Date:	Saturday 7 February 1942
Time:	16:35
Type:	Boulton Paul Defiant Mk II
Owner/operator:	256 Sqn RAF
Registration:	V1116
MSN:	611
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Irish Sea, Off Lytham Pier, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Squires Gate, Blackpool, Lancashire
Destination airport:	RAF Squires Gate, Blackpool, Lancashire

Narrative:
On 7 February 1942 the Defiant II V1116/'JT-H' of 256 Squadron RAF took off at 16:10 hrs from RAF Squires Gate, Blackpool, Lancashire to practice low flying attacks on British coast defences. At 16:35 hrs it crashed into the sea off Lytham St. Annes after its wingtip hit Lytham Pier during a simulated attack on a coastal battery. Both crew were killed.

Crew of Defiant V1116:
Sergeant Stanley Wheatley GREENWOOD (400345) Air Gunner, RAAF, aged 29 - killed on active service 7 February 1942.
Pilot Officer William John Paterson OLNEY (112509) Pilot RAFVR - killed on active service 7 February 1942.

The pilot, Pilot Officer William John Paterson Olney, was never found and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. The air gunner, Sgt Stanley Wheatley Greenwood RAAF, is buried in Haltemprice (Hessle) Cemetery.

The conclusions of the Court of Inquiry for this accident was that the accident was due to an error of judgement by the pilot when carrying out a steep turn at a very low altitude which was in direct contravention to local flying standing orders and the specific verbal instructions of the officer authorising the flight. The pilot was judged experienced and well qualified to carry out the exercise. The Group Commander of 9 Group agreed with this conclusion and ordered that 256 Squadron would not be permitted to take part in such exercises in future.

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft T1000-V9999 (James J Halley, Air Britian, 1997)
2. Casualty file of Stanley Wheatley Greenwood, available online on the Australian National Archives website (https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=1057166&isAv=N)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/11979: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C17082729
4. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2408183/stanley-wheatley-greenwood/
5. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1803602/william-john-paterson-olney/
6. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?4806-420207-Unaccounted-airmen-7-2-1942
7. http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/.au/defiant.htm
8. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=V1116
9. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10307380
10. https://aviationmuseumwa.org.au/afcraaf-roll/greenwood-stanley-wheatley-400345/
11. https://www.1wags.org.au/memorial-roll/display/427-stanley-wheatley-greenwood_service-number-400345
12. https://ww2austburialsuk.weebly.com/hessle.html
13. https://www.nzwargraves.org.nz/casualties/william-john-paterson-olney
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._256_Squadron_RAF#Second_World_War
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytham_Pier

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
06-Feb-2008 23:28	JINX	Added
24-Jan-2012 13:20	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
31-Jan-2018 21:30	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]