ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 220266
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 December 1942 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Lockheed Hudson Mk IIIA |
| Owner/operator: | 1402 Flt RAF |
| Registration: | FH407 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing |
| Location: | Atlantic Ocean -
 Atlantic Ocean
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland |
On 30 December 1942 the Hudson IIIA FH407 of 1402 Flight RAF left Aldergrove, County Antrim, at 0900 GMT for what should have been a a Bismuth Sortie, a routine five hour flight. Bismuth was one of the standard Met Recce sorties: base (Aldergrove or Tiree) to 57.5N 25.0W at 950 mb (c.1800 ft ASL). Climb to 500 mb (c. 18,000 ft ASL) and go to 63N 14W. Descend at this position back to 950 mb and head for Base. Turning points could be varied according to operational requirements. So a fairly big chunk of ocean!! (Source "Even The Birds Were Walking" - Kington & Rackliff, 2000, Tempus, ISBN 075242016X).
But this time the Hudson did not return and went missing over the Atlantic with its four crew.
From the F1180 it appears the weather was unusually hazardous at the time and there was a high icing index at low level. The icing was almost certainly due to freezing rain which could have resulted in a rapid build up of clear ice. The first leg of the operation would have been flown at about 1800 ft and icing conditions would have become less severe and disappeared not that far to the west.
Crew (all lost):
Flt Sgt Samuel Ray Millar RCAF (pilot)
Sgt Philip Wadham Newbegin RAFVR (navigator)
Flt Sgt Cecil William Chatterley RAFVR (wireless operator/air gunner)
Sgt Sidney Edward English RAFVR (wireless operator/air gunner)
Millar was a flight sergeant at the time of loss, his promotion to warrant officer was in the system but not known yet at the flight. He is commemorated as a WO on the Runnymede Memorial.
Sources:
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?4270-Hudson-FH407&p=23750
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1941_5.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Dec-2018 17:41 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 12-Jan-2020 21:33 | stehlik49 | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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