ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 205018
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| Date: | Monday 23 March 1942 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Fairey Battle Mk I (TT) |
| Owner/operator: | 5 B&GS RCAF |
| Registration: | RCAF 1892 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Big Quill Lake, 6 miles from RCAF Dafoe, Saskatchewan -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RCAF Dafoe, Saskatchewan |
March 23, 1942: At Bombing and Gunnery Schools trainee Air Gunners were taught air-to-air firing. This was accomplished by use of a drogue that resembled a very large windsock. The drogue was towed behind an aircraft to which it was attached by a steel cable. The aircraft towing the drogue was referred to as a target tug. The trainee Air Gunner would be in a second aircraft. The pilot of the second aircraft would make passes at the drogue while the trainee fired at it.
On March 23, 1943 two target tugs and two Fairey Battle aircraft carrying trainee Air Gunners were to fly air-to-air firing exercises over Big Quill Lake. In Fairey Battle number 1892 were trainee Air Gunners LACs George Gerald Hower and Donald Francis Hood, along with their pilot. The other aircraft, carrying trainee Air Gunners was Fairey Battle number 2069 that had LAC Emerson Phillip Harris and his brother, LAC Gordon Harris, as well as their pilot, Flight Sergeant Harry Naoum. All involved were members of the R.C.A.F.
The Fairey Battle had large blind spots for the pilot. He could not see above and behind, or directly down, or over the nose and down. This shortcoming, combined with a disregard for standing orders, was to lead to tragic results on more than one occasion.
All four planes were to meet at the rendezvous point over Big Quill Lake but one of the target tugs was delayed by radio problems. Fairey Battle 1892 was the first aircraft to reach the rendezvous point and the pilot circled around for about ten minutes waiting for the other three aircraft. Finally he spotted a target tug approaching, and since he could see no other aircraft in the area, he began to make his approach on the drogue behind the target tug. Suddenly, Fairey Battle 2069 appeared and crossed in front of 1892 and seemed to be making for the drogue but instead flew alongside the target tug. Then the pilot of 2069 positioned his aircraft above 1892 and jockeyed up and down as if trying to signal something to 1892, but the pilot of 1892 had no idea what the signal might mean. Fairy Battle 2069 then disappeared from the sight of the pilot of 1892.
The pilot of Fairey Battle 1892 now thought 2069 had cleared the area and he was alone. 1892 hit an updraft and rose slightly in the air, the pilot heard a loud bang and his aircraft started to spin down toward the lake. Fairey Battle 2069 had been immediately above Fairey Battle 1892 and the propeller of 2069 had chopped the tail off of 1892. The propeller, engine, and engine cowling fell off of 2069 and the aircraft fell into a flat spin heading for the ground. The pilot of Fairey Battle 1892, Flight Sergeant W.M. Haggart, managed to parachute to safety. LAC Gordon Harris, brother of LAC Emerson Harris, was in 2069 and was injured when he was thrown clear of the wreckage.
Gordon Harris survived his injuries. Flight Sergeant Naoum and LACs Hood, Hower, and Harris were killed when the two mangled aircraft hit the ground.
The investigation into the crash determined that the first aircraft at the rendezvous point had priority over the target drogue. That aircraft was Fairey Battle 1892. There was no explanation found as to why Flight Sergeant Naoum in Battle 2069 had flown in what appeared to be such an erratic manner, but his actions were a breach of flying regulations. That breach cost not only his own, but three other lives as well.
Crew of Battle RCAF 1892
Flight Sergeant W.M. Haggart (pilot) - bailed out, parachuted safely to earth, survived
LAC (R/122168) Donald Francis Hood (Wireless Op/Air Gunner) was 21 years old. Killed on active service 23/6/1942. Buried at Burnaby (Ocean View) Park Cemetery, British Columbia
LAC (R/123408) George Gerald Joseph Hower (Drogue Winch Operator) was 21 years of age, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He was a member of the R.C.A.F. Killed on active service 23/3/1942. LAC Hower is buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Whitehall, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A
Fairey Battle RCAF 1892 was ex-RAF L5220: Brief history was as follows...
(as RAF L5220)
22/07/1939: Delivered to the RAF at 150 Squadron
19/09/1939: To 27 MU RAF Shawbury, Shropshire
20/09/1939; Damaged when force-landed in a field Hinton, Shropshire
14/11/1939: Scottish Aviation at Prestwick for repairs
08/06/1940; Fairey Aircraft at Heaton Chapel, Stockport for further repairs
20/07/1940; Returned to RAF charge at 20 MU RAF Aston Down, Gloucestershire
27/08/1940. Returned to Service with 12 Squadron, RAF
16/12/1940: Withdrawn from service to 38 MU
22/02/1941: To 47 MU RAF Sealand, Flintshire to be crated and packed for shipment overseas
02/03/1941: Struck Off RAF charge
(as RCAF 1892)
07/04/1941; Taken on charge by the RCAF as 1892
14/05/1941: To 2 Training Command, RCAF
23/03/1942: Written off in collision with Battle RCAF 2069 as per the above
31/03/1942: Struck Off Charge by the RCAF
Sources:
1. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain, 1997 p.145/p.190)
2. Saskatoon Star-Phoenix 24 March 1942, p3
3. https://www.old.bombercommandmuseum.ca/s,dafoesaskatchewan.pdf
4. http://www.rwrwalker.ca/RCAF_1850_1899_detailed.html
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2848971/DONALD%20FRANCIS%20HOOD/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2720001/GEORGE%20GERALD%20JOSEPH%20HOWER/
7. https://www.rcafassociation.ca/heritage/history/fallen-aviators/rcaf-casualties-second-world-war/hornell-to-hyt/
8. https://www.rcafassociation.ca/heritage/history/fallen-aviators/rcaf-casualties-second-world-war/hillcoat-to-horne/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Jan-2018 17:35 | TB | Added |
| 24-Oct-2020 23:52 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Oct-2020 23:53 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 27-Oct-2020 21:02 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Oct-2020 21:04 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 27-Oct-2020 21:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 27-Oct-2020 21:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 28-Oct-2020 15:31 | T.T.Taylor | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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