ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 140822
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| Date: | Sunday 11 April 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Vickers Wellington Mk X |
| Owner/operator: | 420 (Snowy Owl) Sqn RCAF |
| Registration: | HE422 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | off Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Middleton St.George, Co.Durham |
| Return. |
Wellington HE422 Took off at 23:05hrs 10 April 1943 from RAF Middleton St.George for mission. Abandoned after becoming lost on return from raid on FRANKFURT.
Crew:
F/O (J/20125) Charles Warner JACKSON (Pilot) RCAF - killed
Sgt (R/124964) Alexander Hugh MacDONALD (A/B) RCAF - Ok
Sgt (J/19065) H.B. ELHORN (nav.) RCAF - Ok
Sgt (1342646) James Thomson KYDD (Wop/AG) RAFVR - Ok (NCO:196749 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 29 May, 1945)
Sgt K.T. ALLAN (AG) RCAF - Ok
Location: Carmarthen Bay.
Aircraft: Vickers Wellington MkX HE422. ‘PT-Q’.
Squadron: 420 ‘Snowy Owl’ RCAF.
From: RAF Middleton St George.
Mission: Ops’.
Details:
Type 440 Wellington B Mark X
The most widely produced variant of which 3,804 were built. It was similar to the Mark III except for the 1,675 hp Hercules XVIII powerplant. The Mark X was the basis for a number of Coastal Command versions. A total of 3,803 were built at Broughton in Flintshire and Blackpool.
No. 420 "City of London" Squadron RCAF was a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) (and subsequently Canadian Forces) which existed from late December 1941 forwards. The Squadron's nickname was "Snowy Owl". Their motto was Pugnamus Finitum, Latin for We Fight to The Finish. Formed at RAF Waddington on the 19th of December 1941 as the RCAF’s 18th and fourth bomber squadron formed overseas, the unit initially flew the Hampton then the X Wellington until converting to one of the four engine heavies of Bomber Command, the H.P. Halifax which they operated on strategic and tactical ops’. From June – October 1943 the squadron flew tropicalised Wellington aircraft from North Africa in support of the invasions of Sicily and Italy. Upon VE Day, the squadron was one of those selected for operations in the PTO (Pacific Theatre of Operations) as part of ‘Tiger Force’. The squadron returned to Canada to train on Canadian built Lancaster’s but the sudden end in the Far East resulted in the squadron being unceremoniously disbanded at RCAF Debert in Nova Scotia on the 5th of September 1945.
Wellington X HE422 arrived at RAF Middleton St-George and given the radio code ‘PT-Q’, replacing the MkIII’s. Her first Op’ was on the night of the 26/27th of March 1943 on a raid over Duisberg.
Squadron records.
“26/27 Apr. 15 A/C bombed up for operation on Duisberg. But did not all get away. Four of the ‘Freshmen’ crews were cancelled. Remaining eleven took off with nine successfully bombing the objective. One A/C returned due to turret problems. Another returned to Docking due to engine failure of Port motor. All other A/C returned safely.”
It was HE422 which returned with a faulty turret. The issue was faulty electrics, causing the heating system to fail and in return causing the gunsight to become U/S.
The bomb load for this first mission was, 2 x 500lbs HE, 4 x SBC of 90 x 4 (Incendiaries) & 3 SBC 8 x30. (Basically, these were cluster incendiary bombs with differing burn times).
Her crew on this first mission was; Sgt J.T. Clary (pilot), Sgt R. L. Brandow (Navigator), P/O J. S. H. Dodge (Wireless operator), P/O W. G. Bellingoe (Bombardier), Sgt I.A. Lockhart (Air Gunner) & Sgt C.Y. Havey (Air Gunner).
The next mission was on the night of the 28/29th, target, St Nazaire. Again, Gremlins played their part, this time the bomb door selector switch failed, causing the crew to jettison the bombs near the target.
29/30th bombed Bochum.
On the 26th of March the new intake of crews included P/O Jackson, Sgt Kydd, Sgt Allen, Sgt MacDonald & Sgt Elhorn. Their first mission took place on the night of the 2/3rd of April, crewing Wellington X HE481 ‘PT-O’. The target was Lorient, which was bombed successfully. Their first flight in HE422 was on a bombing operation over Keil, again bombed successfully. During the beginning of April, the squadron received word they would start the transmission to the Halifax sooner than expected. However, they still flew the X Wimpy on missions. The night of the 10/11th of April. Target, Frankfurt.
Squadron records.
“10 April Thirteen aircraft took off on operations against Frankfurt. Eight bombed successfully. Four returned early. One aircraft which had wandered decidedly off track, crashed at Warwick, South Wales. The crew however, had baled out. The pilot having placed ‘George’ in charge. All were rescued with slight injuries with the exception of the pilot, who was, as near as can be ascertained, drowned. It is interesting to note, the crew were found approximately 50 miles from where the aircraft crashed & burned. Which only goes to prove that flying an aircraft might not be so difficult!”
(In my opinion this written text by the duty officer is not only scathing but displays unfamiliarity with flying and the geographical area of the event! I drawn to thinking he had a grudge with the system, maybe a failed pilot? Who knows?)
Despite this unfortunate record, the course of events of the crash was recorded by the inquiry.
“HE422 took off for Frankfurt and bombed successfully. HE422 was reported to have wandered off track and becoming low on fuel the captain gave the order to bale out as they reached the coast of Wales in the vicinity of Tenby. This the crew did without error, followed by P/O Jackson after he put the aircraft under the control of ‘George’ (Auto-pilot). All were recovered with ranging injuries with the exception of the pilot who was eventually found drowned not far from shore of Carmarthen Bay.
During the early hours of the 11th, the residents of the small Warwickshire village of Burmington were awoken by the sound of an aircraft hitting the ground and exploding. The crashed aeroplane turned out to be HE422, it had flown some 140 miles after the crew had left her.”
Crew:
F/O Charles Warner Jackson 24yo J/20125 RCAF. Pilot. Baled out/Drowned. 1
Son of John Warner Jackson & Ella Eugene Jackson of Calgary Alberta Canada.
Sgt Henry Bryan Elhorn 24 R130655 RCAF. Nav’. Safe.
Sgt Alexander Hugh MacDonald R/124964 RCAF. Air/Bdr. Slightly injured/safe. 2
Son of Hugh MacDonald & of Rose MacDonald of Bridgeport Nova Scotia Canada.
Sgt James Thomson Kydd 1342646 RAFVR. W/Op-A/Gnr. Safe (NCO:196749 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 29 May, 1945)
Sgt Kenneth Thomas Peter Allen R73769 RCAF. A/Gnr. Safe.
Buried:
1 Carew (St Mary) Churchyard. Row B. Grave 6.
2 Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery. Section C. Row D. Grave 14.
Wreckage:
The majority of the wreckage was easily removed soon after the event. 46 years later, a team of aviation archaeologists carried out a recovery of the site. Many relics was recovered including. Geodetic sections, tail assembly, Hercules makers plates, Carburettors, superchargers & main wheel and tyre. All of which wouldn’t have been possible without the expressive consent of the landowner. Some small fragments remain on the surface but.
PRIVATE GROUND PERMISSION TO BE SOURT FROM THE OWNER!
Additional Information.
Sgt Allen was the first to be declared fit for duties and was one of the crew of Wellington X HE682 ‘PT-T’ on a raid over Manheim on the night of the 17th of April. Aircraft did not return, and all the crew presumed to be dead. However, a few weeks later the squadron received the good news from the Red Cross, Sgt Allen had baled out and was taken prisoner, becoming POW number 54, and held at Stalagluft 6 at Heydekrug. He survived the war and still alive at the time of writing.
Sgt Macdonald also returned to flying duties and was posted out of the squadron, coming to No.1679 HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit). On the 6th of November, as part of the crew of Lancaster DS649. It crashed. Believed to been attempting an emergency landing after an apparent fire on board. The aircraft clipped trees and hit the ground at Rose Cottage Farm near Wiganthorpe, Terrington, Yorkshire, killing all six crew.
Sgt Elhorn went on to serve with 425 squadron and survived the war. He sadly passed away during November 2002, aged 83. His body was donated to medical science.
Sadly, the fate of Sgt Kydd. I found nothing, this sadly is all too often with British service personnel, the only records found are only if they have died in the service of the crown. Any servicemen or women from the commonwealth, ie Canada, New Zealand & Australia, even American, nothing can be further from the truth.
Sources:
- Air Britain: RAF Aircraft HA100 - HZ999, published 1989
www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk
www.sircrewremembered.com
www.bscktonormandy,org/..../wellington/19272-HE422
www.rafcommands.com
www.rcafassociation.ca
www.cwgc.org
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
https://maps.nls.uk
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Dec-2011 03:36 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 05-Jan-2021 11:42 | Giggs | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator] |
| 10-Apr-2024 07:05 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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