Date:	Saturday 14 October 1950
Time:	night
Type:	Vickers Wellington Mk X
Owner/operator:	201 AFS RAF
Registration:	RP320
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:	2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Thames Estuary, 5 miles Off Reculver, Herne Bay, Kent, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Swinderby, Lincolnshire
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
The crew was taking part to a night exercise called 'Emperor'. While cruising over the Thames estuary, the Wellington collided with a Belgian Air Force De Havilland Mosquito registered MM757 ("MB-18" of 10 Squadron, Belgische Lucthmacht) and carrying a crew of two. Both aircraft dove into the sea and crashed about 5 miles off Reculver, Kent. The Wellington crashed into marshland area between Birchington and Herne Bay. All seven crew members on both aircraft were killed (five in the Wellington, two in the Mosquito)
Crew from Wellington:
Sgt Allan Warboys (pilot) RAF
F/Sgt Arthur Gordon Goodfellow (Signaller) RAF
Officer Cadet Alan Frederick George Marshall (Student Navigator) RAF
Cadet Alister MacIntosh Dougall (Student Navigator) RAF
Sgt Roland George Stanley Stansby (Staff Navigator) RAF

Crew from Mosquito:
Kaptain. Christian HENRARD (pilot) Belgische Luchtmacht - killed
Sergeant Joseph TYTGAT (navigator) Belgische Luchtmacht - killed

The wreckage of the Mosquito was largely recovered (being of largely wooden construction, the wreckage floated quite well) but eventually the search for the wreckage of the Wellington and the crews of both aircraft was abandoned

According to a contemporary newspaper report (Thanet Advertiser - Tuesday 17 October 1950)

"MID AIR COLLISION
Lifeboats Search For Survivors

Margate lifeboat was at sea for 18 hours during the week-end searching for two airmen who crashed into the sea in a Mosquito aircraft, four miles off the town late on Saturday night.

The aircraft, a Belgian Air Force Mosquito, had collided with a Wellington bomber in mid-air between Birchington and Herne Bay while taking part in the air exercise testing Britain's air defences.

The Wellington crashed on to marshland near Reculver Towers and was burned out before Herne Bay firemen could reach it. Bodies of the four members of the crew were recovered from the wreckage on Sunday morning.

Margate and Westgate firemen were called to assist, and searched the marshes at St. Nicholas, but were later instructed to return to their stations.

Meanwhile Margate and Ramsgate lifeboats were called out to search for the crew of the Mosquito.

After an all-night search the Margate boat returned to station, but she later put to sea again following a report from an air-sea rescue Lancaster aircraft that wreckage had been sighted. Floating in the sea they found splintered wood and part the navigation charts. A tail wheel of an aircraft, found by a Navy vessel, was brought ashore by the lifeboat.

Altogether Ramsgate lifeboat spent about nine hours at sea in the charge of the coxswain, Mr. Douglas Kirkaldie.

"We were given a position four miles north of Birchington," he said, "and at first searched area in the Queen's Channel. Then, allowing for the tide, which had been going away for about three hours following the crash, we explored the Girdler and Shivering Sands and all around the Shingles."

After that the lifeboat made for the vicinity of the Tongue and tied up against the lightship for three quarters-of-an-hour. The lifeboatmen spotted some flares and made another search of the Shingles and Edinburgh Channels without success.

"Throughout the night." said Mr. Kirkaldie, "we were constantly trying to contact other searchers, but received a reply to our signals on only one occasion. During the whole of the search we saw only the trawler Dawn and two or three cargo vessels."

According to another contemporary newspaper report: ("Aberdeen Journal" - Monday 16 October 1950):

"14 DIE IN AIR EXERCISE.
EIGHT members of the crews of two R.A.F. Wellingtons were killed yesterday after a mid-air collision — bringing to fourteen the death toll in the last twenty-four hours of "Exercise Emperor," the eight-day test of Britain's air defences. Three aircraft crashed on Saturday night — a Wellington bomber, a Belgian Mosquito and an R.A.F. Meteor jet-fighter. Six airmen were killed and two Belgians in the Mosquito are missing. The Belgian Mosquito fell into the sea and after the discovery of wreckage two miles off the Kent coast last night the search for survivors was abandoned. The pilot who was killed when his Meteor was in collision with another Meteor and crashed was Sgt.-Pilot E. Chipperfield, No. 500 (County of Kent) Squadron. The other Meteor landed safely. The Wellington crashed and burst into flames near Reculver, Kent, shortly after taking off."

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.107 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p.89
3. Thanet Advertiser - Tuesday 17 October 1950
4. Aberdeen Journal - Monday 16 October 1950
5. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1950-1959_26.html
6. http://belmilac.wikifoundry.com/page/De+Havilland+DH.98+Mosquito+NF.30.
7. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?86382-Belgian-Air-Force-Royal-Air-Force-collision-in-1950
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=5267.0
9. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-619-wellington-x-margate-5-killed
10. http://www.belgian-wings.be/webpages/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
07-Nov-2010 09:57	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
23-Apr-2017 21:44	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
23-Oct-2018 21:00	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
04-Feb-2020 00:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
04-Feb-2020 10:49	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Operator]
19-Jul-2020 23:21	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
02-Jan-2021 21:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]
02-Jan-2021 21:06	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
02-Jan-2021 22:08	stehlik49	Updated [Operator, Location, Nature, Narrative, Operator]