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Date: | Friday 24 February 1956 |
Time: | day |
Type: | English Electric Canberra T Mk 4 |
Owner/operator: | 231 OCU RAF |
Registration: | WJ871 |
MSN: | EEP/71349 |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Location: | Washingley, 2 miles west of Stilton, Huntingdonshire -
United Kingdom
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Training |
Departure airport: | RAF Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire |
Destination airport: | |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:EE Canberra T.4 WJ871, 231 OCU, RAF: Written off 14/02/1956 - Dived into the ground near Washingley, two miles west of Stilton, Huntingdonshire, killing both crew, after the tailplane actuator malfunctioned, pushing the Canberra nose-down into an unrecoverable dive. A large crater was left in the field where the aircraft impacted, and debris was scattered over a wide area. Both crew killed.
Crew of Canberra WJ871:
Flight Lieutenant Herbert James Brice, RAF (Navigator, Service Number 924325, aged 36) - killed on active service 24/2/56, buried at St, Mary's Parish Cemetery, Old Bletchley, Buckinghamshire
Flying Officer Jason Spokes, RAF (Pilot, Service Number 3046036 aged 27) - killed on active service 24/2/56, buried at Bassingbourn Cemetery, Royston, Hertfordshire
The crash location was near Washingley is a small hamlet in Cambridgeshire, England. Washingley lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Peterborough, near Folksworth. Washingley is in the civil parish of Folksworth and Washingley. Washingley is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England, at approximate co-ordinates 52.488°N 0.331°W
Sources:
1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.178 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 63)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.182
4. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/326:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424447 6. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/34/S2807:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578587 7.
http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WJ 8.
http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1956.htm 9.
http://simviation.com//lair/casualty%201956.htm 10.
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?17202-231-OCU-Accidents-Bassingbourn&p=101009#post101009 11.
http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/BassingbourncumKneesworthPostWar.html 12.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washingley Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
17-Jun-2008 10:44 |
JINX |
Added |
21-Jan-2012 17:30 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
09-Apr-2013 20:27 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Source, Narrative] |
12-Nov-2018 21:28 |
Nepa |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |
17-Jan-2020 01:21 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
17-Jan-2020 14:34 |
stehlik49 |
Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Operator] |
11-Jun-2020 23:25 |
Dr. John Smith |
Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
12-Jun-2020 08:23 |
MIG29 |
Updated [Operator, Operator] |