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| Date: | Saturday 7 August 1943 |
| Time: | 23h05 |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 22 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | HF612 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Field adjacent to RAF Wellesbourne, Warwickshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Wellesbourne |
Aircraft was carrying out local dual circuits and landings by night. It had already carried out one successful landing and it was still only dusk. Several witnesses sated the aircraft was gliding with the engines throttled back and it seems the pilot intended to belly land the aircraft in a field adjacent the station, where it finally crashed. From marks on the ground and damage to the aircraft, it would appear that the pilot endeavoured to pull the aircraft over a over a low hedge causing it to stall, the tail hitting the ground first. It is apparent the aircraft did not stall from a great height, and except for the rear gunner, who was killed by the crushing of his turret, it is a mystery why the rest of the crew did not manage to escape uninjured. (From RAF crash report 22 OTU dated 9.8.43)
Crew:
Pilot instructor: 655460 WO2 Thomas Sidney Heyes (RAFVR)
Pilot: R/139366 Sgt William Grant Hill (RCAF)
Observer: J/22526 F/O Patrick Micheal Hetherington (RCAF)
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: 1450741 Sgt Bernard Bradshaw (RAFVR)
Air Gunner: R/199556 Sgt Daniel Montgomery Martin (RCAF)
Sources:
The National Archives UK
Archives Canada
RCAF Losses 1943
RCAF historical microfilms
Veterans Affairs Canada
CASPIR
https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=HF612
https://www.aviationarchaeology.org.uk/marg/men_of_22otu.htm
https://aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=hf612&qand=&exc1=&exc2=&search_only=&search_type=exact
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Aug-2025 12:25 | tachel | Added |
| 08-Aug-2025 16:34 | tachel | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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