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Crash of a Vickers 406 Wellington II in Manston: 5 killed

Date & Time: Sep 21, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 406 Wellington II
Operator:
Registration:
W5452
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Manston
Kent
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 1924LT on September 20 on an operation to Berlin. For unknown reasons, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing at Manston Airport where it crashed on approach after it collided with trees. Five crew members were killed and a sixth was injured.
Crew:
P/O Cyril William Abrey, pilot, †
Sgt Laurence Douglas Kissack, pilot, †
P/O John Benjamin Ruston, observer, †
Sgt John Aitken, wireless operator, †
Sgt Ivan John Green, wireless operator, †
P/O L. W. White.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Manston

Date & Time: Sep 21, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
R1712
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Manston
Kent
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 1931LT on September 20 on an operation to Berlin. Approaching Münster, it was severely damaged by the German Flak but was able to leave the combat area and to return to Manston. It crashed upon landing and was damaged beyond repair. A crew member was injured.
Crew:
P/O Barnard,
Sgt Avent,
Sgt Emmerson,
Sgt Harvey,
Sgt Kitney,
Sgt Nash.
Probable cause:
Severely damaged by the German Flak.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Wantage

Date & Time: Sep 14, 1941 at 0350 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
N2802
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Wantage
Oxfordshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 2220LT on September 13 on an operation to Brest. While returning to base the following night, it crashed for unknown reasons near Wantage Hospital. All six crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
Sgt Nicholls,
Sgt Klassen,
Sgt Jordan,
Sgt Swan,
Sgt W. J. Gibbons,
Sgt Trevillian.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax I near Thetford

Date & Time: Sep 11, 1941 at 0622 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax I
Operator:
Registration:
L9526
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Thetford
Norfolk
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 2240LT on September 10 on an operation to Torino. While returning to base the following morning, it force landed in a field near Harling Road Station on the rail line between Thetford and Norwich. All seven crew members escaped uninjured and the airplane was not repaired.
Crew:
P/O Cresswell,
Sgt Rowley-Blake,
Sgt Stewart,
P/O A. Abels,
Sgt Wing,
Sgt Turner,
Sgt Lowe.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax I in Valognes

Date & Time: Sep 11, 1941 at 0615 LT
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax I
Operator:
Registration:
Z9566
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Valognes
Manche
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 2235LT on September 10 on an operation to Torino. While returning to base the following morning, it crash landed near Valognes and was damaged beyond repair. All seven crew members became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Ernest Henry Jackson,
Sgt John Edmund Murrell,
Sgt Alexander Osborne,
Sgt Alexander Urquhart,
F/O Gerald Standish Williams,
P/O James Oliver Hedley,
Sgt Charles Frederic Seymour Ryder.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the crew mistook the Cherbourg peninsula for the English coast and turned towards France, instead of maintaining a northerly track.

Crash of a Vickers 406 Wellington II into the North Sea

Date & Time: Sep 10, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 406 Wellington II
Operator:
Registration:
W5576
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
North Sea
All World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall at 2130LT on an operation to Torino. In the late evening, it was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in the North Sea off the Danish coast. All six crew members were found in their dinghy and became PoW.
Crew:
S/L David Malcolm Strong, pilot,
P/O Harold Thomas Beare,
Sgt Jack Alan Chubb,
Sgt Norman Sidney Fisher,
Sgt Richard Ritson,
Sgt Gordon Thomson Woodroofe.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC near Berlin: 6 killed

Date & Time: Sep 8, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
R1784
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Berlin
Berlin
Country:
Germany
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RA Stradishall in the evening of September 7 on an operation to Berlin. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by enemy fire and crashed, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
W/Cdr Grahame Lawrence Cruickshanks, pilot,
S/L William Davies, pilot,
F/Lt Keith James Falconer, observer,
F/O William Esplen, wireless operator,
Sgt Leonard Tyne Chapman, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Norman Page, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC off Dunkirk: 6 killed

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
R1717
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Dunkirk
Nord
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall on an operation to Frankfurt. Approaching the French coast, it was shot down by enemy fire and crashed into the sea off Dunkirk. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Reginald Hubert May, pilot,
F/Sgt James Patrick McKay, navigator,
Sgt Lionel Black, wireless operator,
Sgt Clifford Hambleton, wireless operator,
Sgt Leslie Whitehouse Price, wireless operator,
Sgt Jesse Clemence Brakeman, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Sint-Annaland: 6 killed

Date & Time: Aug 29, 1941 at 2300 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
R1604
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
Sint-Annaland
Zeeland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall in the evening of August 28 on an operation to Mannheim. It crashed in unknown circumstances near Sint-Annaland, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
Sgt Edward Wilson Foxlee, pilot,
Sgt John Henry Williamson, pilot,
Sgt John Edward Jerrard, observer,
Sgt Ernest Halestrap, wireless operator,
Sgt Gerald Klusky, wireless operator,
Sgt Kenneth Morris, wireless operator.
Probable cause:
During 1972 the RNethAF excavated wreckage from this bomber after which it was suggested its demise may have been caused by a lightning strike.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC into the North Sea: 6 killed

Date & Time: Aug 7, 1941
Type of aircraft:
Vickers 416 Wellington IC
Operator:
Registration:
X9750
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Stradishall - Stradishall
Location:
North Sea
All World
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Stradishall in the evening of August 6 on an operation to Frankfurt. It failed to return to base and was lost without trace, maybe it crashed somewhere in the North Sea.
Crew:
Sgt Robert Gordon Burnett,
Sgt William John Vincent Crowsley,
P/O Colin Mcdougall Didsbury,
Sgt Norman Evans Mills,
Sgt Edgar James Page,
P/O Gerald Daniel Edward Stack.
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