Date:	Saturday 24 July 1954
Time:	night
Type:	English Electric Canberra B.2
Owner/operator:	40 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WJ720
MSN:	71239
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Great Wood, North Elmham, near East Dereham, Norfolk -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire (EGXT)
Destination airport:	RAF Marham, Norfolk (EGYM)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
EE Canberra B.Mk.2 WJ720, 40 Squadron, RAF: Written off 24/07/1954: Flew into ground on night GCA approach at Great Wood, North Elmham, near East Dereham**, Norfolk, killing all three crew. The wreckage of the aircraft was found to have had the bomb bay doors open at the moment of impact, and the possible cause of the crash was attributed to engine failure (engine surging)

Crew of Canberra WJ720:
Flight Lieutenant George Samuel WILKES (Service Number 201044, pilot, aged 33)
Flying Officer Derek Nelson (navigator/plotter, aged 21)
Sergeant Gerald White (navigator/observer, aged 28)

**Note: According to the Services Accidents Investigation (AI/S Series) Files, held at the National Archives at Kew, the crash location is given as "near Swanton Morley, Norfolk" (see link #4)

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.161 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 61)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.76
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT 233/224: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424345
5. http://web.archive.org/web/20170723045927/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/BASES_RAF/Marham/raf_marham.htm
6. http://web.archive.org/web/20150208115833/http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn036-40.htm
7. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WJ

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

29 April 1963

WJ719

98 Sqn RAF

0

Samsun, Old Airport (SSX)

w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Jun-2008 21:33	JINX	Added
17-Jun-2008 10:36	JINX	Updated
08-Apr-2013 23:29	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
19-Oct-2018 19:40	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
10-Jan-2020 01:53	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
16-Apr-2020 21:33	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative]