ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 147839
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| Date: | Friday 21 August 1942 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: | Airspeed Oxford Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 6 (P) AFU RAF |
| Registration: | T1339 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Colts Farm, Over Norton, NW of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Little Rissington. Gloucstershire |
In the early hours of 21st August 1942 a Vickers Wellington bomber T2557 and an Airspeed Oxford trainer T1339, were involved in a mid-air collision North-West of Chipping Norton over open country. The Oxford was on a pilot training flight from No 6 AFU at RAF Little Rissington, whilst the Wellington was on a crew night training flight from No 15 OTU at RAF Harwell. Both aircraft were destroyed by the impact.
The Oxford disintegrated in mid-air, the main wreckage falling into a cornfield in Colt's Farm, Over Norton, the bodies of the two crew members being found nearby.
The Wellington lost its entire starboard wing and engine and caught fire immediately. shedding burning wreckage it glided down, skimming rooftops before finally crashing into what is now Redrobe Cottage in Church Street. The nose was touching the side of the house and the tail rested across the garage roof and adjoining walls. This was the only portion to remain intact. The crew of 6 were killed. the aircraft was not carrying any bombs but ammunition from the 4 Vickers machine guns exploded for some considerable time. The fire was extinguished with chemical foam by the Chipping Norton Fire Brigade assisted by fire crews from the local airfield. The remains of the aircrew were recovered and taken to the mortuary at the Workhouse, now Cotshill. Miraculously there were no civilian casualties, despite the aircraft crashing in a confined space.
No cause for the accident could be confirmed, but it was probably due to the darkness of the night, absence of radar, still in early stages of development on board aircraft at the time, and the wartime blackout meant no navigation lights were switched on. Whilst Oxford Trainers were generally painted yellow, many of the Wellingtons used in the training role had seen service as night-bombers and their undersides were painted matt-black to make them a harder target for enemy night fighters
Crew;
Sgt Stanley Edmund DOWNS (1385092) Pilot RAFVR - killed
Sgt John Macdonald RANKIN (Aus411829) Pupil Pilot RAAF - killed
Sources:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20131020135216/http://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured-article/wwii-mid-air-collision-above-chipping-norton-remembered.html
2. http://www.chippingnortonbritishlegion.com/chipping-norton-air-crash-1942.php
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-19318818 .
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Aug-2012 07:48 | gerard57 | Added |
| 02-Jun-2017 22:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Jul-2017 21:03 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Dec-2017 19:00 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 02-Dec-2018 15:38 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 12-Jan-2021 17:49 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, Operator] |
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