ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 140533
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| Date: | Friday 30 August 1946 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide |
| Owner/operator: | 782 Sqn FAA RN |
| Registration: | X7394 |
| MSN: | 6554 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Broad Crag, Scafell Pike, Cumberland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Ambulance |
| Departure airport: | HMS Sanderling, RNAS Abbotsinch, Renfrew |
| Rochester Airport, Rochester, Kent | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
c/no.6554: Taken on charge as X7394 under Contract No B.104592/40 at 9 MU RAF Cosford 18.8.41. To Royal Navy 25.9.41. To 782 Squadron, Donibristle [fitted out as an air ambulance]; named "Merlin IV".
Damaged when tipped up taxying at RNAS Eglinton 22.10.42; to De Havilland for repairs 7.11.42. Returned to 782 Squadron, Donibristle 18.1.43 after completion of repairs.
This air-ambulance Dominie, a military variant of the civilian Dragon Rapide, was being used on Saturday, 30.8.46 to transport a seriously ill patient from Abbotsinch, Glasgow to Rochester, Kent for treatment.
The aircraft was due to land at RNAS Stretton near Warrington, probably to re-fuel but flew into bad weather on the first half of the flight. While flying at around 2,500 feet the aircraft flew into high ground on Broad Crag, part of the Scafell range and all on board were killed in the crash.
The wreckage was located the following morning by an Anson crew searching for the aircraft, the RAF Mountain Rescue team searching for the site reported the weather to be severe when they carried out their search with the bodies being located and recovered by Sunday evening. This incident being one of the first for the Team using walkie-talkie radio sets to assist their communications.
Casualties were:
Pilot - Sub Lt(A) Sidney Kenneth Kilsby RNVR (HMS Merlin), aged 24, of Edmonton, Middlesex. Buried Douglas Bank Cemetery, Dunfermline.
Airman - Chief Petty Off Harold John Clark RN (FX82398) (HMS Merlin), aged 25, of Merstham, cremated Mitcham, South London.
Surgeon - Commander Surgeon William Tudor Gwynne-Jones RN (HMS Orlando), aged 54. Buried Weston Mill Cemetery, Plymouth (Sec C Cons, Grave 13643).
Sick Berth Attendant - Leslie Howard Watkinson RN (C/MX 782148) (HMS Merlin), aged 19, of Skellow, buried Owston Churchyard, South Yorkshire.
Patient - CWM Charles Robert Allwright DSM RN (ret) (HMS Orlando), aged 61, of Fetcham, Surrey. Buried Dunfermline (Douglas Bank) Cemetery, Fife (A/58).
Broad Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. It is the fifth-highest peak in England at a height of 3,064 feet (934 metres). The mountain was gifted to the National Trust in 1923 by the Fell and Rock-Climbing Club. The peak forms part of the Scafell chain, and lies about 440 yards (402 m) north-east of Scafell Pike. Ill Crag lies south-east, with Great End at the end of the chain about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north.
Broad Crag may be climbed en-route to Scafell Pike, via a path from Esk Hause or from the route from Crinkle Crags and Bowfell.
Sources:
1. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/dh89.pdf
2. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/lakes/x7394.html
3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasujoba44/4610065160/
4. http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-129-317-C
5. http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?22895&p=133390#133390
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh89-dominie-i-mt-broad-crag-5-killed
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2456928/kilsby,-sydney-kenneth/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2435467/clark,-harold-john/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2811489/gwynne-jones,-william-tudor/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2412853/watkinson,-leslie-howard/
11. https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1946-05MAY.htm
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Crag
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Dec-2011 13:06 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 30-Jan-2012 07:41 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Destination airport] |
| 17-Feb-2019 23:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Feb-2019 21:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Feb-2019 21:15 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 12-Mar-2019 19:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Sep-2019 19:17 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 08-Jun-2023 20:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Operator, Operator]] |
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