![]() ![]() The flag was already there by the way, but we unfurled it, the wind had wrapped it around a piece of metal.īryan, I understand the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority have been instrumental in preserving air crash sites and actively promoting them as places of historical interest. The pressures of war made it so that new aircraft were not available for training. It was the case Amy that bombers used for training purposes had served operationally and so were more likely to have been damaged and then patched up again. For instance during that one month – November 1944 – Operational Training Units (OTUs) around the country lost a total of 29 Wellington bombers in crashes and accidents with the loss of 44 airmen and 3 civilians on the ground. It was really common for aircraft to crash, so these sort of coincidences were just more likely. I don’t know if it was all due to the same problem, probably just a coincidence that all three had problems with the starboard engine. I was reading on Sean’s post about someone in Preston who wanted to haul this off the mountainside and have it as a garden ornament, but he was prevented from doing so of course. As Rob says it is good to see that geodetic framework, it has survived very well. Ta mate and thanks again for driving, really. Dunno about the altitude thing, I think they may have been descending when it struck the ground, though they could have been flying level in which case yes a few more feet might have seen them clear. My Dad went off to join the RAF in 1938 but joined the Royal Navy instead on a whim, would almost certainly have ended up in a Wellington or a Hampden, statistically resulting in me not being able to reply to you either! Hi Richard, this was a day trip, Paul very kindly drove down (I say very kindly, truth is he hates my driving) but it was a long haul all the same, 9 hours driving there and back with an 8 mile walk in between. Septemat 1:10 It is odd to think how things might have panned out. Please see the comment below (29 October 2019) by Bill Grey regarding the Canadian flags at the site. Sergeant Alexander Angus Cameron (Air Gunner) aged 19 Pilot Officer Duncan McKenzie Roy (Pilot) aged 29įlight Sergeant Fred Knowles (Wireless op / Air Gunner) aged 23 Three of the crew were able to bale out, but the 3 Canadian crewmen remaining went down with their aircraft which crashed in a huge explosion on farmland south of Evesham. A fire broke out in the starboard engine nacelle which could not be extinguished. ![]() MF509 was one of three Wellington bombers from 22 OTU lost that night, all with starboard engine problems Ĭanadian pilot P/O Nezan managed to crash land Wellington MF505 at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford with none of the crew being injured. Sergenat Gerard Dusablon (Air Gunner) aged 20 Sergeant Arthur Grouix (Air Gunner) aged 22 Sergeant Joseph Paul Ernest Burke (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner) aged 20 Sergeant Jules Robert Rene Villeneuve (Navigator) aged 22įlying Officer William Joseph Allison (Bomb Aimer) aged 28 ![]() Wireless Op Sgt Burke had requested permission to descend below the cloud base because they were experiencing problems with the starboard engine, though what the pilot had in mind is unknown – was there icing in which case descending might have caused that to melt or was he hoping to put the bomber down somewhere? No-one knows for sure, because shortly afterwards the bomber flew into the hillside at Carrag Goch. The Wellington was flying from RAF Stratford on a night navigation exercise. Canadian crewed Wellington MF509 crashed in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales on November 20th 1944 with the loss of all crew members. This is one of the most celebrated and visited of air crash sites (because of the amount of wreckage remaining). ![]()
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