Date & Time: Feb 6, 1945 at 1005 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
KG630
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Thorney Island – Amiens
MSN:
13390
YOM:
1944
Location:
Hunters Burgh
Sussex
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
19
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
23
Circumstances:
The aircraft left RAF Thorney Island at 0935LT bound for Amiens with six other similar aircraft, carrying 23 people, among them 17 members of the RAF, three of the RCAF, two of the RAAF and one of the RNZAF. Enroute, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with a cloud layer up to 200 feet above the ground. While cruising at a height of some 150 feet, the aircraft hit the top of a hill with its right wing, went out of control and crashed in flames in a wooded area located in Hunters Burgh, near Folkington. All 23 occupants were killed.
Crew:
W/O Peter Matthew Oleinikoff, pilot,
F/Sgt Edgar Alan Barsby, copilot,
F/O Kenneth Gilbert Forseth, navigator,
F/Sgt Ronald Arthur Brock, wireless operator,
Passengers:
F/O Edward William Curtis,
P/O Colin Alexander Rattray,
Cpl Colin Gibson,
Cpl Gerald Ernest Nelson David Lee,
Cpl William George Blair,
Cpl Edwin Bruce Chadd,
Cpl David Cooper,
LAC Frank Bainbridge,
LAC Ronald Grayham Baldry,
LAC Samuel Arthur Bamber,
LAC William Daniel Davies,
LAC Thomas Henry Floody,
LAC Jack Neale,
LAC Woolf Nerden,
LAC Robert Smith,
LAC Sydney MacKenzie Smith,
LAC George Stevens,
LAC Albert Edward Dowler Wilkes,
LAC George Wilson.