Date:	Wednesday 7 May 1947
Time:	11:20
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk X
Owner/operator:	10 ANS RAF
Registration:	RP520
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Elmswell Wold, Garston, near RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Driffeld, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Driffeld, North Yorkshire

Narrative:
Vickers Wellington Mk. X RP520, 10 ANS (Air Navigation School), RAF: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 7 May 1947 when crashed at Elmswell Wold, Garston, near RAF Driffield, North Yorkshire. Both crew killed.

On final approach to RAF Driffield, at an altitude of 1,000 feet in the circuit, the pilot reported to ATC (Air Traffic Control) that his elevators had failed, and he was going to attempt an immediate emergency landing.
A few seconds later, on the downwind leg of the approach, the aircraft nosed down and crashed in a huge explosion few hundred yards short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and both pilots were killed.

Crew of Wellington RP520 (Unconfirmed):
Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Vincent Sydney Walker, RAF Service Number 120936, aged 27, buried at St. John The Baptists Churchyard, Muston, Leicestershire
Signaller II Colin Harwick (Air Signaller), RAF Service Number, 1592854, aged 21, buried at Eston Cemetery, Eston, Middlesborough, North Yorkshire

The subsequent Board of Inquiry determined that the cause of the elevator failure was the shearing of a line of rivets that secured the one of the elevator hinge brackets.

The Hull Daily Mail of May 10th 1947 reported the inquest into their deaths. It reported that Walker was an experienced wartime pilot, and that the Wellington had carried out several circuits at Driffield on a night time refresher without problem. At 11.15 it took off again, and Walker immediately radioed the tower that he had no elevator control. He told the tower he was coming straight in, but the Wellington crashed in a corn field near Garton-on-the-Wolds. A verdict of accidental death was recorded

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p. 63 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.300
3. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
4. The Hull Daily Mail of May 10th 1947
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/29/W2380:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578226
6. 10 ANS RAF ORB for the period 1-11-946 to 28-2-1948: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR29/1783: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4101493
7. http://web.archive.org/web/20130303011148/http://www.driffield.com:80/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=37
8. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-619-wellington-x-raf-driffield-2-killed
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2719304/walker,-vincent-sydney/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2407836/colin-hardwick/
11. http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/casualty/view/20986
12. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155891757/colin-hardwick
13. https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/colin-hardwick-24-mwb4w7
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Driffield#History

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
26-Apr-2013 05:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
26-Apr-2017 17:54	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative]
07-Nov-2019 23:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
12-Nov-2019 22:29	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
24-Nov-2019 23:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source]
27-Nov-2019 11:49	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Operator]
19-Jul-2021 18:33	Anon.	Updated [Time, Location, Operator]
16-May-2023 21:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Time, Location, Operator]]