Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley

The aircraft departed Villeneuve-les-Vertus at the end of the day bound for Frankfurt on the 'Nickel' mission (leaflet dropping). While overflying east part of France, the crew encountered severe icing conditions and an engine fired. The captain attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a field. The airplane was damaged beyond repair and all five crewmen were unhurt.
Crew (51st Squadron):
F/A J. H. P. Wynton,
Sgt D. C. Hide,
Sgt W. Foster,
Cpl E. Short,
AC1 A. J. Heller.

The aircraft departed Villeneuve-les-Vertus at the end of the day. Few hours later, it crash landed in Triaucourt-en-Argonne, 17 km north of Revigny. All five crewmen of the 51st Squadron were slightly injured. The exact circumstances of the accident remains unknown.

The aircraft departed Villeneuve-les-Vertus at 1805LT on 27 October, taking part to the operation 'Nickel' over Munich. On the return flight, while overflying the east part of France at night and in severe icing conditions, the captain instructed the crew to abandon the aircraft. Four crewmen bailed out while the air gunner did not hear the order and was still in his turret when the aircraft crashed in an open field. The air gunner was slightly injured while all four other crew were unhurt.
Crew (51st Squadron):
Sgt T. W. Bowles,
Sgt A. A. Emery,
Sgt E. J. Barber,
AC1 R. Jackson,
Sgt A. Griffin, air gunner, injured.

The aircraft departed RAF Driffield at 1850LT on 24 October and headed for the ports of Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven. At 2315LT, a w/t signal was intercepted, indicating a position 60 miles off the East coast of UK. SAR operation did not find any trace of the aircraft nor the crew.
Crew (77th Squadron):
P/O Philip Edwin William Walker, pilot,
Sgt Reginald Austin Bigger, pilot,
Sgt George Jonathan Burrell, observer,
AC1 Alexander Bernard Bogle MacDonald, wireless operator and air gunner,
AC1 James Alfred Topham, wireless operator and air gunner.

Late in the day the crew of this aircraft were tasked to fly to RAF Catterick and from there ferry a load of ammunition to Wick in Scotland. After loading the stores, six passengers boarded the aircraft. Sergeant Gaut selected the longest available take off run, but when half way across the airfield, the Whitley suddenly rose to about ten feet, followed by a near vertical climb at full throttle. Eye witnesses state that the bomber stalled, below 100 feet, and dived nose first into the ground, exploding on impact. Miraculously, two of the six passengers survived.
Crew (102nd Squadron):
Sgt Herbert John Gaut, pilot, †
P/O Reginald Arthur Morton Luckman, pilot and navigator, †
AC2 Charles Paterson, wireless operator and air gunner, †
Passengers:
AC1 John Baker, †
Sgt Arthur Vincent, †
Sgt Albert Harris, †
AC1 Horace Jones, †
Sgt Donald E Gibbs,
Cpl W. Jenkinson.

Source: W. R. Chorley.

At 1300LT, near completion of a ferry flight to RAF Aston Down, the pilot was about to land when he realized that a RAF Blenheim was parked at the landing area. In order to avoid a collision, he held off until he was clear of this obstruction but was then forced to turn sharply away from the perimeter wall. In doing so, the undercarriage collapsed and the Whitley was damaged beyond repair. All three crewmen were unhurt.
Crew:
Sgt R. T. Langton +2.

Source: W. R. Chorley.

The airplane departed Villeneuve-les-Vertus at 1850LT on October 15 with Munich as target (leaflet dropping mission). En route, the aircraft went off course and was overflying Frankfurt at night when it was shot down by the German Flak. The crew attempted to make an emergency landing in a field when the aircraft crashed in Geinsheim am Rhein, about 30 km southwest of Frankfurt. Four crew members became PoW and the captain was killed.
Crew (77th Squadron):
F/O Roland Williams, pilot, †
LAC Reginald Enrath Fletcher,
Cpl A. R. Gunston,
Sgt James William Lambert,
F/O John Tilsley.

While flying at an altitude of some 600 feet two miles north of RAF Driffield, the starboard elevator trim tab failed, causing the aircraft to go into a dive. Despite full backward pressure on the control column on part of the pilot-in-command, he was unable to prevent the crash landing. The aircraft hit the ground at a speed of 100 mph with the undercarriage locked down. Four crew members were injured and the pilot P/O Robert Clare Bisset was killed.

The aircraft departed RAF Dishforth at 2215LT on 01OCT1939 with Berlin as its target (leaflet dropping mission). While cruising some 180 miles east of Saint Abb, Scotland, the aircraft disappeared into the North Sea. The last radio transmission was recorded at 0505LT on October 2. No trace over the aircraft nor the crew was ever found.
Crew (10th Squadron):
F/Lt John William Allsop, pilot,
P/O Alan Gordon Salmon, pilot,
AC1 John Rogerson Bell,
AC1 Alfred Francis Hill,
LAC Fred Ellison.

The crew was performing a positioning flight to York on behalf of the 51st Squadron. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to a height of some 200 feet, the aircraft yawed to the right, stalled and crashed in a huge explosion. Both pilots were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Frank Hugo Griffiths,
Sgt Bernard Mullins.