Date:	Saturday 27 May 1944
Time:	00:20
Type:	Handley Page Halifax Mk V
Owner/operator:	644 Sqn RAF
Registration:	LL346
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ashley Wood above the village of Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	Tarrant Rushton
Destination airport:

Narrative:
On 23 February 1944 'C' Flight, 298 Sqn RAF split away to form the nucleus of 644 Sqn at Tarrant Rushton, Dorset, with Halifax V glider tugs. The new squadron rapidly built up and trained as an operational unit in the supply dropping and glider tug roles. During March, the squadron achieved a full establishment of 30 Halifaxes. It flew its first operational sortie on the night of 30 March when it dropped some arms to SOE resistance forces in France.

Until D-DAy in Europe, the squadron flew such operations while continuing training with gliders. Halifaxes of 644 and 298 Sqn were retrofitted with Gee and Rebecca Mk II to allow more accurate navigation, and the early trouble-prone Merlin XX engines were replaced by more reliable Merlin 22s. Merlin 22s were important because in 38 Group, only Merlin 22 engined aircraft were cleared to tow the giant Glider Hamilcar.

During the night of 26-27 May 1944, one aircraft of the squadron, the Halifax V LL346 took off from Tarrant Rushton at 0020 hrs on a night-time training flight towing Hamilcar glider. After take off the aircraft did not climb away as excepted. When the pilot realised the situation and began to climb the aircraft, it stalled and crashed into Ashley Wood above the village of Tarrant Keyneston across the valley from Tarrant Rushton airfield, 1 mile west of the airfield. The crash was deemed to have been survivable but none of the five crew were strapped in. Two were killed and a third died of his injuries the next day.

Crew:
WO2 Arthur Lawrence Wood RCAF (pilot) KIFA
Plt Off Thomas Murray Stewart RCAF (air bomber) WIFA, died of injuries on the 28th
Sgt I. T. Frank RCAF (wireless operator) seriously injured
Sgt A. M. Lavery RCAF (flight engineer) slight injuries
Plt Off Waldemar Freltrik Wolf RCAF (tail gunner) KIFA

The Hamilcar glider was cast off before the crash and pilots of the glider escaped without injury.

The aircraft was built in March-April 1944 by Rootes Securities at Speake, Merseyside.

"Though Without Anger (Losses of Transport and Special Duties Aircraft and Assault Gliders 1940 to 1945)", by Colin Cummings. ISBN 978-0-9526619-6-2
http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Aircraft-lost-on-Allied-Forces-Special-Duty-Operations.pdf
ORB of Tarrant Rushton airfield, May 1944 (formerly available at http://www.tarrant-rushton.ndirect.co.uk:80/1944May.htm, no more online)
http://hmvf.co.uk/topic/8135-aircraft-crashes-in-dorset-1939-45/
https://www.raf38group.org/644squadron
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1478761
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/maps.aspx?a=0&hob_id=1478761

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
22-Sep-2017 13:50	Laurent Rizzotti	Added