Date & Time:
Jan 9, 1942 at 0620 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 679 Manchester
Operator:
Registration:
R5789
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
North Luffenham - North Luffenham
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF North Luffenham in the early morning on an operation to Cherbourg. While outbound, the starboard engine caught fire and the heavily laden aircraft began to lose height. The pilot was reluctant to jettison the bomb load for fear of injuring people on the ground, but as a precaution he ordered six of the crew to bail out. The two pilots then tried to make an emergency landing, but in the pitch black conditions they failed to see a line of trees and the Manchester crashed at 0620LT at Wiltshire Cross near Tidworth. Both pilots were killed and all six other crew members parachuted to safety.
Crew:
P/O Douglas Spencer Matthews, pilot, †
P/O Thomas Ivor Ravenhill Wilson, copilot, †
F/O C. A. Giles, navigator,
Sgt Lorimer, wireless operator,
Sgt Fryer, wireless operator,
P/O S. P. Walsh, air gunner,
Sgt J. Brown, air gunner,
P/O Lancaster, regional control officer.
Crew:
P/O Douglas Spencer Matthews, pilot, †
P/O Thomas Ivor Ravenhill Wilson, copilot, †
F/O C. A. Giles, navigator,
Sgt Lorimer, wireless operator,
Sgt Fryer, wireless operator,
P/O S. P. Walsh, air gunner,
Sgt J. Brown, air gunner,
P/O Lancaster, regional control officer.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.
