ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 279346
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| Date: | Tuesday 7 July 1942 |
| Time: | 17:00 |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk 1c |
| Owner/operator: | 21 OTU |
| Registration: | T2962 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Llangrove, Monmouthshire. -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Edgehill |
| RAF Edgehill |
Details:
T2962 came off the production lines at Brooklands and went straight to No.57 squadron at RAF Feltwell. Her first operational mission was flown on the 2nd of May 1941 with Sgt Ross at the controls. She became the usual mount for P/O Martin and his crew, P/O R.F.L. Tong 2nd pilot, Sgt W.H. Buckley Nav/Obs, Sgt S.D. Andrew W/Op-A/Gnr, Sgt A.S. Cassells A/Gnr. Their first operational sortie as a crew happened on the 12th of June with a raid on Hamm dropping 6 x 500lbs HE on the target. Five more raids followed and then a night raid of the 3rd and 4th of August. 10 aircraft form the squadron took part on a raid on Hanover. The crew of T2962 took off at 20:45hrs fully laden with 3 S.A.C 1 x 500lbs HE, 1 x 250lbs HE and 1 x photo flash. Just after crossing the enemy coast, they were ‘jumped’ by an enemy night fighter above Groningen, Holland, which hit the bomber in the mid to rear fuselage, the tail taking the full force, killing the rear gunner, T2962 took substantial damage which caused Martin to turn back, after ditching their bombs mid channel, lighter, they managed to get back to Feltwell. The dead rear gunner was Sergeant Andrew Stanley Cassells who was 23 years old and a regular Royal Air Force Air man, ser’ 642096. He is buried at Feltwell (St Nicholas) Churchyard. Row A. Grave 10. He was the only son of William Henderson Cassells and Elsie Cassells, of Bordesley Green, Birmingham.
P/O Martin and some of his crew took the controls of Wellington T2959 after they were rested for a week. P/O Watson took over from Sgt Cassells in the rear gun turret. His 2nd pilot, P/O Tong had his own Wellington, Z8792. They were both involved with the raid of Hanover on the 12th of August. P/O Tong had to return with his ‘live’ bomb load of 5 x 500lbs HE after they failed to release, they landed safely! Tong’s second raid in command of Z8792, on Cologne, ended with them having to turn around just as they were crossing the English coast after the pilot’s access hatch blew off, this time the bombs hadn’t been armed. Both pilots had their successful raid on the 29th of August, with a raid on Mannheim.
T2962 had to be ferried off station for repair. She returned to active duties with No.21 OTU at RAF Edgehall, near Banbury. On the 7th of July 1942, T2962 was on a similar on a training flight as Wellington R1465. The route for T2962 was to head north towards Yorkshire, then west over the Pennines to the Isle of Man, south to Pembrokeshire and up the Severn to the bombing range, then home, a distance of nearly 1000 miles. As they were about to cross into the high ground of the Welsh leg of the course, with the weather being bright sunshine and no winds, they were flying at 5,000 feet, with Goodrich Castle below, they suddenly power in the starboard engine which stopped completely with the propeller in the full position. They tried to feather the propeller, but it refused to move and began to windmill. The aircraft began to rapidly loose height and started a turn to starboard due to the drag created by the dead engine and propeller. Ahead on a slight rise lay the village of Llangrove. The crew tried to gain height but as they crossed over the village, the starboard wing sliced into the high Popular trees in the churchyard, they had enough force to swing the doomed bomber to starboard and after narrowly missing a full school below next to the churchyard, the amazed children in the school yard saw the Wellington disappear over the hedge opposite and crashing into the field beyond. Silence returned and with a large dust cloud hanging over the field, the children, recovering from the shock and awe of what just happened to spoil their innocent play, some started to cry, but the brave and inquisitive ran to the edge of the field that bordered the school, the scene that lay spread out before them must have terrified even the bravest. The local Vicar rushed to the aid of the injured crew men and was pulling them clear when the wreck burst into flames. Two of the six crewmen were killed, one on the way to hospital.
The other crew members received varying injuries, but all survived. Sadly, the Revd Frank Easton, who had been the Vicar since 1936, had a heart attack and died as he cycled home afterwards. He was 59. Sarah Watkins, the church organist, also collapsed and died of heart failure on the way to the crash scene.
Crew:
Sgt Frank Henry Stuart Bush 27yo 902603 RAFVR. Pilot. Killed. 1
Son of Frank and Lilian Florence Edith Bush; Husband of Kathleen Margret Bush, of Streatham Hill, London. They had only been married since the 11th of October.
Sgt Robert Jack McKean 21yo 1552316 RAFVR. Obs/Nav’. Killed. 2
Son of Robert and Mary McKean, of King’s Park, Glasgow.
Sgt T. Baycroft RCAF. W/Op-A/Gnr. Uninjured.
Sgt L.C. Baker RAF. A/Gnr. Multiple injuries.
Sgt A. Hill RAFVR. A/Gnr. Cuts & Bruises.
Sgt A. E. Hill RAFVR. A/Gnr. Injured.
Civilian:
Reverend Frank Reginald Easton 59yo of Christ Church, Llangrove. 3
Mrs Sarah Watkins of Llangrove. 4
Buried:
1 South London Crematorium (Streatham Park Cemetery). Panel 22.
2 Cathcart Cemetery. Compt. R. Main City. Grave 1011.
3 Christ Church Cemetery.
4 Christ Church Cemetery.
Wreckage:
The majority of the wreck was easily recovered but small fragments of Moulton alloy and other indistinguishable pieces still come to the surface of this farm field.
Memorials:
CWGC Headstones.
Memorial attached to the cemetery wall at Llangrove.
Memorial to the crews at RAF Edgehall.
Memorial to the first jet powered flight at RAF Edgehall.
Additional Information:
Sergeant Leslie Baker suffered multiple injuries at Llangrove. He was taken first to Ross on Wye Cottage Hospital for treatment and then into medical care at RAF Innsworth, Gloucester. He completed his convalescence at Hartpury House and while there he was cared for by nurse Louise Maquire whom he married on March 19, 1943.
A month later he returned to active service in the Middle East and North Africa and escaped serious injury when another Wellington crashed into the Libyan desert. On another occasion, the aircraft he was in had to take violent evasive action to avoid anti-aircraft fire over Naples, hearing the order to bale out. He hit the tail and came down onto the slopes of Mount Vesuvius with multiple injuries and severe concussion. The aircraft recovered from its dive and returned safely to base in England! He was taken off active flying and saw out the war flying a desk.
Sources:
www.rafremembered.com
www.rafcommands.com
nationalarchives.gov.uk
www.cwgc.org
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Jun-2022 05:06 | Davies 62 | Added |
| 07-Jul-2022 07:51 | TigerTimon | Updated [Total fatalities, Destination airport, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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