ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 29086
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| Date: | Monday 21 September 1942 |
| Time: | 20:50 |
| Type: |  Avro Anson Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 6 AOS RAF |
| Registration: | N9745 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Capel-y-Ffin -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Staverton |
| Return. |
Flew into high ground in cloud & darkness. Error in navigation and wrong E.T.A given, aircraft was 15 miles past turning point. Rapid deterioration of weather not forecast and all aircraft had been re-called at 19.30 hrs. No W/T Comm with a/c . Pilot had failed to prepare a flight plan.
Court found that Neither weather nor W/T responsible for accident. Gross carelessness on part of pilot. Fortunately all crew survived with minor injuries, aircraft was Cat. E. But the 2 Cheetah IX engines No. 153631 & 112804 were salvaged. Flight duration was 2 hrs 5 mins.
PILOT : SGT R.R.HARVEY. 1181161 RAF. (Injured)
Details:
Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the RAF, FAA, RCAF and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. However, the aircraft's most successful role, was to train pilots for flying multi-engine bombers, such as the Avro Lancaster. Ansons had first been deployed to Flying Training Schools in November 1936, replacing the obsolete bombers that had previously been used for twin-engine training. The Anson was also used to train the other members of a bomber's aircrew, such as navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners. RAF Staverton is a former Royal Air Force station about 4 miles (6 km) west of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. The station was used for training and operations from 1936 until the 1950s. The site is now Gloucester Airport. No. 6 Air Observers Navigation School RAF was one such unit based at Staverton from 1 November 1939 until 17 January 1942.
Routes over the high ground of Wales were common as was the sight of Ansons and Oxfords above the valleys. Sadley another common aspect, already at this stage of the war, was the crashes with some resulting in the untimely deaths of the young aircrews, already there has been over 200 over the whole of the South Wales and West Wales.
On the 21st of September the weather was patchy with showers as Anson N9745 took off from Staverton at 19:10hrs on an evening navigational exercise, on board were three trainees and their instructor in addition to one of the unit pilots. The weather turned rapidly, and all aircraft had been re-called at 19.30 hrs. But nothing was heard from N9745 it appears that they had a faulty set! Then to make matters worse Sgt Harvey had not given an ‘Actions on’, for weather deterioration before taking off. At 20:45hrs they were 15miles past the designated turn around point and at 20:50hrs flew onto the high ridge of Hay Bluff in the Black Mountains. As it hit the ridge on a turn they missed slamming into the high escarpment, but ‘skipped’ and slid over a number of feet, before a sudden turn, caused by the starboard engine, to starboard, spinning the aircraft through 180 degrees, with them ending up facing the way they had just come and the tail over hanging a very steep slope of 300 feet below. If they had gone over here, the crew would have certainly died! As it turned out all the crew escaped with minor injuries, but as for the Anson, both her engines had been ripped off along with the starboard wing and the starboard horizontal tail plane. She was a ‘Cat E’ and struck off!
Notes from the FM1180.
“20.50 hrs. LLANTHONY, 10m NORTH OF ABERGAVENNY,BRECKNOK. Flew into high ground in cloud & darkness. Error in navigation and wrong E.T.A given, aircraft was 15 miles past turning point. Pilot had failed to prepare a flight plan. Court found that Neither weather nor W/T responsible for accident. Gross carelessness on part of pilot. Fortunately all crew survived with minor injuries, aircraft was Cat. E. But the 2 Cheetah IX engines No. 153631 & 112804 were salvaged. Flight duration was 2 hrs 5 mins. PILOT : SGT R.R.HARVEY. 1181161 RAF. 172 hrs type. 306 hrs total.”
Crew:
Sgt R. R. Harvey 1181161 RAF. Pilot. Safe.
F/Sgt Rodd RAF. Safe.
3 trainee’s all okay.
Wreckage:
All removed.
Memorials:
At Gloucester Airport.
Additional Information:
In 1940, the three services each established camouflage branches. Camouflage training manuals were widely issued, and all military personnel received basic training. Virtually everything of military significance in Britain was camouflaged, including vehicles and even entire airfields.
RAF Staverton’s airfield was camouflaged to create a rural-type landscape. As pictured above, an imitation lane was created to snake diagonally across the airfield and the tarmac runways. Boundaries mimicking hedges were painted on the grass: these show as the black line across the runway, and at bottom left and right. Parts of the runways themselves were painted with a pattern of irregular dark shapes, probably to simulate woodland.
A satellite strip of Staverton hosted the first flight of the Gloster 1 jet aircraft. Various testing took place at Staverton, including a plan for Lancasters to tow Spitfires from their airfields to targets such as Tokyo; the Japanese surrendered before this method was implemented.
Sources:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_picture.php?picture_id=2096693
https://powysenc.weebly.com/beynon---blayney.html
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?212-Anson-N5086-S.wales-23-2-40/page2
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 03-Apr-2012 16:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 03-Apr-2012 16:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Source] |
| 13-Aug-2012 01:03 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 13-Aug-2012 01:03 | Nepa | Updated [[Operator]] |
| 13-Aug-2012 01:03 | Nepa | Updated [[[Operator]]] |
| 13-Aug-2012 01:03 | Nepa | Updated [[[[Operator]]]] |
| 13-Aug-2012 01:03 | Nepa | Updated [[[[[Operator]]]]] |
| 24-Aug-2013 18:09 | JINX | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 16-Jan-2016 19:03 | JIXN | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 01-Dec-2017 10:42 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 08-Sep-2022 06:00 | Davies 62 | Updated [Total occupants, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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