Blackburn Botha W5103 on Bleaklow, Peak District.
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Blackburn Botha W5103
First Officer Thomas William Rogers, Air Transport Auxiliary, was killed in the crash on 10 December 1941. This was a new Blackburn Botha being delivered from the factory near Leeds, to RAF Hawarden, near Chester. The exact cause of the crash is unknown, the official report suggesting First Officer Rogers had encountered cloud and flew on, trying to maintain visual contact with the ground.
Details from Pat Cunningham, Peakland Air Crashes – The North (2006).
2 photos below, site visit July 2020
Nice job Ian, interesting to see that they were built at Leeds as well as Brough; Blackburns must have been a Yorkshire company!
I recall as a small boy running down to the beach in St Annes where a Blackburn Botha had crashed onto the beach and watching as the blood stained crew were rescued and brought up the beach. There seems to be no record of this crash that I can find Can you advis.
MB Bailey
Hi Michael, do you recall when this was?
Blackburns were definitely a Leeds company. Initially based to the North of the city centre. Flights took place from “Soldiers Field” at Roundhay Park. During the war Blackburns had commandeered sections of Tate of Leeds (Ford Dealer) garage on New York Street. Olympia Works on Roundhay Road continued to be used for engineering until sometime in the late 1980s and the site is now a Tesco supermarket.