ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 22466
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| Date: | Sunday 6 October 1940 |
| Time: | 20:55 LT |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 61 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | X2920 |
| MSN: | QR-L |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Hartoft Moor east of Rosedale Abbey, North Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire |
| RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire |
Five Hampdens from 61 Squadron took off from their base at Hemswell in Lincolnshire around 19.00 hours on 5/10/1940 with this specific aircraft taking off at 19.09 hours. The weather on this evening was noted as "extremely bad, with gale blowing, icing and low cloud as well as rain" in the unit Operation Record Book and the crew were tasked with dropping mines in the "Eglantine" area at the Elbe Estuary.
Because of the poor weather, only three of the aircraft were successful in dropping their mines, and the others had to jettison them before making the return leg of the journey. Due to the bad weather over England their home airfield had become unavailable through mud and the crew of this aircraft was ordered to divert north to another airfield (thought to be RAF Leeming in Yorkshire).
For reasons unknown, although presumed to be through bad visibility, the Hampden crashed on the North York Moors, just east of Rosedale Abbey village with the loss of all on board. Almost certainly hopelessly lost in cloud at the time of the crash they are thought to have been flying roughly in a south-easterly direction. The aircraft first clipped the ground close to the Egton to Rosedale road and lost it's propellers, this road was close to the highest part of the ridge.
The aircraft continued for about half a mile and crashed some way down the moor from it's first impact. Due to the location of where the crash occurred, which was very close to a road, it is thought that almost all of the aircraft was removed in the days after the crash. it is said that, following the crash locals made attempts to siphon off fuel from one of the aircraft's wings tanks.
The crew had only been together for six days, all but the pilot having being crewed up on 39/9/1940 but with Sgt Oakley as pilot. Four days before their fatal crash four aircraft from 61 Squadron, including Pilot Officer Wright and this crew, had attacked an oil refinery in Hamburg, however P/O Wright had returned early from the trip due to radio trouble.
Hampden X2920 was built to contract B994449/39 by E.E.C. Ltd. at Samlesbury and after delivery to M.U. in August 1940 it was issued to 61 Squadron at Hemswell. It was written off with Cat.W/FB damage being recorded following the above incident on 6/10/1940.
Crew:
40162 Pilot Officer Gerald D'Arcy-Wright (pilot, aged 25) (killed),
746801 Sgt William Arthur Cannon (observer, aged 28) (killed),
751840 Sgt Walter Benedict Rayment (air gunner, aged 26) (killed),
970031 Sgt Alan Algar (wireless operator/air gunner, aged 19) (killed)
Sources:
1. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/planes/40/x2920.html
2. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2408979/d'arcy-wright,-gerald/
3. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2427195/cannon,-william-arthur/
4. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2723392/rayment,-walter-benedict/
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2702104/algar,-alan/
6. http://www.yorkshiremoors.co.uk/gazetteer/hartoft.html
7. https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/hartoft-moor-ryedale-yo188rr
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Aug-2008 01:11 | Anon. | Added |
| 16-Feb-2012 00:41 | Nepa | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 09-Jul-2018 18:26 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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