Royal Air Force - RAF | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The airplane departed RAF Dishforth at 1734LT on an operation to Emden. While returning to base in the late evening, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed into the sea some 40 km west of Terschelling. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt James Joseph Clarke,
F/Sgt Bernard Leslie Hart,
Sgt Donald Arthur Richards,
P/O Bernard Sides,
Sgt Norman Viner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Sexbierum

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 2230 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

AT130

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Schedule:

Waddington - Waddington

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The airplane departed RAF Waddington at 1725LT on an operation to Emden. In the late evening, it was shot down by the German Flak and crash landed in a field in Sexbierum. All four crew members became PoW.
Crew:
S/L Victor Thomas Lawrence Wood, pilot,
Sgt Desmond Delargy Grealy, observer,
Sgt David Gardiner Semple, wireless operator,
Sgt Robert Lewis Bott, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Zwolle: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 2121 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

AE123

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Coningsby - Coningsby

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The airplane departed RAF Coningsby at 1715LT on an operation to Bremen. In the evening, it was shot down by a Me.110 and crashed in Spoolde, in the suburb of Zwolle. The pilot was killed and three others became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Aubrey Wilfred Deere, pilot, †
Sgt Thomas Gerard Winder Berry,
Sgt Vernon Victor Cooper,
Sgt Bertram James Pryor Palmer.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Froombosch: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 2115 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

AT119

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Swinderby - Swinderby

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The airplane departed RAF Swinderby at 1719LT on an operation to Emden. It was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Froombosch. Three crew members were killed and a fourth became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Ian Macpherson Ince, †
Sgt George Edmondson Wilkinson, †
Sgt Samuel Williams, †
Sgt G. F. Poulton.

Probable cause:

Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I in Delfzijl: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 2059 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

AE352

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

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Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Swinderby - Swinderby

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The airplane departed RAF Swinderby at 1720LT on an operation to Emden. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in Delfzijl, about 27 km northeast of Groningen. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Evan Hamilton Thompson, pilot,
F/O James Ernest Field Stanfield, navigator,
Sgt Wilfred Giles, wireless operator,
Sgt William Ernest Mabbett, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Shot down by the German Flak.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I on Kinder Scout: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 2038 LT

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

AE381

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

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While completing a night training exercise, the airplane crashed at 2038LT at a place known as Cluther Rocks on Kinder Scout in the Derbyshire Peak District, following an attempt to lands at Manchester-Ringway Airport. Weather conditions were extremely poor at the time of the accident. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Royal George Heron,
Sgt Sydney Albert Peters, wireless operator,
Sgt William Thomas Tromans, wireless operator,
Sgt Walter Chantler Williams.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain. It is believed that the crew failed to see the rising ground until it was too late to take avoiding action.

Crash of a Consolidated PBY Catalina I near Punta Carnero: 10 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942 at 0715 LT

Type of aircraft:

Consolidated PBY Catalina

Operator:

Registration:

AJ157

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

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The floatplane departed Gibraltar Airport at 0702LT on an operation flight. Thirteen minutes later, it impacted the slope of a hill located west of Punta Carnero. All 10 crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt Peter Bruce Alexander, pilot,
F/O Reginald Clive Derrick, pilot,
F/Lt Sidney Cecil Romer, pilot,
Sgt Geoffrey Gordon Taylor, observer,
Sgt William Godderidge, wireless operator,
Sgt James Johnstone, wireless operator,
Sgt Frank Anthony Westkelsey, wireless operator,
F/Sgt John Turnbull, air gunner,
Sgt George Thomas Darville, air gunner,
Sgt Thomas Idwal Roberts, air gunner.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Vickers 416 Wellington IC into the North Sea: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Vickers 416 Wellington IC

Operator:

Registration:

DV515

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

East Wretham - East Wretham

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The airplane departed RAF East Wretham at 1732LT on an operation to Emden. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed somewhere in the North Sea. Lost without trace.
Crew:
Sgt Cenek Kral,
Sgt Ladislav Nemecek,
F/Sgt Miroslav Plecity,
Sgt Stanislav Rous,
F/Lt Zdenek Skorepa,
W/O Karel Weiss.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden I into the North Sea: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Handley Page H.P.52 Hampden

Operator:

Registration:

X3051

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Bombing

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Balderton - Balderton

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The airplane departed RAF Balderton at 1750LT on an operation to Bremen. It failed to return to base and is believed to have been shot down by a Me.110 and to have crashed somewhere in the North Sea. Lost without trace.
Crew:
P/O Harold William Clarke, pilot,
Sgt Peter Bernard Chapple, navigator,
Sgt Reginald Grenville Eves, wireless operator,
Sgt Robert Brown, air gunner.

Probable cause:

shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Bristol 142 Blenheim IV off Filey: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 21, 1942

Type of aircraft:

Bristol 142 Blenheim

Operator:

Registration:

Z7453

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Upwood - Upwood

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The crew departed RAF Upwood on a cross-country exercise. It failed to return to base and is believed to have crashed into the sea off Filey. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/O Edwin Roy Parke, pilot,
Sgt Maurice York, observer,
Sgt Francis Coakley, wireless operator and air gunner.

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