ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 28337
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| Date: | Saturday 10 March 1951 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Avro Anson C Mk 19 |
| Owner/operator: | 224 Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | VM386 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Into sea 35 miles S of Cadiz -
 Spain
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Gibraltar |
| Lisbon | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Flight Lieutenant Labelle was the Signaller aboard an Anson aircraft which was forced to alight on very heavy seas in the Atlantic west of Tangier on 10 March 1951. Without warning from his captain he originated an S.O.S. message on the W./T. before the aircraft struck the water.
The aircraft sank before the “J” type dinghy was fully inflated, all six occupants being swept into the sea, one becoming entangled, head downwards, in a dinghy rope. Despite the fact he was carrying the dinghy radio in one hand, Flight Lieutenant Labelle assisted the captain to free the entanglement, to right the dinghy and to assist into it all but one of the crew who was swept away and subsequently found drowned, only relinquishing the radio when it was taken aboard.
He then played a very full part in making the dinghy seaworthy and for more than three hours, during which he was almost continuously seasick, he alternately attempted to work the radio, to bale out and to throw himself about the dinghy in order to prevent it capsizing in the 30-40 foot waves. When located by a French destroyer, he gave the captain every assistance in the hazardous operation of boarding this ship.
Throughout the incident, he remained calm and efficient and lived up to the highest standards of the Service. There is little doubt that his bravery under very trying circumstances was instrumental in the survival of five of the six occupants of the aircraft.’
Crew: F/O Wilson Pilot,F/O Furguson Nav. F/Lt La Bell W/Op.
Passengers: F/O Miller (drowned) Sgt Dobbs, S A C Chambers (self).
We were going from Gib to Lisbon to service a Halikax that had diverted due to bad weather.
we flew into a gale and tried to reach Tangier,although our diversion airport was Cadiz.we ran out of fuel and after about 4 hours were rescued by a French destrouer "Marceau".
Sources:
See citation for M.B.E. awarded to F.Lt.La Bell on Rafcommands website.
http://www.rafcommands.com/archive/02848.php
http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/searchcataloguearchive/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=70253
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 16-Jan-2011 07:26 | gordon5148 | Updated [Operator, Total occupants, Location, Narrative] |
| 16-Jan-2011 13:59 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 22-Jan-2011 09:53 | Anon. | Updated [Source] |
| 02-Mar-2012 06:47 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Damage, Narrative] |
| 08-Apr-2012 23:50 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Destination airport, Source] |
| 08-Apr-2012 23:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Country, Source, Narrative] |
| 15-Aug-2012 07:24 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 17-Sep-2016 18:27 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
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