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Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV at RAF Warboys

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942 at 1600 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
R3772
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Warboys - Warboys
Location:
Warboys AFB
Huntingdonshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot was completing a solo training exercise at RAF Warboys when the airplane crashed upon landing for unknown reasons. The airplane was damaged beyond repair and the pilot escaped uninjured.
Crew:
Sgt Coleman, pilot.

Crash of a Blackburn B-26 Botha I off Balintore

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Blackburn B-26 Botha
Operator:
Registration:
L6384
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Location:
Balintore
Ross and Cromarty
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
While engaged in a training flight, the airplane suffered an engine failure and crashed into the sea off Balintore. All crew members were rescued.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II off Trondheim: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1015
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Kinloss - Kinloss
Location:
Trondheim
Sør-Trøndelag
Country:
Norway
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Kinloss to attack the German battleship Tirpitz moored in the Fættenfjord northeast of Trondheim. It was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in the sea north of the city of Trondheim. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt George H. Steinhauer, pilot,
P/O Peter Gregory Brown, pilot,
Sgt James Black Dunlop, flight engineer,
F/Sgt Lewis E. Goodrum, navigator,
Sgt Eric T. Meade, wireless operator,
Sgt Douglas Granville Joseph Campbell, wireless operator,
Sgt Maurice Cowan Cohen, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in the Hemnfjorden: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1044
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Lossiemouth - Lossiemouth
Location:
Hemnfjorden
Sør-Trøndelag
Country:
Norway
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Lossiemouth at 1851LT to attack the German battleship Tirpitz moored in the Fættenfjord northeast of Trondheim. Approaching Trondheim from the west, the airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in the Hemnfjorden off the village of Heim. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew:
P/O Neil Ralph Blunden,
P/O Geoffrey Cyril Day,
Sgt William Benjamin Eastwood,
Sgt Reginald G. A. Richards,
F/Sgt Harold Ralph Franklin,
Sgt Kenneth Coverdale May,
F/Sgt Arthur Reginald Henman.
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II in the Fættenfjord: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Handley Page H.P.57 Halifax II
Operator:
Registration:
W1043
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Lossiemouth - Lossiemouth
Location:
Fættenfjord
Sør-Trøndelag
Country:
Norway
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Lossiemouth at 1846LT to attack the German battleship Tirpitz moored in the Fættenfjord northeast of Trondheim. Approaching the target area, the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea. The entire crew was killed.
Crew:
S/L Frederick David Webster, pilot,
Sgt Eric Archibald Hall,
F/Sgt Harold Sydney Wheatley,
F/Sgt Aubrey Charles Stevens-Fox,
Sgt Arnold Hague,
P/O Samuel Robert Leney,
Sgt Walter Hall.

Crash of an Avro 652 Anson I near Halfpenny Green

Date & Time: Mar 30, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Avro 652 Anson
Operator:
Registration:
K6254
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Location:
Halfpenny Green
Staffordshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot was completing a solo training flight when the airplane suffered an engine failure in flight. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crash landed in a field near Halfpenny Green. The airplane was damaged beyond repair and the pilot was slightly injured.
Probable cause:
Engine failure in flight.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IVF near Sherburn-in-Elmet: 2 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1942 at 2330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
N3561
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Church Fenton - Church Fenton
Location:
Sherburn-in-Elmet
North Yorkshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew departed RAF Church Fenton on a night training exercise. While cruising at an altitude of 22,000 feet, the airplane entered an uncontrolled and crashed at high speed in a pasture in Sherburn-in-Elmet. Both crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Walter Hibbard Bailey, pilot,
Sgt John Prince, observer.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. However, the assumption that the loss of control was the consequence of the failure of the oxygen supply or a sudden indisposition of the pilot was not ruled out.

Crash of an Avro 679 Manchester I off Terschelling: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1942 at 2330 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 679 Manchester
Operator:
Registration:
L7454
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Woolfox Lodge - Woolfox Lodge
Location:
Terschelling
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Woolfox Lodge at 2020LT on a mine laying operation off the Frisian Islands. In the late evening, while returning to base, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea off Terschelling. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (61st Squadron):
P/O Cecil Stephen Churchill, pilot,
P/O Ian McKenzie Cassavetti, pilot,
P/O Joseph Frederic Chevalier, navigator,
Sgt John Mitchell, flight engineer,
Sgt Hugh Dracass, wireless operator,
Sgt Donald Alistair Barham Hume, air gunner,
Sgt Raymond Dawson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of an Avro 679 Manchester I off Terschelling: 7 killed

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1942 at 2159 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 679 Manchester
Operator:
Registration:
L7394
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Coningsby - Coningsby
Location:
Terschelling
Friesland
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Coningsby at 1930LT on a mine laying operation. While approaching the Dutch coast, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea off Terschelling. All seven crew members were killed.
Crew (106th Squadron):
F/Sgt Edgar Robert Dimond,
F/Sgt Henry Chaytor Bussell,
P/O Harold Selwyn Brough,
F/Sgt John Seery,
Sgt Donald Swaine,
Sgt Alexander Currie,
Sgt Francis Alfred Fry.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV at RAF Sutton Bridge

Date & Time: Mar 29, 1942 at 1835 LT
Type of aircraft:
Bristol 142 Blenheim
Operator:
Registration:
Z5949
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Upwood - Upwood
Location:
Sutton Bridge AFB
Lincolnshire
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed RAF Upwood on a navigation exercise. En route, one of the engine failed due to fuel starvation and the crew diverted to RAF Sutton Bridge. On short final, the undercarriage collided with a raised bank and was torn off. The airplane crash landed and was damaged beyond repair. All three crew members were injured.
Crew:
Sgt Joseph Leslie Harrison Haegerty, pilot,
P/O John Norman Jenkinson, observer,
Sgt Edward Patrick Moakler, wireless operator and air gunner.
Probable cause:
The pilot had taken off with the fuel cocks in the wrong position, causing an engine to fail in flight due to fuel starvation. Due to a too low approach, the airplane collided with a raised bank on short final, causing the undercarriage to be torn off.
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