Date:	Monday 11 August 1952
Time:	day
Type:	Avro Anson C Mk 19
Owner/operator:	23 MU RAF
Registration:	VM407
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Clogwyn, Mount Snowdon, North Wales -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Aldergrove, Belfast, Northern Ireland (BFS/EGAA)
Destination airport:	RAF Llandow, Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
At Cirencester Cemetery are located 87 graves of soldiers: 25 of the First World War and 55 from the years 1939-1945. Seven of them are the graves of Polish, which lies six airmen and one unknown soldier.

The cemetery is the grave of MPlt (Master Pilot - stage crew Officer Warrant equivalent force in the RAF after the war) Maleńczuk Julian, a former Polish Air Force pilot who joined the Royal Air Force. On August 12, 1952, the crew of three took off from RAF Aldergrove base in Northern Ireland in Avro Anson XIX (VM407) to fly to an RAF base at Llandow in Wales. The mission was to collect urgenly-needed spare parts from No.38 MU at RAF Llandow

The plan had been to fly at 2,000ft, but this would have proved impossible due to the high ground along the route, and within a few minutes they found themselves in thick cloud, flying on instruments. Climbing to 3500ft they attempted to clarify the weather situation at both RAF Valley and RAF Llandow but only Valley was able to hear them and it was completely 'clagged in'.

It would appear that the aircraft was blown some 20 miles off course and because it was now flying at 3,500ft rather than the safe height for the area of 5,000ft, it flew straight into Snowdon. It hit a little way below the railway line just above Clogwyn and skidded up onto the railway before bursting into flames, the crew would appear to have died instantly.

The crash blocked the Snowden Mountain Railway, and in atrocious conditions clearing the line and removing the bodies took most of the day, it was decided to wait until the next day to bring the 120 marooned passengers down. They therefore spend a long night in the summit building sustained on tea and sandwiches and by the fine baritone voice of one of the railway staff. The weather improved overnight and the whole ensemble was back in the village by 7.30am to be treated to free breakfast in the Victoria and Padarn Hotels

The threee crew fatalities were:
Master PIlot (793842) Julian Antoni Maleńczuk, AFC (Pilot,Polish National) RAF killed on duty 11/8/1952,
Flight Sergeant John Tracey (Air Signaller) RAF killed on duty 11/8/1952
Mr. W J Elliot (Civilian Contractor/Passenger) - killed 11/8/1952

Master PIlot Julian Antoni Maleńczuk had been awarded the AFC (Air Force Cross) in the New Year's Honours List, announced on 1 January 1952 (see links #10 & #11)

Probable cause: The departure from Belfast-Aldergrove was precipitated as the crew was instructed to fly back to Llandow as quick as possible. Thus, the crew failed to check the en route weather conditions prior to departure from Aldergrove and was not aware of the degradation in weather conditions

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.132 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983)
3. Last Take Off; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 by Colin Cummings p.277
4. The Anson File (Ray Sturtivant, Air Britain, 1988)
5. Aircraft Wrecks: The Walker's Guide : Historic Crash Sites on the Moors and Mountains of the United Kingdom (p.45) By Nick Wotherspoon, Alan Clark, Mark Sheldon
6. http://www.polishairforce.pl/_cmcirencester.html
7. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-652-anson-c19-mt-snowdon-3-killed
8. http://www.cymdeithas-eryri.org.uk/uploads/docs/cylchdaith_yr_wyddfa.pdf
9. https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/70548/Malenczuk-Julian-Antoni.htm?c=aw
10. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/39421/supplement/34/data.pdf
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_New_Year_Honours#Air_Force_Crosses_(AFC)
12. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/591632-m-plt-julian-malenczuk.html
13. https://www.militaryimages.net/media/malenczuk-julian-antoni.81466/
14. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?21249-M-Plt-Julian-Malenczuk-AFC

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
08-Apr-2012 23:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
16-Apr-2012 23:47	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
30-Nov-2012 04:57	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
18-Mar-2021 22:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
19-Mar-2021 22:13	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
19-Mar-2021 22:14	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
19-Mar-2021 22:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-Mar-2021 22:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-Mar-2021 22:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
07-Apr-2021 17:44	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]