Ablemarle V1609 ,Hartford,Cheshire, 15 april 1944 42 OTU RAF Ashborne

A drive out to Cheshire to find 2 sites.

In the warm days of April 1944 the pace of training was accelerating across England for D Day. Ablemarle aircraft of 42 OTU RAF Ashbourne, Derbyshire were to play a key part in operation 'TONGA ' the air dropping of the 6th airborne over Normandy.

Ablemarle Mk2 V1609 took off with its crew of 5 on a training flight to RAF Tilstock Shropshire. Climbing into the sunny day the crew set course, but some time later in the small village of Hartford locals heard the approach of a plane. This plane grew closer and passed over Chester Road it then began a turn to pass over again this time lower. V1609 turned and dropped lower, but on this pass the crews luck ran out clipping the chimney of a cottage in a row called 'The Villas', the damaged plane fell and crashed across the road into a wall and broke up over farm land on Grange Farm behind the wall.

The rear turret was thrown onto the road with its injured occupant trapped inside, locals ran to help but sadly only the Gunner was saved from the crew of 5.

On the street today nothing shows but a small plaque placed on the wall next to the crash site, this happened after local objections to a housing development on the site and fears that these young men would never be remembered after the area was put under tarmac.

Across the road the villas still stand and if you look carefully you can see the rebuilt chimney on the end of the row. One of the crew lost, Sgt Aubrey Graham Crowe, lived a few doors down from this house and it is likely the crew fell into a all too common trap of performing high jinks over a family home as they were 50 miles off the intended track.

Sgt Crowe rests in a family plot in St Johns church overlooking the crash site.

Crew lost in V1609 =

F/Sgt R.P.H.Brown

W/o F.A.Andrew

F/Sgt A.G.Crowe

F/Sgt J.Crichton

Survived =

Sgt A.Ewen

 

Spitfires P7304 and P7444 collision, 22nd August 1943 60 OTU RAF Rednal, Hincks Plantation Telford

22^ND August  1943 two 60 OTU Mk2A  Spitfires sat waiting for their young pilots at RAF Rednal, Shropshire. The pilots both Belgian exiles Sgt J.J.Albert  and P/o H.M.Goldsmit  who were training to fight on for the UK, boarded the Spitfires and taxied out on a combat training mission over Shropshire. The pilots commenced a turning fight near Newport and during this the aircraft P7304 [Albert] and P7444[Goldsmit] collided, P7304 went out of control diving into soft ground at Hinks Plantation not far from Donnington , Telford with the sad loss of the pilot Sgt Albert, P7444 limped away.  There is some debate where  P/o Goldsmit made for to land his damaged plane, but as RAF High Ercall is very close seems it would have been a  good place to get down ASAP .

 

In 1977 WARG [Wartime aircraft recovery group ] carried out a dig at the site and found many remains including the battered engine, these are now on show in the fantastic museum on Sleap Airfield near Shrewsbury. Also on the access road at the old RAF Rednal  a memorial to Sgt J.J.Albert  is visible in a small fenced area .

 

I cannot say whether the Spitfire model in a garden near Hinks Plantation is to do with this loss, the codes are not of P7304 and I couldn’t find the owner to ask but I like to think it’s a fitting reminder.

 

Whitley P4939 Sandleigh recreation ground, Wotton, RAF Abingdon, April 29th 1941 10 OTU

Behind the houses of Sandleigh near RAF Abingdon is a quiet play area, here on the night of April 29^th 1941 Whitley P4939, 10 OTU crashed with the sad loss of its 4 crew.

 

At 1.15am Whitley P4939 lifted off from RAF Abingdon, the young crew were to fly training circuits and landings over Abingdon. As the plane climbed away over Wotton, the plane’s nose was seen to drop and lose height. the pilot tried to correct but pulled up too sharply and the heavy bomber stalled, falling on to Sandleigh Recreation Ground, Sandleigh, Wotton.

 

 Standing on the playground today no trace can be seen of this sad loss.

 

Crew of P4939

F/O  L.S.Bradburn [pilot]

Sgt  V.G.Pledge  [pilot]

Sgt  R.N.Birkhead [wireless op ]

Sgt  D.F.Percival  [wireless