Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC in Varrelbusch: 1 killed
Date & Time:
Nov 7, 1941 at 2050 LT
Operator:
Registration:
T2554
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Waterbeach - Waterbeach
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Waterbeach at 1721LT on an operation to Berlin. While cruising at an altitude of 16,000 feet west of Hanover, the crew encountered icing conditions. The engines and fuselage iced up and the airplane became uncontrollable. The crew bailed out at an altitude of 10,000 feet and the pilot followed at 4,000 feet then the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in Varrelbusch, north of Cloppenburg. A crewman was killed as his parachute failed to open. Five others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Ronald Joshua Bell, †
Sgt J. H. Bowman,
F/Lt John Patrick Dickinson,
Sgt Arthur Featherstone,
Sgt Ray Burt Martin,
F/O Philip Roy Searcy.
Crew:
Sgt Ronald Joshua Bell, †
Sgt J. H. Bowman,
F/Lt John Patrick Dickinson,
Sgt Arthur Featherstone,
Sgt Ray Burt Martin,
F/O Philip Roy Searcy.
Probable cause:
Icing.
