Hi. I wonder if this means anything to you. My father was in the RAF from 1936 to 1945. He told us very little of his experiences but one story he told us concerned the crash, on a RAF station, of a Blackburn aircraft which caught fire and killed all occupants including a visiting rugby team. 2 of the squadrons he served in were Now 54 and 139. I realize that these are scant details but such was his reticence relating to his time in the RAF. James John
Hi James, I will have a look around and get back to you if I find anything. Your dad’s reluctance to talk of his time during the war is not unusual among Bomber Command crews especially, which is very sad. I know of many who never spoke of their war. Now some of the few still around go to airshows and are asked for their autograph! I don’t know if your dad was in Bomber Command? Any other details you know will help?
Ian
does anyone have any information of an RAF crash which occurred in Leicestershire near the village of Desford around 1952? Believe it was a fighter jet.
My researches indicate that in the early 1950s there were five aircraft losses at or near RAF Desford. They are as follows;
23.04.50 N9272 Tiger Moth T2 of 7 RFS. Whilst landing at RAF Desford, the aircraft swung off the runway and collided with a building.
18.03.51 VZ404 Meteor F4 coded TM-J of 504 Sqn. Crashed near Desford, Leics killing the pilot. No cause for this accident was ever determined.
Sergeant RCC Godsell.
18.05.52 VS366 Prentice T1 of 7 RFS. Dived into the ground 2 miles S of Shepshed, Leics, whilst flying from RAF Desford. Both crew were killed.
Flight Lieutenant HEW Butterworth,
Flying Officer LH Williams.
29.07.52 WK519 Chipmunk T10 of 5 BFTS. Hit by Chip¬munk T10 WK547 while parked at Desford.
29.07.52 WK547 Chipmunk T10 of 5 BFTS. During the take off run at Desford, this Chipmunk collided with another Chipmunk, WK519 which was parked at the time.
It would seem like the Meteor is the only one that really fits the bill.
Hi, yes, that seems to be the one. I was at a school in Desford at that time and it appears the plane was on a course to possibly hit the school, but the story goes that the pilot held the plane up to miss the school and finally crashed about
half mile away to the north-west.
My father was killed in an RAF DAKOTA air crash in Nigeria on June 8th 1946 – all other passengers & crew were also killed. They were buried in a collective grave near the crash site near Oni – not on modern maps – were reinterred in the Yaba cemetery in Lagos in the late 1950s as Oni was too far from Lagos to be looked after properly The aircraft was caught in a tropical storm flying from Kano in the North of Nigeria to Lagos where Dad was based with the RAMC prior to planned demobilisation Any other information on this? Am planning maybe to visit his grave in Lagos but at 77, the trip may be too much
I am looking for any information about a Douglas DC3 crash near Spalding, Lincolnshire at the end of, or just after the war. I have an eye witness account of it going down in the River Glen, but I can find nothing about it on the Internet. It was apparently carrying casualties along with doctors and nurses. All personal lost. Any info greatfully received.precise location was at Guthram Gowt, near Pinchbeck, Spalding.
My own records do not go back beyond 1950 so I had to do a bit of internet searaching. I have only found one reference to a Dakota crash that specifically mentions Pinchbeck as the location but of course there could be others. Anyway on the bcar website is the following reference;
5th Jan 1945, Dakota 43-48727 48TCS/313TCG Crashed near West Pinchbeck, possibly 4 killed. Pilot Harry R Klaus.
It may be a bit of a long shot but could this be the one you are looking for. Sorry that I have no further information. A trawl of the local newspapers might provide more information.
John Penney, I have been researching the history of the 313thTCG for the last twenty years and have just come across your post here. I would like to get in touch with you about this crash. I was in touch with the family of Harry Klaus who was one of the pilots several years ago. I can be reached at 313thtcg@gmail.com regards Richard Chancellor
Somewhere around 1953 I lived on a farm not very far from Eastnor near Ledbury when news of a meteor bomber had crashed at Eastnor Now why is it I cannot find any details about that particular incident?. I know for sure that is the truth because my parents went to observe, And brought back a universal ball joint which they used as a door stop for many years.
Geoff Sayce in Surrey.
I agree with Ian that the most likely incident involved the Canberra he mentions. Firstly the Meteor was called all sorts of things in ts day but never a bomber and secondly in the period 1950 to 1954 I have recorded many hundreds of Meteor accidents. None seemed to met their end at Eastnor.
For the record the Canberra was on a sortie from RAF Scampton and the crew that lost their lives were;
Flying Officer MC Erskine,
Sergeant VM Parker,
Flying Officer GB Ricketts.
The link provided by Ian has a silhouette of a different mark of Canberra, WJ759 was a B2 of 27 Squadron and was lost on 17th June 1954.
Hope this helps.
Quite an array of locations and experiences. As usual Ian you are telling a story with your images.
Hi. I wonder if this means anything to you. My father was in the RAF from 1936 to 1945. He told us very little of his experiences but one story he told us concerned the crash, on a RAF station, of a Blackburn aircraft which caught fire and killed all occupants including a visiting rugby team. 2 of the squadrons he served in were Now 54 and 139. I realize that these are scant details but such was his reticence relating to his time in the RAF. James John
Hi James, I will have a look around and get back to you if I find anything. Your dad’s reluctance to talk of his time during the war is not unusual among Bomber Command crews especially, which is very sad. I know of many who never spoke of their war. Now some of the few still around go to airshows and are asked for their autograph! I don’t know if your dad was in Bomber Command? Any other details you know will help?
Ian
does anyone have any information of an RAF crash which occurred in Leicestershire near the village of Desford around 1952? Believe it was a fighter jet.
Dear Keith,
My researches indicate that in the early 1950s there were five aircraft losses at or near RAF Desford. They are as follows;
23.04.50 N9272 Tiger Moth T2 of 7 RFS. Whilst landing at RAF Desford, the aircraft swung off the runway and collided with a building.
18.03.51 VZ404 Meteor F4 coded TM-J of 504 Sqn. Crashed near Desford, Leics killing the pilot. No cause for this accident was ever determined.
Sergeant RCC Godsell.
18.05.52 VS366 Prentice T1 of 7 RFS. Dived into the ground 2 miles S of Shepshed, Leics, whilst flying from RAF Desford. Both crew were killed.
Flight Lieutenant HEW Butterworth,
Flying Officer LH Williams.
29.07.52 WK519 Chipmunk T10 of 5 BFTS. Hit by Chip¬munk T10 WK547 while parked at Desford.
29.07.52 WK547 Chipmunk T10 of 5 BFTS. During the take off run at Desford, this Chipmunk collided with another Chipmunk, WK519 which was parked at the time.
It would seem like the Meteor is the only one that really fits the bill.
Regards
Brian Lewis
Hi, yes, that seems to be the one. I was at a school in Desford at that time and it appears the plane was on a course to possibly hit the school, but the story goes that the pilot held the plane up to miss the school and finally crashed about
half mile away to the north-west.
My father was killed in an RAF DAKOTA air crash in Nigeria on June 8th 1946 – all other passengers & crew were also killed. They were buried in a collective grave near the crash site near Oni – not on modern maps – were reinterred in the Yaba cemetery in Lagos in the late 1950s as Oni was too far from Lagos to be looked after properly The aircraft was caught in a tropical storm flying from Kano in the North of Nigeria to Lagos where Dad was based with the RAMC prior to planned demobilisation Any other information on this? Am planning maybe to visit his grave in Lagos but at 77, the trip may be too much
My Great Uncles son Cecil Morgan was on board this plane thanks for the info.Paula
I am looking for any information about a Douglas DC3 crash near Spalding, Lincolnshire at the end of, or just after the war. I have an eye witness account of it going down in the River Glen, but I can find nothing about it on the Internet. It was apparently carrying casualties along with doctors and nurses. All personal lost. Any info greatfully received.precise location was at Guthram Gowt, near Pinchbeck, Spalding.
Hi John,
My own records do not go back beyond 1950 so I had to do a bit of internet searaching. I have only found one reference to a Dakota crash that specifically mentions Pinchbeck as the location but of course there could be others. Anyway on the bcar website is the following reference;
5th Jan 1945, Dakota 43-48727 48TCS/313TCG Crashed near West Pinchbeck, possibly 4 killed. Pilot Harry R Klaus.
It may be a bit of a long shot but could this be the one you are looking for. Sorry that I have no further information. A trawl of the local newspapers might provide more information.
Brian Lewis
Thank you Brian, I’m sure that is the one. Now I know the date I can do some more research as you say.
John Penney, I have been researching the history of the 313thTCG for the last twenty years and have just come across your post here. I would like to get in touch with you about this crash. I was in touch with the family of Harry Klaus who was one of the pilots several years ago. I can be reached at 313thtcg@gmail.com regards Richard Chancellor
Hi Jim,
I assume that you seen the information contained in the following link;
https://kingscollections.org/warmemorials/kings-college/memorials/rowson-donald-george
Brian Lewis
Somewhere around 1953 I lived on a farm not very far from Eastnor near Ledbury when news of a meteor bomber had crashed at Eastnor Now why is it I cannot find any details about that particular incident?. I know for sure that is the truth because my parents went to observe, And brought back a universal ball joint which they used as a door stop for many years.
Geoff Sayce in Surrey.
I look forward to anything you can find out because good men lost their lives and should not be over looked. thank you.
Hi Geoff, I wonder if the aircraft was Canberra WJ579 which crashed at Eastnor in 1954, please see link below.
Canberra WJ579
Ian
Hi Geoff,
I agree with Ian that the most likely incident involved the Canberra he mentions. Firstly the Meteor was called all sorts of things in ts day but never a bomber and secondly in the period 1950 to 1954 I have recorded many hundreds of Meteor accidents. None seemed to met their end at Eastnor.
For the record the Canberra was on a sortie from RAF Scampton and the crew that lost their lives were;
Flying Officer MC Erskine,
Sergeant VM Parker,
Flying Officer GB Ricketts.
The link provided by Ian has a silhouette of a different mark of Canberra, WJ759 was a B2 of 27 Squadron and was lost on 17th June 1954.
Hope this helps.
Brian