ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 172760
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| Date: | Saturday 12 August 1944 |
| Time: | 11:24 |
| Type: |  Short Stirling Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 1665 HCU RAF |
| Registration: | EF210 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Alne Railway Station, near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tilstock, Shropshire |
| RAF Tholthorpe, North Yorkshire |
On 12th August 1944 the crew of Short Stirling EF210 ( "EF-P" of 1665 Heavy Conversion Unit ) left Tilstock airfield, Shropshire, to undertake a daytime training flight. While over North Yorkshire, the aircraft’s port outer engine failed and was feathered, and being many miles from their home base they were instructed to make a landing at Tholthorpe airfield. With only three good engines, the crew tried to land at Tholthorpe but missed their approach, and were forced to overshoot and try to go around for another approach.
The aircraft would not gain height and eventually it struck the south bridge close to Alne railway station at 11.24 hours and crashed nearby. The accident report is very hard to read, but appears to say the crash was inevitable after the pilot turned the aircraft into the side of the failed engine. Had he turned the other way the aircraft would have possibly been alright, but turning into the failed engine side caused the crash of a number of four-engine aircraft in the War, with the aircraft not having the forward speed or height to recover.
The wreckage caught fire on crashing, and three of the six crew were killed immediately. One died soon after of his injuries and the other was seriously injured, and taken to Fulford Military Hospital where he died three days later. The pilot was badly injured, but he recovered to some extent and later left hospital, though his injuries appear to have cut short his flying days.
The pilot's inexperience may have been partly to blame for the accident occurring. In flying the Stirling type he had only nineteen hours to his name, and 330 hours total flying. Given the ranks of many of the crew it would seem likely that many had flown operationally before posting to 1665 HCU.
Crew of Stirling EF210:
Pilot - F/O Edward John Pope RAF (152275). Injured (NCO:1585524 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 28 September, 1943)
Navigator - F/O David Nairn Blyth RAFVR (152432), aged 22, of Edinburgh. Buried Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh. Died of injuries on 15th August 1944 (NCO:1563495 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 28 September, 1943)
Flight Engineer - Sgt Leslie Sanderson RAF (1660460), aged 23, of Shirley. Buried Shirley Churchyard, Solihull, Warwickshire.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/Lt Vernon Terence Joseph Hand RAFVR (116100), aged 22, of West Dulwich, London. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (NCO:1258689 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 14 April, 1942)
Air Gunner (Instructor?) - F/Lt Robert Edwards Harvey MiD RAFVR (119204), aged 31, of Edinburgh. Died of injuries on the same day. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire (Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 28 July, 1942)
Air Gunner - F/O Godfrey William Arnold RAFVR (158245), Buried Orpington Churchyard, Kent.
Sources:
1.https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205090575
2.ORB 1665 HCU RAF
3.CWGC
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jan-2015 18:42 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 02-Nov-2018 18:49 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 24-Sep-2019 19:41 | angels one five | Updated [Nature, Narrative] |
| 17-Jul-2023 12:13 | Rob Davis | Updated [[Nature, Narrative]] |
| 11-Nov-2023 11:06 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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