Date:	Thursday 20 December 1951
Time:	day
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk X
Owner/operator:	101 FRS RAF
Registration:	NC836
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire. England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk.X, NC846/"RD", 101 FRS (Flying Refresher School), RAF: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 20/12/1951. During an instrument take off from RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire, the undercarriage was raised prematurely, and the aircraft struck the ground while the undercarriage was still retracting.

The Wellington then swung off the runway, but had achieved the safe minimum airspeed for flight ("V2"), and took off from RAF Finningley anyway. The aircraft climbed to a safe height, made a circuit of Finningley, and then, upon return, made a wheels up belly landing at Finningley. The aircraft slid along the runway, and was further damaged. However, the crew appear to have been uninjured.

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.123 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p 207
3. Through Adversity: The Story of Life in the RFC and RAF Through Three Decades By Alastair Goodrum
4. 101 FRS ORB (Operations Record Book) (Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1951 to
31/1/1952: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 29/2319/1 at hhttps://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7163235

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Feb-2021 16:24	Dr. John Smith	Added
18-Feb-2021 17:40	Slizack	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]
20-Feb-2021 02:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]