Date:	Sunday 7 December 1941
Time:	18:15
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk IC
Owner/operator:	22 OTU RAF
Registration:	T2566
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	by Heath Spinney on the Newbold road, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, Engl -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Wellesbourne Mountford
Destination airport:	RAF Wellesbourne Mountford

Narrative:
Sunday 7 December 1941 was a bad day for 22 OTU RAF. In the evening the Midlands were suddenly engulfed in severe snowstorms. Two Wellingtons of 22 OTU RAF that were carrying out circuits and landings from Wellesbourne Mountford crashed in ten minutes.

The Wellington IC T2566 of B Flight was the first. It was on finals approaching runway 24 when it flew into a snow storm and almost immediately lost engine power. The pupil pilot, P/0 J Lynas aged nineteen, completely lost visual sight of the runway lights. He dramatically lost height and hit a row of trees in line with the flarepath. The aircraft crashed and burnt out at 1815 hrs by Heath Spinney on the Newbold road. Three crew were killed and two wounded.

Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer William Joseph Turner DFM RAFVR 112730 (NCO:758088 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 06 January, 1942) [Killed]
2nd Pilot : Pilot Officer James Lynas RCAF J/6170 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Peter Rees Chancellor RAFVR 1261560 [Killed]
Pilot Officer Rutherford James Jackson RCAF J/6172 [Injured]
Sergeant Lane RAF [Injured]

Turner had won his DFM, Gazetted on 24 October 1941, for his service with 405 Sqn RCAF. Although very badly hurt, Jackson recovered and was later posted to 57 Sqn, but was posted missing from operations to Bremen on 29-30 June 1942.

Ten minutes later, at 1825 hrs, the Wellington IC X9625 of A Flight was unable to line up with the runway due to the snow and in trying to overshoot in marginal visibility in the very heavy snow showers caught the trees on Loxley Hill and finally crashed into the top of Red Hill, near Woodfield farm quite close to the station wireless building. All four crew were wounded and three died of their injuries later.

Crew of X9625:
Pilot : Sergeant John Horace Cox RAF 1238321 [Injured]
2nd Pilot : Flying Officer James Eric Allen RAFVR 106109 (NCO:1072955 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 21 October, 1941) [Fatal Injury]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Warrant Officer Allan David Cuthbert RCAF R/56327 [Fatal Injury]
Sergeant Allen RAF [Injured]

"Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses, volume 7: Operational Training Units 1940-1947", by W R Chorley, ISBN 1-85780-132-6
http://www.moseleians.co.uk/roll-of-honour-2/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/54/a4376054.shtml
https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-war-dead
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellesbourne_Mountford_Airfield
https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=File:Newbold_Road,_Wellesbourne_-_Geograph_-_1707687.jpg
https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/raf-wellesbourne-mountford-wireless-telegraph-site
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
30-Jan-2018 15:23	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
05-Aug-2024 14:12	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative, ]