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| Date: | Friday 5 June 1942 |
| Time: | 23:25 |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 78 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | W7669 |
| MSN: | EY- |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Croft, North Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Croft, Cheshire |
| RAF Croft |
Soon after leaving the airfield the port inner engine caught fire, the crew jettisoned the bombs, the pilot turned the aircraft around and into the airfield's landing circuit to go around and land. While he was lining up with the runway the port wing dropped and the aircraft stalled and with little height to recover the aircraft dived into the ground some four hundred yards south of Dalton on Tees, only four minutes after taking off. Sadly three of the crew were killed and the other four sustained injuries. The fire in the engine was believed to have started because of a glycol leak.
Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Harold Ernest Bedford RAFVR 100577 (NCO:1164964 : Commission Gazetted Friday 01 August, 1941) [Killed] Upton-cum-Chalvey (St Mary) Churchyard Slough, Buckinghamshire.
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Vincent George Musselwhite RAF 619222 [Killed] Cheriton (St Michael) Churchyard Hampshire.
Navigator : Pilot Officer Frank Eric Alder RAFVR 107921 (NCO:1184492) [Injured]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant James O'Rourke RAFVR 984531 [Killed] Ardrossan Cemetery Ayrshire Sec. B. Mid. West Div. Grave 290A.
Air Gunner : Sergeant John George Meller RAFVR 1008176 [Injured]
Sergeant Phillips RAF [Injured]
Sergeant W L Turner RAF [Injured]
Sources:
Aircraft Accidents In Yorkshire
CWGC
Bomber Command Losses 1942
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Jan-2018 15:24 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 11-Nov-2018 13:57 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 26-Feb-2024 17:03 | Anon. | Updated [Location] |
| 23-May-2024 14:30 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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