ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 213642
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| Date: | Thursday 10 April 1941 |
| Time: | afternoon |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 50 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | AD830 |
| MSN: | VN-A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | St. Denys Road, Evington, 3 miles East of Leicester, Leicestershire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Lindholme |
On 10 April 1941 Handley Page Hampden Mk.I AD830 (VN-A) lost on Active Service during an air test, and crashed at St. Denys Road, Evington, 3 miles East of Leicester, Leicestershire. It is possible that the aircraft was engaged in unauthorised low flying, and that the pilot was "showing off" to his girlfriend. Of the crew of three, two crew members are known to have perished, and one was severely injured;
Pilot: 971123 Sgt. John James Campbell RAFVR - Killed and
WOp/Air Gunner: 743067 Flight Sgt. Leslie Albert Carn RAFVR - killed
The official Air Ministry (RAF) accident report reads as follows:-
‘A Hampden, with Sergeant John James Campbell as pilot, took off to carry out a general test prior to an operational trip that night. The flight was to have been for about three hours’ duration. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were favourable. The cloud base was about 3,000 feet and visibility was over 5 miles.
Two hours later the aircraft was seen flying at tree-top height near St. Denys Road, Evington. After circling for a few minutes it dived lightly and then levelled out. Immediately afterwards the port mainplane struck the roofs of three houses, demolishing the chimney stacks. A woman standing in the back garden of No. 26 St. Denys Road, was killed by falling debris. After hitting the houses it struck high trees about 40 yards distant and the tail unit and part of the bomb compartment were torn off. It then crashed into the adjoining field and distributed itself over a distance of 120 yards, killing the pilot and the 1st WOp/Air Gunner
Interviewed at the hospital next day, the 2nd WOp/Air Gunner., who was the sole survivor, said that a short while before the crash they had been flying round the telephone exchange at Uppingham. It was later learned that the pilot had, until two days before, been on leave, staying at St. Denys Road, Evington, with a lady friend, who was a telephonist employed at Uppingham Exchange.’
Flight Sgt. Carn is buried in Southend-On-Sea (Sutton Road) Cemetery, while Sgt. Campbellis buried in Hatfield Woodhouse Cemetery. The crash site was an open plot of land at the time of the crash; building on the land had been suspended due to the outbreak of war. However, postwar (in 1947-49) the crash site was built upon, and is now 36 St. Denys Road, Evington, Leicestershire.
The civilian woman who was killed in the back garden of 26 St. Denys Road by falling wreckage was named as Mrs. Maud Loiusa Harris, aged 26.
Sources:
1. http://www.no-50-and-no-61-squadrons-association.co.uk/app/download/5802508903/50+SQUADRON+ORB+1939+1943+Revision+1.pdf
2. http://www.evingtonecho.co.uk/2nd-world-war-bomber-crash-st-denys-road-evington-10th-april-1941/
3. 50 Squadron ORB (Air Ministry Form 540): http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503123
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2401803/campbell,-john-james/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2427272/carn,-leslie-albert/
6. http://aircrewremembered.com/campbell-john-james.html
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 27 September 1940 | L4062 | 50 Sqn RAF | 0 | RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire, England | |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Jul-2018 22:49 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 25-Jul-2018 22:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Nov-2018 20:26 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport, Operator] |
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