ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 92091
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| Date: | Monday 16 August 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Bristol Beaufighter TF Mk X |
| Owner/operator: | 248 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | JM343 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 1 mile north Sageston near RAF Carew Cheriton, Pembrokeshire, Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Predannack, Cornwall |
| RAF Talbenny, Pembrokeshire |
Beaufighter JM343: Took off for Transit flight. 16/08/1943
During flight engine failed. Crash- landing at Narberth rd, Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Crew:
F/O (134186) Frederick Stanley LACY (pilot) RAFVR: Ok
W/O (935992) Geoffrey Gordon HARKER (nav.) RAFVR: OK
???? (pass./NCO) RAF: Ok
By arrangement between the NCOs i/c of "A" and "B" Flights, the aircraft was loaded with a quantity of spares required at Talbenny, including an undercarriage wheel, clean laundry and a sack of mail which had accumulated at Predannack for the detached personnel. All of this filled the fuselage between the front cockpit and the navigator's cupola towards the rear. To my surprise the NCO i/c "A" Flight, who had never flown before, obtained permission to join me and my navigator for the flight to Talbenny and, once we were aboard, he climbed in and stood unharnessed on the bottom entry hatch immediately behind my seat.
The aircraft was fully armed with ammunition for its 4 x 0.5" cannon and 6 x .303" machine guns and all fuel tanks had been filled, totalling some 600 gallons, this being mandatory in wartime in case of a chance in-flight enemy encounter. As a Mark 10 variant it had been built with air brakes for its normal torpedo-carrying rôle, but on our squadron these had been rendered inoperative and, for some reason connected with the design modifications for this particular variant, no facility for jettisoning any fuel in flight was incorporated - as was the case on earlier and lighter types.
Despite the aircraft's full combat weight, plus the loaded spares and their guardian passenger, I experienced no difficulty in climbing away from Predannack's long north/south runway, though the take-off run might have been a bit longer than usual.
It was a glorious hot Summer's afternoon and, as soon as we had crossed the north coast of Cornwall I swooped down to some 20 feet above the calm waters of the outer Bristol Channel en route northwards past Lundy Isle. I wished to show my passenger how the squadron normally operated in its Bay of Biscay anti-shipping rôle and how we customarily flew low, to avoid detection by the cliff-top radar installations ranged along the French west coast; this was, on reflection, a little unfair considering it was his maiden flight but, twisting round in my seat I could see that he was not alarmed and, whilst unable to communicate with each other by intercom because he had no headset, we exchanged thumbs-up signals from time to time.
Suddenly however, after about 20 minutes flight, the aircraft's port engine shuddered to a halt and the blades of its propeller stopped in a "coarse" cruising flight condition, instead of continuing to rotate or "windmill" as was normally the case with engine failure. An attempt to restart the engine proved to be unsuccessful and, to my horror, the propeller also refused to "feather'. This meant that the propeller's paddle blades, as they were nicknamed, were face on to the direction of flight, instead of edge on, causing considerable drag. In no time the aircraft slowed down from its cruising speed of 180 knots to about 100 knots. I soon discovered, whilst immediately trying to gain height, that this speed was only a matter of a few knots above the heavily laden aircraft's stalling speed.
Meantime, my passenger amazed me by tapping me on the shoulder and giving me yet another thumbs-up signal, it transpiring later that he thought I was demonstrating the art of single engine flying!
I explained the situation to my navigator and, because the mildest of turns was causing the aircraft to shudder on the point of stalling, we agreed to continue to fly ahead towards the airfield at RAF Carew Cheriton, near Tenby in south Wales, rather than try to return to Predannack.
During the next 20 minutes or so I was able to climb the aircraft very carefully to about l000ft, with the starboard engine roaring flat out and becoming somewhat overheated by dint of our slow forward speed. Fearing that this engine might fail, I decided to attempt a straight in approach to the north/south runway at Carew Cheriton as it slowly came into view. I selected "undercarriage down", but needed to lose height rapidly in order to maintain speed above the stall. Increased drag from the lowering undercarriage, also began rapidly to "consume" all remaining height and, to avoid crashing short of the runway, I selected "undercarriage up" and attempted to "go round again".
We must have passed along the entire runway about 100ft up but, as the undercarriage was slow to retract - driven only by the starboard engine's hydraulic pump - the aircraft suddenly became inexorably committed landwards. I aimed towards a field straight ahead and the aircraft landed on its belly and slithered along the ground. Unfortunately, a rural electricity distribution line was in its path and a collision of the port wing with one of the line's wooden poles, caused the aircraft to swing sharply left and go sideways through a hedge, over a minor road and through its far hedge into another field, where it came to rest - on fire.
Details:
After the outbreak of WW2, 248 squadron was reformed at RAF Hendon as a Night Fighter squadron. It received its first aircraft, the Bristol Blenheim Ifs during December that year. The squadron was still working up when it was transferred to Coastal Command in February 1940, swapping its Blenheim IFs for slightly more modern Blenheim IVFs and moving to RAF North Coates in Lincolnshire.
The squadron took delivery of its first Beaufighters in July 1941 and flying its first missions with the new aircraft on the 14th of August 1941. It carried out convoy escort missions and strikes against shipping off the Dutch coast from Bircham Newton, while a detachment from the squadron was sent to Cornwall to carry out long-range fighter patrols over the Western Approaches between September and December that year.
July 1942, the squadron deployed to Malta, flying long-range fighter support for the Malta Convoy Operation Pedestal. It returned to the UK, leaving its aircraft behind. Once back in the UK and with a fresh set of Beaufighter mkIV, the Squadron was tasked with carrying out fighter patrols over the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay as part of No. 19 Group RAF from RAF Talbenny in Pembrokeshire, No.4 Flight of 248 squadron arrived during February 1943. Together with No.235 squadron, another Beaufighter squadron, 248 had the role of opposing German heavy fighters, the Junkers Ju88 fighters that were attacking Allied anti-submarine aircraft over the Bay of Biscay, with repeated combats taking place though the spring and summer of 1943, with the Squadron receiving Beaufighter Xs in June 1943, adding anti-shipping strikes to its missions.
P/O F. S. Lacy arrived from No.2 OTU and W/O G. G. Harker from 132 OTU on the 30th of April 1943. They were paired together, flying their first operational patrol four days later in Beau’ VI ‘WR-G’.
The squadron started to receive the new mkX’s on the 3rd of June, on the 15th of June the squadron flew the mkX on ops for the first time. Unluckily for Lacy and Harker, they were on ten days leave during this time and only got to fly the new Beau’ on the 28th of that month on an ‘Anti-Aircraft’ patrol over the Bay of Biscay.
Built at the Shadow works at Weston-Super-Mare in a batch of 42 aircraft, JM343 arrived during the spring of 1943 and allocated the radio codes ‘WR-J’.
On the 1st of July 1943, Lacy & Harker flew JM343 ‘J’ for the first time as part of a three. When over the northern end of the Bay, the patrol sighted two ‘U-Boats’ being escorted by two Destroyers. The patrol attacked but with no results observed, they however received heavy flak from the ships.
Squadron Records.
1 July 1943. Offensive Patrol.
“Three A/c carried out offensive patrol, sighting two ‘Narvik’ Destroyers & 2 U-Boats. When seen, enemy forces were one mile on the Beau’s port beam. Destroyers were either side the U Boats in the centre. Both Destroyers opened fire which prevented the Beau’s getting close enough to identify U Boat type.”
On the 29th of July, four squadron Beaufighters ‘A’, ‘U’, ‘S’ & ‘J’, (not flown by Lacy & Harker). Engaged a Focke-Wulf FW200 a long range four engine bomber (Condor) out over the Western Approaches. Beau’ ‘A’ attacked first, followed by ‘U’ & ‘J’. Almost immediately the E/A lost height dramatically and skimmed low over the sea before eventually crashing. The patrol saw the eight crew on the surface afterwards before flying off, continuing the patrol. 30 minutes later, ‘A’ sighted a Junkers Ju-88/C-4. This was the heavy fighter version of the type. The E/A sighted the Beaufighters and fired off two white flares. Clearly, they thought the Beau’s were friendly and fired the arranged signal. Soon they saw their mistake and tried for a patch of cloud, but ‘U’ flown by F/O Thompson, cut them off and attacked from under the port side firing a long burst setting the port engine on fire. The Junkers went into a steep diving turn to port with pieces falling away, the flames spread, engulfing the aircraft just before crashing into the sea. ‘U’ didn’t come away unscathed, she received fire from the rear gunners of the Junkers hitting the port engine. After the encounter ‘U’ began to shake violently, Thompson attempted to feather the propeller but to no avail. He then switched off the engine and allow the blades to ‘Windmill’, but soon after, flames were seen to come from the cowl. Thompson was able to extinguish the flames! Thinking that was all, the Starboard engine then began to splutter and cut. Thompson was able to coax the engine for three hours & four minutes. Reaching land, he was just about able to get over the cliffs near the aerodrome and crash-landed in a field adjoining Predannack, the crew suffered only cuts and bruises.
On the 2nd of August JM343 ‘J’, this time crewed by F/O Green & P/O Forest, with three other Beaufighters (‘P’, ‘W’ & ‘L’) on another offensive patrol, encountered another FW-200. ‘J’ closed in to 700 yards before firing a short burst and again at 500 yards. A dull red glow was seen below the E/A cockpit. Then the crew of ‘J’ received return fire from the E/A port beam shattering the windscreen, F/O Green was temporarily blinded by dust and splinters which caused him to overshoot, resulting in fire from the nose gun of the Condor, this time JM343 received hits in the tailplane and Starboard propeller, the navigator of Jm343 returned fire and then observed the dull glow turning into a fierce fire! ‘J’ broke away seeing the Condor falling with pieces breaking off until crashing into the sea, the crews of 248 could see it dive under leaving the tail sticking into the air. The surface of the water remained on fire with a plume of black smoke rising 500 feet into the sky.
Damage to A/C. JM343 ‘J’ Windscreen shattered. Starboard Propeller hit. One bullet in the Tail Plane and Stern frame.
Ammunition used. ‘J’ 180 rounds 20mm & 23 .303.
‘L’ 160 rounds 20mm.
‘W’ 80 rounds 20mm.
Squadron records.
16-8-1943. Operations. 4x A/C carried out offensive patrols. Nothing to record.
Weather. Fair to Fine.
Beaufighter JM343 ‘J’ was on a non-operational flight from base to Talbenny when it crash-landed in a field due to the S/Brd engine seizing and pilot loosing height, though endeavouring to re-start ‘Dead’ engine, therefore unable to reach Carew Cheriton aerodrome and crash-land in a field hitting a light standard. A/C caught fire, but crew escaped with slight injuries. The pilot, F/O F. S. Lacy had his flying log endorsed ‘Bad Airmanship’ on the instructions of the Air Officer Commanding No.19 Group”.
Crew:
P/O Frederick Stanley Lacy 134186 RAFVR. Pilot. Safe. Survived the war.
W/O Geoffry Gordon Harker 935992 RAFVR. Nav’. Safe. 1
Passenger (Unknown). Safe.
Buried:
1 Le Verdon-Sur-Mer Communal Cemetery. Grave 2. France.
Wreckage:
Not known.
Memorials:
CWGC Headstone.
Additional Information:
W/O Harker went on to serve with the squadron until his death along with
W/O L. D. Stoddart (pilot) when their Mosquito FB.MkVI LR346 was lost on a shipping strike in the Gironde 14th of August 1944. Their target was the Sperrbrecher ships which were German auxillary ships from the first world war and serving as minesweepers detonating the mines with their re-enforced hulls, some were also used as anti-aircraft ships.
He cheated his death for 363 days!
Sources:
1.Beaufighter production list
2.http://www.mossie.org/stories/Frederick_Lacy_2.htm
3.ORB 248 Sqdn RAF
4.CWGC
www.air-britain.com
www.rafcommands.com
www.iwm.org.uk
https://maps.nls.uk
www.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jul-2023 06:12 | Davies 62 | Updated |
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