ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204072
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| Date: | Saturday 12 June 1943 |
| Time: | 15:45 |
| Type: |  De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Queens UAS RAF |
| Registration: | X5045 |
| MSN: | 3384 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Massey Avenue, Stormont, East Belfast, Northern Ireland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Sydenham, Belfast |
First registered (C of R 5964) on 29.8.35 as G-ADJH to Phillips & Powis Aircraft Ltd., Woodley Aerodrome, Woodley, Reading, Berkshire. C of A 5036 issued 19.11.35. Operated by 8 E&RFTS Woodley. Registration cancelled 12.7.39 upon sale. Sold on and re-registered (C of R 5964/2) on 24.7.39 to Horton Kirby Flying Club Ltd., Horton Kirby, Dartford, Kent.
Withdrawn from use and stored from 4.9.39 when all private civilian flying was prohibited due to the outbreak of war. To 10 MU RAF Hullavington, Chippenham, Wiltshire 18.11.39. Registration G-ADKH cancelled 19.11.39 as 'sold'. Impressed into military service as X5045 on 12.2.40. Delivered Queens UAS, Belfast 23.4.41.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) when stalled and dived into the ground at Massey Avenue, Stormont, East Belfast, Northern Ireland 12.6.43, killing both crew. According to one published source (see link #8):
"On 12th June 1943, residents living in the Massey Avenue area of Stormont in East Belfast received a shock when a military plane came down in the area.
Queens University Air Squadron in Belfast operated De Havilland Tiger Moth X5045. Flying Officer Douglas Williams (J/15206) took off from R.A.F. Sydenham on the morning of the crash. The Canadian pilot, serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 410 Squadron, had joined R.A.F. No. 1480 Flight based at Newtownards Airfield, Co. Down on 17th May 1943. The following day, he received a posting to R.A.F. Sydenham. Also in the Tiger Moth was Lieutenant George Leslie Werts of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
At around 15.45 hours on 12th June 1943, the plane ran into difficulties, stalled, and dived into the ground at Stormont. Both crew members on board the plane died as a result of the incident, the aircraft itself written off as damaged beyond repair."
Crew of Tiger Moth X5045:
F/O (J/15206) Douglas Williams (Pilot) RCAF - killed in service 12.6.1943
Lt. George Leslie Werts (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) RNVR - killed in service 12.6.1943
Lieutenant George Leslie Werts, RNVR, was officially attached to HMS Daedalus, the Royal Naval Air Station at Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. The CWGC (Commonwealth War Gaves Commision) lists F/O Douglas Williams as being attached to 410 (Canadian) Squadron RAF at the time of this incident: he came from Hamilton, Ontario.
The graves of both Flying Officer Douglas Williams and Lieutenant George Leslie Werts are in Belfast City Cemetery.
Sources:
1. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/15-aeroplanes/78-register-gb-g-ad
2. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-ADJH.pdf
3. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_G-A7.html
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p033.html
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?7086-Fg-Off-WILLIAMS-DOUGLAS-J-15206
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2931090/DOUGLAS%20WILLIAMS/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2931086/GEORGE%20LESLIE%20WERTS/
7. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/p033.html
8. https://wartimeni.com/article/aviation-incidents-in-ulster/tiger-moth-x5045-stormont-belfast/
9. https://air-britain.com/pdfs/production-lists/DH82.pdf
10. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1943-06JUN.htm
11. https://barryniblock.co.uk/world-war-two-war-dead/names-listed-alphabetically-by-surname/whelan-to-wilson/williams-douglas-no-j-15206/
12. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/canadaairwar/canadaairwar1943.pdf p.200
13. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2931090
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jan-2018 14:31 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 19-Apr-2019 11:15 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator] |
| 18-Aug-2021 18:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 18-Aug-2021 20:06 | TB | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative, Operator] |
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