Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Oakington

Date & Time: Jan 14, 1942 at 1230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3672
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training exercise at RAF Oakington. After landing, while trying to avoid a collision with a tractor, the undercarriage collapsed. All crew members escaped uninjured and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.
Crew:
Sgt W. J. Runciman,
F/O C. W. Gwilliam,
Sgt R. W. Pratt,
Sgt E. W. Weston,
Sgt Harry Kirkland,
Lt H. N. Denny,
Sgt F. W. Bryant.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Wegberg: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 27, 1941 at 2015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
Z1115
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington at 1700LT on an operation to Düsseldorf. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Wegberg, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt James Deane Anderson, pilot,
P/O Gerald Kurt Kenneth Keston Pelmore, pilot,
Sgt Owen Ernest Rance, observer,
Sgt Stanley Johnson, wireless operator,
Sgt Peter Cedric Williams, wireless operator,
Sgt David Smith Edmond, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I Off Brest: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3680
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington at 0940LT on an operation to Brest. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by a Me.109 and crashed into the sea. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Nicholas Frederick Durban,
F/Lt Bernard Parnell,
Sgt John Henry Martin Pulford,
Sgt Maurice Anthony Sullivan,
Sgt Kenneth Roy Taylor,
F/Sgt Ronald Wheatley,
Sgt Terence Patrick Wright.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I in Plouguerneau: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
W7436
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington at 0948LT on an operation to Brest. It was shot down by a Me.109 and crashed in Plouguerneau. Two crew members were killed and five others became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Lionel William Vaughan Jennens, pilot,
F/Sgt Walter Merrill Baker, wireless operator, †
Sgt John Towns, air gunner, †
Sgt Frank Valentine Davis,
Sgt Frank Kendall Lister,
Sgt Edmund Vere Smith,
Sgt John Charles Webb.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Oakington

Date & Time: Dec 2, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N3701
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington on an Air Sea Rescue mission. It returned to base in marginal weather conditions and the pilot landed, by mistake, downwind. After touchdown, the airplane collided with an obstacle which smashed the bomber's undercarriage, causing damage that was deemed to be beyond economical repair.
Crew:
S/L D. J. H. Lay +6.
Probable cause:
Pilot error.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC off Schiermonnikoog Island

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1941 at 2255 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R3295
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington at 1640LT on an operation to Hamburg. Flying along the Dutch coast, it crash landed in the sea off Schiermonnikoog Island. All six crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Arthur William James Cleeve,
Sgt Terence Arthur Cooke,
Sgt Idwal Gwyn Davies,
Sgt Adrian Lewis Rose Heath,
Sgt Winfield Louis Johnson,
Sgt P. Winfield.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC into the North Sea: 4 killed

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1941 at 2000 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
R1778
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Oakington on an operation to Hamburg. It was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in the North Sea some 70 km west-northwest of Esbjerg, Denmark. Two crew members were rescued and became PoW while four others were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Leonard Gordon Charles Dimond, †
Sgt Kenneth Naylor, †
Sgt Donald Ernest Williams, †
Sgt Derek Alan Willisson, †
Sgt Roy Saint Claire Finch,
Sgt John Walker Lamont.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC at RAF Oakington: 5 killed

Date & Time: Nov 29, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
X9752
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Driffield - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Driffield on a transit flight to RAF Oakington. On final approach in poor visibility, at a height of about 500 feet, the airplane suffered an engine failure and crashed a mile south of the airbase. Five crew members were killed and a sixth was injured.
Crew:
P/O Alan Hedges Barford, pilot, †
Sgt Samuel James Miller, pilot, †
Sgt A. H. Stewart, observer,
Sgt Arthur Dexter Southall, wireless operator, †
Sgt Robert Gordon Clifford Walton, wireless operator, †
Sgt Thomas Albert Quinn, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Engine failure on final approach.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC at RAF Oakington: 8 killed

Date & Time: Nov 21, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
T2552
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
The airplane was completing a training exercise when it crashed while trying to land at RAF Oakington. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Brendan Patrick Hennessey, pilot,
P/O Raymond Mayhew Lewin, pilot,
Sgt Ronald George Archer,
F/Sgt Thomas Arthur Bates, observer,
Sgt Adam Grant, flight engineer,
Sgt Denis John Mackey, wireless operator,
F/Sgt James William Cornforth, wireless operator,
F/Sgt Thomas David Snape, air gunner.

Crash of a Short S.29 Stirling I at RAF Oakington

Date & Time: Nov 18, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
W7446
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oakington - Oakington
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After completing a training exercise, the airplane landed at RAF Oakington on wet runway and while turning sharply to avoid running into an aircraft parked on a dispersal pan, the undercarriage collapsed. There were no injuries among the crew.
Crew:
P/O M. W. Hardstaff +3.
Probable cause:
The undercarriage collapsed after landing.