ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 71881
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| Date: | Wednesday 22 November 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B Mk IV |
| Owner/operator: | 627 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | DZ642 |
| MSN: | AZ-H |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Royal Field Hill near RAF stn Sumburgh, Shetland Islands, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Sumburgh, Shetland Islands |
Mosquito DZ642/H: Took off at 18:42 hrs for mission was to mark the target in Trondheim. 22/11/1944
Return from a failed mission on the German U-Boat pens in Trondheim, Norway.
Crashed into the steep Royal Field Hill in South Shetland about 1,500 feet above sea level.
Crew:
F/Lt (48900) John Alexander REID (pilot) RAF - killed
F/O (J/16115) Wesley Douglas IRWIN (nav.) RCAF - killed
The Mosquito was call sign 'Marker 3' of three Mosquitos that had taken off from RAF Woodhall Spa.
Their mission was to mark the target in Trondheim for the Lancasters of 5 Group.
They had landed in RAF Lossiemouth for refueling, but in one way or another 'Marker 3' had not been refueled.
When they arrived at the target the Germans had been warned, and the area was covered by a smoke screen. There was nothing to do but return.
'Marker 3' had very little fuel left and decided to try to land at Scatsta Airport in Shetland, but there were problems with the radio and they could not communicate with the airport, so the two other Mosquitos accompanied them to relay messages. Contact was made with ASR/MCU at Lerwick, who gave them the weather report and a course which would bring them within sight of the Sandra Light at Sumburgh Airport. As soon as DZ642 was within radio range of Sumburgh the two other planes had to leave because they had only fuel enough to reach RAF Peterhead. The last they heard was that Sumburgh warned 'Marker 3' about high ground along its route.
The VHF reception was very bad and the last that RAF Sumburgh heard from the Mosquito was that it had completed its first leg and was turning onto a heading of 250 degrees.
On the 6th of December, three men, George Mann of Uphouse, Laurence Malcolmson of Culbinsgarth, and Adam Adamson of Brind, were driving sheep on Royal Field when they found the wreck of the Mosquito and its two dead crewmen.
The fuel tanks of the Mosquito were empty when it was found, but we will never know if the reason for the crash was that they ran out of fuel and tried an emergency landing, or that they had tried to fly in cloud and crashed into the hill. The weather at the time was 8/8 cloud at 1,000 feet with patches at 800 feet.
Sources:
1. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txt
2. ORB 627 Sqdn RAF
3. https://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/crash_sites/scotland/de-havilland-mosquito-dz642-royl-field/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 27 July 1944 | DZ534 | 627 Sqn RAF | 0 | English Channel, 12 miles east of Cherbourg Peninsula |  |
w/o |
| Ditching | ||||||
Images:
Mosquito Production list showing DZ642 was a B Mk IV, note Source #1 URL to confirm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Jan-2010 11:18 | NePa | Added |
| 17-Mar-2010 19:27 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 30-May-2010 03:47 | angels one five | Updated [Narrative] |
| 24-Apr-2014 08:50 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Jun-2014 13:27 | Next | Updated [Location, Destination airport] |
| 03-Sep-2015 09:30 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 24-May-2018 05:27 | angels one five | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 16-Feb-2019 17:09 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 06-May-2019 13:43 | Nepa | Updated [Location, Operator] |
| 06-Jul-2019 14:59 | Nepa | Updated [Narrative, Operator] |
| 10-Jun-2021 21:37 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Operator] |
| 31-Aug-2021 19:24 | TigerTimon | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities] |
| 24-Oct-2021 18:58 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 21-Feb-2022 21:24 | grapeshot418 | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Photo] |
| 23-Feb-2022 22:24 | Nepa | Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator] |
| 01-Jul-2022 19:58 | Nepa | Updated [Source, Narrative, Operator] |
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