ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 151207
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| Date: | Saturday 13 May 1944 |
| Time: | 16:08 |
| Type: | Airspeed Oxford Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 1655 MTU RAF |
| Registration: | DF517 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Great Dalby, 2.5 miles W of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Warboys, Cambridgeshire |
On the 13th May, 1944 another fatal crash occurred near Melton Mowbray, this time involving an Oxford I DF517 from 1655 MTU training flight. No 1655 MTU (which operated Mosquito Mk. IV and Oxford Mk. I aircraft at that time) was based at RAF Warboys Cambridgeshire and was part of No. 8 Pathfinder Force.
Oxford DF517: Took off on a training flight at 14:55 hrs on 13/05/1944 and after coming out of cloud cover, the aircraft was out of control and disintegrated in mid-air, crashing at 16.08 hours, 2.5 miles West of Melton Mowbray near Great Dalby.
It was assumed that loss of control had occurred through icing up of instruments on the aircraft, or turbulent conditions in cloud, and that the complete structural failure was a result of severe overstressing, although this could not be proved. All four members of the crew were killed in the flying accident, and the bodies of the three RAF personnel were taken to Melton Mowbray Mortuary.
Crew:
F/O Geoffrey Hugh BOWEN (161.261) pilot RAFVR - killed
F/Lt Aubrey Edward Henderson CATTLE (117.960) pilot RAFVR - killed
F/O Geoffrey George HALESTRAP DFC (127.308) Nav. RAFVR - killed.
F/Lt Malcolm McIVER DFC (J/11107) Nav. RCAF - killed
Sources:
1. http://www.rafwarboys.co.uk/1655mtu.htm
2. https://www.rafa.org.uk/melton-mowbray/
3. http://www.baaa-acro.com/1944/archives/crash-of-an-airspeed-as-10-oxford-i-in-melton-mowbray-4-killed
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Dec-2012 01:16 | Nepa | Added |
| 11-Aug-2013 18:33 | JINX | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 28-Sep-2014 06:32 | angels one five | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 28-Jul-2017 20:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Aug-2017 20:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 08-Nov-2018 06:37 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 21-Jul-2022 13:26 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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