North American Harvard (AT6 Texan) FT415 on Kinder Scout.
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Harvard (AT6 Texan) FT415 on Kinder Scout
Midshipman Brian Farley of the Royal Naval Air Service was killed in the crash on 14 January 1952.
Midshipman Farley was a pupil pilot flying this old training aircraft. He was due to fly from RAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire to RAF Kemble in Gloucestershire.
Because he was so far off course (some 45 miles and heading North West to Manchester rather than South West to Cirencester ) it was 6 days before the wreck was found. Eyewitnesses saw the Harvard following the Manchester – Sheffield railway along the Edale valley, before pulling up abruptly as the railway enters the Cowburn Tunnel.
In low cloud and unaware of the hills around him, Midshipman Farley turned to the right but simply ran out of valley to fly along, crashing into Kinder Scout very close to the spot where Wing Commander Douglas Speare crashed.
It is suggested that the student pilot was planning on an unauthorised flight over his hometown of Stockport, South East of Manchester.
Close by this spot, a rock bears graffiti left by the salvage party; B WATSON RAF 1952
Details from PEAKLAND AIR CRASHES – THE NORTH by Pat Cunningham.
wow great shot Ian, love the depth to it and the focus on the cross
Great shot Ian – very sharp in the foreground with a great background of the rock outcrop. Its interesting too as my father was in the RAF and went to Canada ( Calgary ) to train on Harvards prior to being posted to India flying Liberators over Burma. Somewhere there are black & white pics of his time there, and when I`ve got a spare few hours ( lol ) I`m going to scan and upload them !
Do get ’em scanned and uploaded Dave, would love to see them. Always interesting to hear individual accounts and see photos from private collections. Crews were trained in Canada because they were safe from attack, and had access to American fuel and aircraft. Look forward to seeing your photos, but like you say, when you get a few hours spare…
I flew a Harvard as a 60th birthday present. It was like flying a brick … so safe and solid … but I guess flying into a hillside at 200 mph is still not a good idea.
Thanks for the shot and the tragic story.
great shot my friend
great shot my friend
interesting shot,we have old aerodromes near here and crash sites such as this up in the Cheviot Hills
Wow……………………what a beautiful shot!!!
Quite poignant with the small piles of rocks above. Nice history again Ian
Nice shot, makes a great tribute.