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Date: | Friday 6 August 1943 |
Time: | |
Type: | Handley Page Halifax Mk II |
Owner/operator: | 51 Sqn RAF |
Registration: | HR783 |
MSN: | |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7 |
Other fatalities: | 0 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Crockey Hill, south of York, North Yorkshire, England -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Test |
Departure airport: | RAF Melbourne, North Yorkshire |
Destination airport: | |
Narrative:On 6th August 1943 the crew of this aircraft (HP Halifax HR783 "MH-J" of 51 Sqn, RAF) were undertaking an air test when the aircraft suffered a fire in the starboard outer engine which necessitated shutting it down. The pilot was unable to keep control and the aircraft crashed near Crockey Hill, south of York, North Yorkshire, sadly killing the seven on board including a ground crew passenger who had gone along for the ride.
No time for the incident occurring has yet been found. The engine failure alone should not have caused this experienced pilot to lose control and it seems likely that the fire caused some other technical fault which rendered the aircraft uncontrollable. A member of this pilot's regular crew was not on the aircraft as he had traveled to York to be measured for his officers uniform.
Although conjecture it would seem likely that on his way back to base at Snaith he would have passed the wreckage of his crew's aircraft at Crockey Hill, as a result Percy Newland survived the war. This was one of a number of incidents which occured near Crockey Hill during the War years. Nearest to this was a Junkers Ju88 which crashed about 300 yards away in April 1942.
Halifax HR783 was built by Handley Page at Radlett and delivered in the first week of April 1943.
Crew of Halifax HR783:
Pilot - P/O Cecil Agar Lambert DFM RAFVR (146864) killed
Flt Eng - Sgt Edward Watson RAFVR (1127753) killed
Navigator - P/O Jack Austin Wilkins RAFVR (146788) killed
Bomb Aimer - Sgt Harry John Evans RAFVR (1551799) killed
AG - Sgt Gerald Alfred Warren RAFVR (1465627) killed
AG - Sgt Charles Martin Johnson RCAF (R/83461) killed
Pass./Ground Crew - LAC Willie Rees RAFVR (1130993) killed
Sources:
1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/hr783.html]
2.
http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2623767 3.
http://www.lostancestors.eu/memwar/C/Castletown.htm 4.CWGC
Media:
Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
08-Jan-2015 05:22 |
Dr. John Smith |
Added |
11-May-2015 02:30 |
angels one five |
Updated [Operator, Nature, Narrative] |
06-Nov-2018 18:44 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |
01-Dec-2023 12:04 |
Nepa |
Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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