Date & Time:
Aug 15, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
P4982
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Dishforth - Dishforth
MSN:
1704
YOM:
1940
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Dishforth to bomb an oil storage depot located in Bec d'Ambès, about 22 km north of Bordeaux. While returning to its base and flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet, the airplane collided with the cables of a barrage balloon and crashed in Langley. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O Stanley Powell Swensen, pilot,
Sgt Anthony Kyle Dawson, pilot,
Sgt John Barrie O'Brien,
Sgt Laurence Paul Stubberfield, wireless operator,
Sgt Richard Albert William Tait, wireless operator.
Crew:
F/O Stanley Powell Swensen, pilot,
Sgt Anthony Kyle Dawson, pilot,
Sgt John Barrie O'Brien,
Sgt Laurence Paul Stubberfield, wireless operator,
Sgt Richard Albert William Tait, wireless operator.
Probable cause:
In-flight collision with the cables of a barrage balloon.
