ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 193389
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 2 September 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk II |
| Owner/operator: | 78 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | JD306 |
| MSN: | EY-X |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Newgale, Pembrokeshire, Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Breighton, East Riding of Yorkshire |
Victim of a "friendly fire" incident, aircraft was abandoned successfully & crashed at Rhyndaston Mountain near Newgale:
F/O J.C Smith (120608)
Sgt J.G Woods (408304)
Sgt W.J White (1099290)
Sgt T.H Owen (1383959)
Sgt S.Best (R/89184) RCAF
Sgt D.Parker (1321720)
Sgt F.Allen (1585144)
Details:
JD306 was built at the English Electric works at Preston and allocated to 78 squadron during June 1943 which was based at RAF Breighton in Yorkshire. The airfield was built between 1940 and 1942 for No.1 Group RAF, its first residents were No. 460 Squadron RAAF. No.78 Squadron arrived on the 16th of June 1943.
JD306 was involved in the raids on Manheim and Nurenburg during the month of August.
On the 30th of August the squadron saw crews with hours expired posted out to OTU’s and other squadrons which had been taken off operations and needed re-grouping. At the same time the squadron saw new qualified crews arrive, some fresh from training and others from rested squadrons. F/O Smith, Sgt’s White, Best, Owen, Parker, Allen & Woods were amongst the new arrivals. All these new crews found themselves on non-operational familiarisation training known as
‘Bullseye’ exercise which was a simulated night bombing operation against a 'target' town or city in the UK designed to give crews the experience of an operational sortie but without crossing into enemy territory. Crews would be given a flight plan to follow and a target to simulate bombing. In the early days before cameras were fitted Personnel on the ground would report on how close aircraft came to the 'target'. These exercises could also include co-operation with fighter units, balloon units and anti-aircraft guns.
These exercises were not always well coordinated and, on this night, JD306 ‘EY-X’ was engaged by the Anti-aircraft defences near Haverfordwest and was so badly damaged that the crew were forced to abandon the aircraft above Haycastle. Fortunately, they all survived.
All the crew returned to Op’s except for Sgt Owen on the 15th of September, and their first operational raid on Montlucon, flying Halifax JD455. However, lady luck was still not with them as they had to return early after jettisoning their bombs after the compass and the Gee unit both went U/S.
Crew:
F/O John Gallatey Smith 120608 RAFVR. Pilot. Baled out. Safe.
Sgt William John White 21yo 1099290 RAFVR. F/Engr. Baled out. Safe.
Son of William Charles and Ellen White of Birmingham.
Sgt S. Best R/89184 RCAF. Nav. Baled out. Safe.
Sgt T.H. Owen 1383959 RAFVR. Bdr. Baled out. Safe.
Sgt D. Parker 1321720 RAFVR. W/Op/ A/Gnr. Baled out. Safe.
Sgt Geoffry J. Woods 408304 RAAF. A/Gnr (Mid Upper). Baled out. Safe.
Sgt F.C.P. Allen 1585144 RAFVR. A/Gnr (Rear). Baled out. Safe.
Wreckage:
Nothing remains.
Additional Information:
Barrage Balloon operators were used to let up a balloon with a flashing light attached to it these were kept up for around 45 minutes. The sites were known as "Bullseye Sites". Often, they were flown at 1500 feet.
F/Sgt William White.
Flew with another crew in Halifax LV905 which crashed at the Oranjepolder, Hank, Noord-Brabant Holland... Took off from RAF Breighton at 22:55 hrs for a bombing operation against Aachen in Germany. Homeward-bound, the aircraft was shot down by night fighter pilot Oberfeldwebel Karl-Heinz Scherfling of the 12/NJG 1, who was flying a Bf 110 G-4 from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield in Belgium.
The Halifax crashed, bursting into flames, near the Bergse Maas and roughly 1 km S of Hank, 11 km NNE of Oosterhout. All are buried in Jonkerbos War Cemetery.
Crash site was recovered in 2005 and the remains of the crew were buried with military honours in 2006:
P/O Eric Benjamin Wilson 160162 RAFVR. Pilot. Killed.
Sgt William John White 1099290 RAFVR. F/Engr. Killed.
F/O Sidney Glen Peterson J/14208 RCAF. Nav. Killed.
F/O Norman Allan Marston DFC 136912 RAFVR. Bdr. Killed.
F/S Joseph Henderson 1071348 RAFVR. W/Op. Killed.
Sgt George Herbert Butler 1585469 RAFVR. A/Gnr (Mid Upper). Killed.
F/S Joseph Thomas Lloyd Leblanc R/174719 RCAF. A/Gnr (Rear). Killed.
F/Lt John G Smith & Sgt’s Allen & Woods.
Halifax JN974 ‘EY-M’ took off on the Monday evening of the 20th of December 1943 on a raid timed for the early hours of the 21st over Frankfurt, when they were shot down by the night fighter ace, Ober/Lt Werner Baake of the 3/NJG.1 flying the new Heinkel He-219 A-O, from the Luftwaffe airfield at Venlo, he had already downed a Lancaster of the same raid. Unlike the crew of LV905, all the Lancaster crew perished.
Crew of LV905.
F/Lt John Gallatey Smith 120608 RAF. Pilot. Baled out. Evaded capture, returning to Britain on the 10th of September 1944 and survived the war.
Sgt W. H. Heubner 10601520 USAAF. Co-Pilot. Baled out. Captured POW.
Sgt J. T. Frost 1587458 RAF. F/Engr. Baled out. POW.
F/O S. Smith 121394 RAF. Nav. Baled out. POW. (Stalag Luft 3).
Sgt W. Boddy 1577663 RAF. Baled out. POW. (Stalag 4B).
Sgt J. C. Cash 1078263 RAF. Baled out. POW. (Stalag 357).
Sgt G. J. Woods 408304 RAAF. A/Gnr (Mid Upper). Baled out. POW. (Stalag Luft 3).
Sgt F. C. P. Allen 1585144 RAFVR. A/Gnr (Rear). Baled out. Evaded capture returned to Britain.
Werner Baake.
Born on the 1st of November 1918 in Nordhausen, Germany. He was a Night-Fighter pilot fighter ace and recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Baake claimed 43 nocturnal aerial victories in 195 combat missions. He was the 36th most successful night fighter ace of World War II. After the war, Baake worked as a pilot for the German airline Lufthansa. He was killed on the 15th of July 1964, when his Boeing 720 registration D-ABOP crashed near Ansbach during a training flight after he performed an unauthorised aerobatic manoeuvre. Following a successful barrel roll, the crew attempted a second. During this the aircraft broke apart due to structural overloading and all three members of the crew were killed.
Sources:
Final Flights - John Evans
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=JD306&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
www.rafcommands.com
www.findagrave.com
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.cwgc.org
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Feb-2017 18:22 | ORD | Added |
| 11-Nov-2018 14:02 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 22-Jun-2021 18:37 | TigerTimon | Updated [Cn, Source] |
| 23-Aug-2023 07:40 | Davies 62 | Updated [[Cn, Source]] |
| 01-Dec-2023 11:06 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation