ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 346496
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| Date: | Monday 25 October 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington GR XIV |
| Owner/operator: | 612 RAF |
| Registration: | HF204 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | St Brides Bay West Wales. -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | RAF Chivenor |
| Return. |
Details:
No.612 squadron entered the Second World War as a General Reconnaissance unit within RAF Coastal Command, initially flying the Avro Anson which were soon replaced with the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley during November 1940. The squadron successfully operated the Whitley until being superseded by the various marks of the Vickers Wellington fitted for General Reconnaissance (GR). It was the Wellington that the squadron operated until the wars end. These aircraft were equipped with a variety of Anti-Submarine equipment including the Leigh Light. This was a powerful searchlight that enabled surprise nighttime attacks on unwary U-Boats sailing on the surface and re-charging their batteries under the cover of night. Before the Leigh Light, not a single enemy submarine had been sunk in over five months, but in combination with radar, it was so overwhelmingly effective that many German submarine crews chose to surface during the day so that they could at least see the aircraft attacking them and have a chance to fire their anti-aircraft weaponry in defence.
The squadron began the change from the Whitley to the Wellington during 1942 and Took delivery of the GR XIV during June 1943. HF204 arrived during the first intake and allocated the radio codes ‘WL-A’.
Sadly, the squadron ORB is quite vague with the records of happenings other than operational flights, all that is recorded for this event is that they were on a Leigh-Light exercise over the Western end of the Severn/Bristol Channel, in particular, the sea off West Wales.
Squadron records.
“25-10-1943. F/S Alexander in ‘A’ on XXXX FX exercise in St Brides Bay. Did not return & presumed to have ditched into the sea.
26-10-1943. Mainly fair haze dispersing after dawn. Reforming at dusk. Bodies of Sgt J.L. Fisher & Sgt Bourdin recovered from the sea off the coast of S. Wales.
As is the records held with the National Archives, there are two sets, the squadron summery then there is the squadron records of events. It is within the latter, the aircrew breakdown, and listings along with the aircraft serial number is often found. Unfortunately, the crew list for this event is not recorded. The only list of the crew is seen on the operation on the 18th of October, it is here the sixth crew member is listed, one Sgt Terence Roy Dent RAAF. However, he is listed on the CWGC site as a crew member from a Lancaster of 463 Sqn’ lost on the 31st of August 1944. Clearly, he was not on this Wellington. It is to that end, the sixth member remains a mystery.
The AM form 1180 reads:
‘Aircraft crashed into sea, wreckage found and bodies. It is more than probable pilot did not make a safe height allowance and struck the sea. If the aircraft had been fitted with a radio altimeter the accident would not have occurred.’
(Sometimes it can be difficult to decipher the writer’s script as was the case).
I have researched the date with the CWGC, and 40 names came up, 12 were from 220 squadron flying the Fortress II with Coastal Command, 8 are from 226 squadron flying the Mitchell medium bomber, four with 312 Czech Sqn’, a Wellington crew of 14 OTU. Then there are two Welsh burials. Sgt Myrddin Hallam buried at Treorchy a crew member of Wellington HZ137 which overshot its landing at RAF Milltown, crashing into trees, killing all the six crew. Finally, Sgt George Leslie Newton RAFVR buried at Cwmbran Cemetery (I thought he was a strong contender for the mystery crew member). Then I found he had sadly died while at home on leave at the Forge Hammer Hotel in Cwmbran from Pneumonia. Hopefully the mystery crew members identity will be revealed in the future.
Crew:
F/Sgt Kenneth Albert Alexander 657919 RAF. Pilot. Missing. 1
Sgt Lucien Emmanuel Rene Bourdin 23yo 30497 Free French. F/Engr. Killed. 2
F/Sgt Thomas Ashcroft 23yo 1035565 RAFVR. Missing. 3
Sgt James John Joseph Fisher 21yo 1382898 RAFVR. W/Op. Killed. 4
F/Sgt Wilfred Lawson Jones 1202902 RAFVR. A/Gnr. Missing. 5
Buried:
1 Runnymede Memorial. Panel 134.
2 Haverford West. Re-Buried at Maure-de-Bretagne (Ille-et-Vilaine).
3 Runnymede Memorial. Panel 135.
4 East Sheen Cemetery. Section L. Grave 141.
5 Runnymede Memorial. Panel 137.
Wreckage:
A well known and popular dive site easily identifiable as a Wellington.
Memorials:
CWGC Headstone. RAF Memorial at Runnymede.
Additional Information:
The Leigh Light was also developed for use by land forces and had the name Canal Defence Light (CDL) and mounted on a tank. It was intended to be used during night-time attacks, when the light would allow enemy positions to be targeted. A secondary use of the light would be to dazzle and disorientate enemy troops, making it harder for them to return fire accurately. The name Canal Defence Light was used to conceal the device's true purpose.
Sources:
www.united-kingdom.greatestdivesites.com
www.dive-pembrokeshire.com
www.francaislibres.net
www.cwgc.org
www.rafcommands.com
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2023 05:19 | Davies 62 | Added |
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