Halifax NP681, OW-J Linton-on-Ouse 426 Sqn R.C.A.F . Wallingford Oxfordshire 9th September 1944

9th September , 1944 allied forces were besieging Le Harve to help support this Bomber command sent a force of Heavies to blast the defenders one of these planes was Halifax NP681, OW-J flying from Linton-on-Ouse the plane and crew were part of 426 Sqn R.C.A.F .

Taking off in the early morning the flight was uneventful until over the target but due to cloud the the planes turned home NP681 was unlucky to have run into what little flack that was put up and reported some damage and attempting to jettison the bomb load of 16 x 500lbs over the channel but only 4 were left at the bottom of the water 12 hung up, later over Reading the port outer exploded into flames the pilot F/o J.A.Wilding ordered his crew to leave the stricken plane 5 successfully bailed as Wilding and the flight engineer Sgt J.F.Andrew struggled to control the bomber as the last man jumped the port wing disintegrated sending the bomber into a dive hitting open fields near Newnham Murren where the remaining bombs detonated both F/o Wilding and Sgt Andrew were lost .

On the 21st May 1960 locals erected a cairn and plaque commemorating the 2 crew whose sacrifice saved many on the ground and the 5 crew 2 the cairn stands at the junction of 2 roads named in Wildings and Andrews honour .

 

Typhoon DN444 22nd March 1943 Sgt Quentin MacPhail 'Mac' Shippee.247 Sqn Brookside Telford

In the quiet road of Bishopdale, Brookside, Telford nothing today shows of the sad loss of a Typhoon Ib and its young Canadian pilot.

22nd of March, 1943 R.A.F High Ercall 4 pilots boarded their 247 Sqn [China-British] Typhoon Ib’s which had been sent from R.A.F Middle Wallop on 30hr inspections. The pilots were P/O Herbert Langree Van Zuilecom, Sgt William Leslie Wheeler, P/O Aitchison and Sgt Quentin MacPhail 'Mac' Shippee.

Spending the morning sorting flight plans and checking the weather as one plane was still not ready, the flight leader P/O Zuilecom, decided that the planes would take off at 16.00 hrs as the weather seemed ok though marginal with haze and low cloud. Leaving the ground the 4 Typhoons formed up and set course but almost immediately the flight flew into worsening conditions, unable to maintain formation 2 of the big fighter bombers flew back to High Ercall and the leader made it as far as R.A.F Defford, Worcestershire.

One of the Typhoons, DN444 Piloted by Sgt Shippee was not seen by the other pilots after take off ,not long after the flight broke up Sgt Shippee was over Windmill Farm, Madeley. A young boy near the railway in Madeley heard the plane overhead and noted its engine noise was erratic, looking skyward he saw a large shape break the mist only 15 ft above the ground and at high speed the plane crashed and was totally destroyed, Sgt Shippee did not survive the crash.

Sgt Sgt Quentin MacPhail 'Mac' Shippee was buried in St Cuthberts Church , Donington , Albrighton

 

Oxford W6648 11 [P]AFU , RAF Shawbury ,29th of December 1943 Pilot Officer Gerald Obenauf Dawson

A quick trip out to find a few local sites with Tricia .

Oxford W6648 11 [P]AFU took off from RAF Shawbury on the morning of the 29th of December 1943 for a training flight to the west of the Wrekin the young Pilot Officer Gerald Obenauf Dawson was to practice climbing turns , stalls and single engine flying , at about 10.45 am the Oxford was over Cressage, Shropshire and was seen to be slowing into a stall but sadly the young pilot misjudged the height available as the plane dropped out of the stall into a spin the pilot tried to recover but with no time left the plane crashed on the slopes of Harnage woods killing P/o Dawson .

In the wood today all that shows is a break in the trees and disturbed growth on the slope as the woods are private I only took photos and left

P/o Dawson is buried at Blancon Cemetery Chester .

 

Do335-12 [RP+UB] 240112, Cove Junior School , Hampshire ,12th January 1946 , RAE Farnborough

A work trip to the south to Cove gave me the chance to visit the crash site of a very unusual plane.

At the end of fighting in WW2 Europe, allied forces had been finding many weapons and technology and set about evaluating them and seeing what they could learn. One such weapon was the Do335 a push puller type of aircraft only a very few were captured by American forces in the factory was a Do335-12 trainer [RP+UB] 240112, this plane was to have gone to the US but British Intelligence worked a deal for 10 FW190's and the plane was picked up and flown to RAE [Royal Aircraft Establishment] Farnborough, Hampshire in September 44 for test flying.

At 11.30am 12th January 1946 the now recoded AM223 Do335 taxied out for its 3rd flight since its arrival, at the controls was the commanding officer of Farnboroughs Experimental Flying, Group Captain Alan Frederick Hards,DSO. The plane took off watched by test pilot Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown who had trained Group Cpt Hards on the 335 and this was Hards first solo.

Half an hour later Brown saw the plane returning to the base but he also saw it was trailing smoke from below the rear engine, it is unknown if Hards knew of the fire as it would have been next to impossible for him to have seen anything of the rear of the plane. Hards entered the circuit and turned for the duty runway but sadly the fire must have burnt through the tail controls as the aircraft dropped suddenly, impacting a field behind Cove Junior School bouncing and hitting the headmasters house and damaging the school buildings, thankfully only 12 on the ground were injured as the school on that day had 300 children in classes and they were just about to break for lunch. The Do335 was completely destroyed and Group Captain Hards was found in the upper bedroom beyond help he was recovered and taken back to RAE Farnborough.

 At the site today the school still stands and still serves the local juniors, the headmasters house was demolished after the crash and nothing can be seen to remind anyone of a sad but also very lucky day