ernest Stabler 1784108 

I have found conflicting reports has to who was performing which function on this flight .

The shot below shows the main wreckage pool which lays in the beginnings of a stream  just below the impact point..

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Looking down from the highest signs of the impact

Handley Page Halifax JB926

Main wreckage pool in front of Slipstone Crags on Agra Moor .

 The area surrounding this memorial is burnt earth covered with a scatter of tiny fragments .

The night of 23rd/24th November turned into tragedy for No4 Groups No.1658 Heavy Conversion Unit .
Six Halifax's took off from Ricall on a cross country training exercise , the weather was poor to begin with ,and rapidly detereorated , only two aircraft from this flight completed the task and returned to Ricall , one landed at another airfield and three crashed .

The crew of 8 were all killed

Pilot Sgt. R.E.C. Bacon
Flt Eng Sgt G.H. Manley
Flt Eng Sgt. J. Titterington
Nav F/O H. McCarthy
BA F/Sgt J.J. MacGillivray (RCAF)
WO Sgt B.F. Taylor
AG Sgt, A.J. Winton
AG Sgt.D.E. Phillips

JB926 was reportedly heard to circle before going into a steep dive . Icing up of the flying surfaces is thought to be the cause . The crash was at high speed and the aircraft burned on impact . Evidence of which can clearly be seen at the crash site .

No.1658 HCU was first formed on 7th October 1942 adopting the word 'Heavy' in the name on 1st November the same year. It supplied airmen to No.4 Group .
The HCU,s didnt teach men to fly as such but rather prepared trained men to fly heavy bombers (usually 4 engined ones ,Halifaxes for No4 Group Squadrons) .

Boeing B-17G 44-8683 ''Dear Mom''

looking up to the impact site from the present day wreckage pool

a number can still be made out 

Bottom of shot can be seen the highest wreckage I could find

On the 17th of May 1945 B-17G 44-8683 flying out of Knettishall on a training flight crashed into Great Whernside , Yorkshire in deteriorating weather .

The crew of 5 were all killed . 

Pilot 1st Lt. Harry J. Cole
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Vance L. Ferguson
Nav 2nd Lt. James M. Young
Eng Sgt. Hoyt E. Dixon
W. Op. S/Sgt Dario Battista 

The plane had been named 'Dear Mom'

At the location it is still easy to see scarring where the aircraft crashed ....scars are even spaced that seem to indicate where  the engines impacted.

Meteors WA791 and VZ518

At 9:15am on Thursday 12th April 1951 a flight of four Meteor jet aircraft took off from RAF Linton-on-Ouse near York for a training flight. Flying the lead pair were Flight Lieutenant David Merryweather Leach (WA791) and Flying Officer Tony Hauxwell (VZ518). The flight was to climb to around 30,000ft where the two pairs would carry out attacks on each other.

The weather forecast for the day was for complete cloud cover from 1,500ft to 20,000ft, but on reaching 30,000ft the four aircraft were still in thick cloud and radioed Linton on Ouse to inform them that the flight would be returning home. All four aircraft turned back towards Linton-on-Ouse, though after having descended back through 20,000ft Flt Lt Leach reported he could see what he thought was Leeds through a break in the cloud and he and F/O Hauxwell were going to proceed down. The second pair could not see through the cloud and not being entirely sure of their position radioed their intention to remain at 20,000ft. After some 5 minutes the lead pilot of the second pair, Flying Officer Leslie Hayward, attempted to contact Flt Lt Leach with no success. RAF Northern Radar at Lindholme near Doncaster attempted to contact the pair again with no success.

Following this a search was mounted with wreckage being spotted later in the day with a ground team reaching the scene the following afternoon. The two aircraft had continued to descend through cloud and without ever breaking out of the bottom of the overcast and had flown into the top of the moor in formation. The marks left by the two aircraft are still clearly visible.

The pilots who were both killed were

F/O Anthony H. Hauxwell		VZ518
Flt. David M. Leach		WA791

Bristol Blenheim L4873

wing spar

impact crater

On the 23rd March 1940 Bristol Blenheim L4873 flying out of RAF Upwood on a formation flying exercise with two other Blenheims became lost in cloud .
The two other aircraft found clear sky and returned to base but the pilot and crew of L4873 became increasingly disorientated in the cloud .
Eventually, it is presumed, they decided to try and descend under the cloud cover to try and get a fix on thier position.
Instead of finding the cloud base they found the shoulder of Foel Wen in the Berwyn Mountains ,North Wales. The aircraft was utterly destroyed on collision with the mountain.
A teardrop shaped impact crater can still be clearly seen , its shape indicative of the angle of descent .
A substantial amount of still painted (in part) aircraft fragments can be seen amongst the deep grass . Fuselage parts showing signs of impact crumpling , wing sections less damaged but now heavily corroded.
The three man crew were all killed

Sgt. Maurice Charles Cotterell Pilot
Sgt Ronald Jesse Harbour Observer
AC2 Kenneth Charles Winterton WO+AG

Bristol Blenheim IV in Finnish colours

P-38 42-12905

 

 On the 26th January 1943 whilst in a flight of Forty-five P-38,s from Goxhill to Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland , Two aircraft , this one P-38G 42-12905 and P-38G 42-12928, collided and crashed . Both pilots died .
1st. Lt. H.L. Perry flew this aircraft
2nd Lt. S.L. White .....the other !

Here is a link to the other P-38 involved in the collision
http://militaryaircraftcrashsites.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/lockheed-p-38-42-12928.html

Susan inspecting the wreckage , dragged through the mud , wet , cold and fed up. We decided not to continue to the other P-38 today . It lies over a mile away , and conditions under foot were difficult to say the least . Visibility was down to 50m maximum , often less

Lockheed P-38 42 -12928

P-38,s lined up on the runway in Northern Ireland .

Large wing section ,flaps are still attached .
On the 26th January 1943 a flight of P-38 were being flown from Goxhill in Lincolnshire to Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland .
Two of these aircraft collided with each other over The Forest of Bowland , Lancashire. They both crashed into the moor about 1 and a half miles apart. According to reports neither pilot attempted to bail out . They may have been injured or killed in the initial collision.

This aircraft was piloted by

2nd Lt Stephen. L. White 

Who was killed along with the pilot of the other aircraft

1st Lt Henry. L. Perry

he main aircraft in this picture is 42-12908 , the number lies between the two that crashed here, so its reasonable to assume that this is pretty much what they looked like .

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