ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 172768
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| Date: | Saturday 5 August 1944 |
| Time: | 15:35 LT |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 433 (Porcupine) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | MZ828 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | nr RAF Skipton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Skipton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Skipton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire |
On 5th August 1944 the crew of Halifax MZ828 ("BM-H" of 433 (Porcupine) Squadron, RCAF) were tasked with a daylight trip to attack V-1 flying bomb launch sites at St-Leu-d'Esserent, north of Paris, and they took off from Skipton-on-Swale at 10.38 hours. Over the target the aircraft was hit by flak in the starboard outer engine which badly damaged it and the propeller had to be feathered. The crew managed to return to Yorkshire and were about to land at their home airfield when the pilot pulled out of their first approach to land opting to go around again for another approach.
While the aircraft was attempting to go around the undercarriage was raised but the flaps would not go up - normal procedure was to lower the flaps to slow the aircraft for landing but to raise them when normal flying or climbing. The pilot applied full power to try and stop the aircraft from stalling in the air but the starboard inner engine then failed and with a combination of full power on the port side, it entered a sharp uncontrolled turn to starboard which took the aircraft over Skipton-on-Swale village.
The aircraft lost height and clipped trees and then the top of Skipton Hall before striking a large elm tree on the village green at 15:35 hours. This tree stopped the aircraft and most of the aircraft remained within the village green are but unfortunately a small boy was killed by parts of the aircraft which were thrown into his garden in which he was playing. Two members of the crew were killed in the crash while the remaining five airmen had taken to their crash positions and escaped with injuries.
Crew of Halifaz MZ828...
Pilot - F/O James Robert Harrison RCAF (J/21448), aged 27 Of Crossfield, Alberta, Canada. Buried Harrogate Stonefall Cemetery, Yorkshire.
Flight Engineer - Sgt Dennis Lawson Whitbread RAFVR (1624919), aged 22, of Kempston. Buried Kempston, Bedfordshire.
Navigator - F/O James F Kinder RCAF, of Preston, Ontario, Canada.Seriously injured.
Bomb Aimer - F/O Edwin T Widenoja RCAF, of Port Arthur. Seriously injured. Died 2000 Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner - F/O Lorne E Dufresne RCAF, of Sturgeon Falls. Injured.
Mid Upper Gunner - F/Sgt Alan Bourne RCAF. Injured.
Rear Gunner - P/O N S Godfrey RAF. Injured. (Possibly Norman Godfrey, born Gravesend, Kent in 1924).
plus...
Civilian - Master Kenneth Battensby, aged 5. Killed, Buried Skipton on Swale Churchyard, Yorkshire.
A memorial stone and plaque was dedicated at the crash site in 1984 and the surviving Canadian members of this crew were able to attend the service. The rear gunner of the aircraft was the only member on this aircraft not to attend the service as I believe he could not be traced. He was a "spare" gunner used as a stand-in when regular air gunners were not able to fly with their crews.
Sources:
1. http://www.militarian.com/threads/skipton-on-swale-august-1944.3429/
2. http://bombercrew.com/433/harrisoncrew.htm_
3. http://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/air-force-operations/airplanes-allies-and-axis-lost/halifax/MZ8281944-05-07.html
4. http://thewhpfamily.com/wwout2/pages/Skipton%20on%20Swale%20Memorial_jpg.html
5. http://www.mackz.net/cm_casualty%20archive.htm
6. https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=49740952
7. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/mz828.html
8. www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2623691
9. https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/25082
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jan-2015 20:44 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 12-Feb-2015 14:16 | Oezil 007 | Updated [Operator, Location] |
| 21-Mar-2018 14:39 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Nov-2018 18:22 | ALAN MACKAY | Updated [Narrative] |
| 05-Mar-2021 16:37 | TigerTimon | Updated [Narrative] |
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