ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 160769
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Friday 14 September 1945 |
| Time: | 08:55 |
| Type: |  Handley Page Halifax Mk VII |
| Owner/operator: | 644 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | PN305 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 21 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Priddacombe, Bolventor, Cornwall -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset |
| Lajes Air Base, Azores (LAPA) |
Handley Page Halifax VII PN305 ("9U-W") of 644 Squadron based at Tarrant Rushton, Dorset crashed 14.9.1945. The aircraft was on its way from RAF Tarrant Rushton to the Azores Islands with a crew of 7 and 14 passengers on board. While overflying Cornwall, due to an electrical failure, the dingy inflation valve was activated and the dingy blew up, came out of its wing stowage and fouled the tailplane assembly, restricting the elevators. The airplane went out of control, and dived into the ground at Priddacombe , Bolventor, Cornwall. The aircraft was completely wrecked and all 21 on board killed.
Crew:
F/Sgt. 904583 Clifford William Akers - (Air Gunner),
F/O. 159989 Peter Stafford Briggs - (Air Bomber),
F/Lt. 152486 Jeremiah Charles Garnett - (Pilot),
F/Sgt. 1836211 William Henry Mathias - (W/Op),
F/Lt. 152318 Geoffrey Percival Ormesher - (Navigator),
Fl/Lt. 143807 Gerald Theodore Bailey - (Flight engineer),
F/O. 181581 Alan John Reardon - (2nd Pilot),
Passengers: AC2. 1591163 Alan Ralph Titford - (from Tamworth, Staffordshire), LAC. 1815510 Leonard Roy Victor Cox - (from Kingham, Oxfordshire), AC1. 1599165 Patrick Fitzgibbon - (from Drumcondra, Dublin), LAC. 1202198 Cecil Everard Charles Hoborough - (from Drayton, Berkshire), LAC. 1401473 Roy William Nicholls - (from Truro, Cornwall), Cpl. 1216502 Henry Phillip Mills - from Ipswich, Suffolk), LAC. 1131315 Selwyn Thomas - (from Porth, Glamorgan), LAC. 1692999 Thomas Smith Wallace - (from Methil, Fifeshire) LAC. 1661054 Ernest Raymond Richings - (from Knowle, Bristol), LAC 1455798 Stanley Price (from Crookes, Sheffield), AC2. 3030850 Dennis Martin - (from Hazelslade Staffordshire), LAC. 1797215 Edward Joseph Lynott - (from Cabra, Dublin), LAC. 1197569 Edwin Arthur George Pettifer - (from Wolvercote, Oxfordshire), AC2. 2252295 Robert Owen -(from Llangristiolus, Anglesey).
The local press reports, and the initial reports in the Accident Card (Air Ministry Form 1180), indicated that there were only 12 fatalities, but the list above confirms the true scale of this tragedy. Additionally, some reports suggested that there were WAAF's aboard the aircraft but this was not so. By a stroke of fate, one of those on board the aircraft lived in the area of the accident and his death is registered in his home parish.
Sources:
1. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J. Halley, Air Britain)
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20160315052114/http://rafdavidstowmoor.org/crash-log/view-1945-crash-log/
3. http://aircrewremembered.com/fraser-alfred.html
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-handley-page-hp63-halifax-vii-bolventor-21-killed
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?4604-F-S-William-Henry-Mathias-1836211-Died-14-9-45-644-Sqd
6. http://launcestonthen.co.uk/index.php/the-war-years/ww2-plane-crashes-around-launceston/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Sep-2013 02:58 | JINX | Added |
| 07-Feb-2015 18:12 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Oct-2015 20:42 | pietrzak | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Jan-2016 14:58 | JIXN | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative] |
| 12-Mar-2017 02:45 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Oct-2019 22:19 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Destination airport, Source] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation