ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 238774
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| Date: | Sunday 14 January 1945 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 51 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | MZ465 |
| MSN: | MH-Y |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Ford, Yapton, Arundel, West Sussex, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Snaith, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Ford, West Sussex |
Seldom, if ever, during World War 2 did an RAF bomber land on an English airfield with more damage than No. 51 Squadron's Halifax III MZ465 MH-Y ("Y-Yorker") after its bombing attack on Saarbrücken on 13/14th January 1945. Nine feet of the nose was chopped completely off when the Halifax collided with another bomber (Halifax LL590/L8-L of 347 Squadron, RAF Elvington North Yorkshire), but it struggled back to this country with only three of its flying instruments still working, to make a perfect landing. Some of the skin on the nose was bent round and gave some protection against the wind which whistled through the aircraft as it flew home at 7,000 feet. But the captain, Flying Officer AL Wilson, of Leicester, and the rest of his crew were frozen as they struggled to keep the aircraft flying. (The navigator and the bomb-aimer, neither of whom were then wearing parachutes, had fallen out of the aircraft at the time of the collision).
The four engines continued to function perfectly after the collision, although the propellers were dented, probably by bits of wreckage which shook loose and flew off the fuselage. The radio was still working five minutes after the collision, but had to be shut off because of shorting; blue sparks were playing around the aircraft and there was danger of fire. In that short five minutes, before the radio was cut off, the operator was able to send out an SOS which was received in England. As a result (MH-Y) "Y -Yorker" was given special landing aids when it landed on an emergency airfield. The intercom was unserviceable as well as the ASI, the DR compass, and many other vital instruments for flying and navigation. "Y -Yorker" dived 1,500 feet after the collision, with the pilot struggling to gain control. He managed to do this and brought the aircraft up to 11,000 feet again. At this height it stalled, but he managed to keep it at 7,000 feet and at this height flew home to land at RAF Ford, Yapton, Arundel, West Sussex
Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Andrew Leighton Wilson RAF 188411 (NCO:1432149 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 09 January, 1945)
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Thomas Glyndor Parsons RAFVR
Navigator : Pilot Officer Thomas Stanley Harris Whitehouse RAFVR 189679 [Killed] (NCO:1473351 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 13 February, 1945). Berthenonville Churchyard, France
Bomb Aimer : Pilot Officer David Hauber RAFVR 189795 [Killed] (NCO:1324666 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 13 February, 1945) St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant David Llewellyn Hewitt RAFVR
Air Gunner : Sergeant G R Cole RAFVR
Air Gunner : Sergeant R A Richardson RAFVR
Sources:
1. http://aircrewremembered.com/wilson-leighton-jouzier.html
2. https://www.51squadron.com/copy-of-poems-stories
3. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/217753
4. http://sas.raf38group.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=447
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=MZ465
6. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=3881
7. https://www.dnw.co.uk/auction-archive/special-collections/lot.php?specialcollection_id=221&lot_uid=77071
8. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jul-2020 21:55 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 29-Jul-2020 09:34 | Apen | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Operator] |
| 13-Jan-2024 07:30 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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