ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 22175
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 October 1940 |
| Time: | 03:55 LT |
| Type: |  Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V |
| Owner/operator: | 77 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | P5091 |
| MSN: | AWA.1799 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | ½ mile west of Snape, near Masham, North Yorkshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire |
| RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire |
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V P5091 (KN-Y) of 77 Squadron, RAF. Lost on combat operations on 9th October 1940: the crew of this 77 Squadron aircraft were returning from an operational flight having bombed Hanau and were flying in poor visibility in the early hours. They are believed to have joined the circuit to land at Topcliffe and were waiting to land but the aircraft hit trees near Snape, Masham, some miles west of Topcliffe at 03.55 hours and caught fire. Sadly the crew of five were killed as a result of the crash. Although reported to have been in the landing circuit it is probably that they had left it given the poor visibility and distance of the crash from Topcliffe. The aircraft is believed to have run out of fuel just prior to the crash.
Crew of Whitley P5091:
566550 Sgt George William Brown RAF pilot killed
Midshipman (A) David Arthur Charles Haddingham RN pilot killed
637463 Sgt Cleveland Cottham RAF air gunner killed
751459 Sgt William G MacMorland RAFVR observer killed
938888 Sgt Joseph Reginald Wardman RAFVR wireless operator killed
Whitley P5091 was built to contract 75147/38 by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd, at Baginton and was awaiting collection on 4th July 1940. After a period of MU storage it was allocated to 102 Squadron at Leeming on 25th August 1940 as a replacement aircraft for one destroyed on 15th August 1940 in the raid on Driffield. This allocation was quickly changed and the aircraft was taken on charge by 77 Squadron at Linton on Ouse on 28th August 1940 but also as a replacement aircraft; for P5056 destroyed at Driffield on 15th August. P5091 moved on 5th October 1940 with the unit to Topcliffe airfield. It sustained Cat.W/FB damage on 9th October 1940 at Snape.
It is worth noting that the official files into the accident/combat loss (File AIR 81/3694) makes reference to an "exploded Bomb", which may be that a bomb on board the aircraft "hung up" and was not dropped. If, as implied, it exploded in the crash that would accounted for the loss of the crew and the destruction of the aircraft
Sources:
1. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york40/p5091.html
2. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?2539-Whitley-P5091-lost-8-9-10-40
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/3694: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C16687792
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-armstrong-whitworth-aw38-whitley-v-raf-topcliffe-5-killed
5. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2810648/brown,-george-william/
6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2414282/cottham,-cleveland/
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2414285/macmorland,-william-goodall/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2402625/wardman,-joseph-reginald/
9. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/34153/
10. https://internationalbcc.co.uk/losses/12207/
11. http://www.rememberjd371.be/pertes77sqd.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Aug-2008 23:22 | Anon. | Added |
| 05-Aug-2008 10:22 | Anon. | Updated |
| 06-Jan-2013 15:20 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 01-May-2019 23:17 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-May-2019 23:31 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn] |
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