ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 16906
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| Date: | Monday 20 July 1942 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Battle Mk I (TT) |
| Owner/operator: | 52 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | L5699 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Bedwin Sands, Monmouthshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Banner and glider towing |
| Departure airport: | RAF Aston Down, Gloucestershire |
| Return. |
Fairey Battle Mk.1(TT) L5699, 52 OTU (Operational Training Unit), RAF Aston Down Gloucestershire: Written off (damaged beyond repair) 20 July 1942 when crashed onto the beach at Bedwin Sands. Monmouthshire (at approximate coordinates 51.543 N, 2.755 W) while target towing. Reportedly forced landed due to engine failure. No casualties or fatalities reported among the crew of two.
Crew of Battle L5699:
Sergeant (657346) G H Hill RAF - pilot (slightly injured - cuts and bruises)
AC2 Baker - Drogue Winch Operator (uninjured)
This was formed at Debden on 25 March 1941 within N.81 Group to train day fighter pilots using Hurricanes. In August it moved to Aston Down and the following month began converting to Spitfires. This Battle had been converted to the TT (Target Towing) status and was involved with towing drogues for Hurricanes over the ranges around the upper area of the Severn Estuary. The crew encountered engine problems which left them with no other option but to force land onto the mud of what is known as the Bedwin Sands! The two crew were uninjured apart from cuts and bruises and were able to get to the shoreline which lay about 800 yards away. Just over the small Dyke that runs along the Estuary here is the WW1 era small arms ranges of Rogiet Moor and a company of soldiers were shooting and were able to give first aid. As for the Battle, even though it was intact, it lay at the bottom of the high-water mark and was within a few hours, completely submerged, on the next low water it had sunk into the mud, up to its cockpit with only a propeller blade, the cockpit frame and the tail showing. Within days, because of the type of tide here, it had gone!
Wreckage:
I personally spent many hours shooting at these ranges as an Army Cadet and with the Army. I heard a rumour from the then Range Warden of how on the rare occasion and depending on the tides and storms, how the remains of an aircraft (then thought to be a Spitfire) would show itself sticking out of the mire! I saw what looked like an aircraft wreck a few years later (1990’s) but I have not been able to investigate! WARNING THE TIDES ARE QUICK AND THE MUD IS THICK only look with the aid of binoculars.
Additional Information:
THIS SITE, I CLASS AS DANGEROUS PLEASE USE CAUTION.
Sources:
1. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p.157)
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1979 p.37)
3. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?6176-420720-Unaccounted-airmen-20-7-1942/page2
4. https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/bedwin-sands-wetland-tidal-monmouthshire-sir-fynwy
local knowledge.
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Mar-2008 16:06 | JINX | Added |
| 09-Nov-2018 17:50 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 25-Oct-2020 22:01 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Oct-2020 22:04 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Oct-2020 22:05 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Jun-2022 19:12 | Davies 62 | Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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