Date & Time:
May 3, 1940 at 0505 LT
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
N1406
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Dishforth - Dishforth
MSN:
1560
YOM:
1939
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The crew departed RAF Dishforth at 1835LT on May 2 to bomb Oslo-Fornebu Airport. On the return flight, while cruising at night and in poor weather conditions, the crew became lost and was unable to locate an alternate airfield so the captain ordered the crew to bail out. Without pilot, the aircraft dove into the ground and crashed in a field. The bomber was destroyed while two crewmen were injured, three others unhurt. A day later, one of the survivor died from injuries sustained.
Crew (51st Squadron):
S/L Gerald Price Marvin, pilot,
P/O Albert John Oettle, pilot,
Sgt Guy Maxwell Brisbane, observer,
LAC Ernest Fisher, wireless operator and air gunner,
AC1 Angus Hepburn, air gunner. †
Crew (51st Squadron):
S/L Gerald Price Marvin, pilot,
P/O Albert John Oettle, pilot,
Sgt Guy Maxwell Brisbane, observer,
LAC Ernest Fisher, wireless operator and air gunner,
AC1 Angus Hepburn, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.
