Date & Time:
Oct 15, 1940 at 0520 LT
Type of aircraft:
Armstrong Whitworth AW.38 Whitley
Operator:
Registration:
P4952
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Leeming - Leeming
MSN:
1679
YOM:
1940
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Leeming at 1733LT on October 14 to bomb a synthetic oil plant located in Stettin (Szczecin), Poland. While returning to his base, the crew noticed the fuel reserve was insufficient. All five crew members decided to abandon the aircraft and bailed out. The bomber entered a dive and crashed in a field located in Watson Walls, near Bellingham. All five crew members were uninjured.
Crew (10th Squadron):
S/L Kenneth Francis Ferguson, pilot,
Sgt Charles Stanley Rogers, pilot,
Sgt Walter Fraser, observer,
Sgt Ernest Cummings, wireless operator,
Sgt Mark Alfred Niman, air gunner.
Crew (10th Squadron):
S/L Kenneth Francis Ferguson, pilot,
Sgt Charles Stanley Rogers, pilot,
Sgt Walter Fraser, observer,
Sgt Ernest Cummings, wireless operator,
Sgt Mark Alfred Niman, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Aircraft abandoned due to fuel exhaustion.
