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| Date: | Tuesday 25 August 1942 |
| Time: | 13:42 |
| Type: |  Short Sunderland III |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Air Force - RAF |
| Registration: | W4026 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 15 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Dunbeath, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Invergordon RAF Station |
The Sunderland, coded DQ-M, crashed into Eagles Mount near Dunbeath in the Scottish Highlands in bad visibility.
The aircraft exploded on impact and all on board died with the exception of the tail gunner, Flight Sergeant Andrew Jack who was badly burned. F/Sgt Jack managed to crawl out of the tangled wreckage and staggered around the crash site injured, disorientated and in a state of shock. Ultimately, after about 22 hours, he was seen by a local girl while attempting to get through a farmland gate to find help. The girl led him to the family croft where her mother attended to F/Sgt Jack's injuries. Andrew Jack was later commissioned and retired as a Flight Lieutenant; he passed away in 1976.
Among the passengers who were killed was His Royal Highness Prince George the Duke Of Kent, who was making an official visit to Reykjavik in the course of his duties as a Staff Officer in RAF Training Command. He held the rank of Air Commodore.
The flying boat operated on a flight from Oban to Reykjavik with an en route stop at Invergordon, Cromarty Firth.
The Findings of the Court were: "The cause of the accident was in our opinion due to the aircraft being flown on a wrong track at too low an altitude to clear the rising ground on the track. The responsibility for this serious mistake in airmanship lies with the Captain of the aircraft Fit Lt Goyen, who changed his flight plan for reasons unknown, was such that he commenced the flight by climbing into cloud and then started to descend but failed to take the elementary precaution of making sure that he was over the water and crashed into a hillside while still in cloud. In our opinion the weather encountered should have presented no difficulties to an experienced pilot. The examination of the propellers showed that the engines were under power when the aircraft struck the ground."
Crew:-
Pilot : Flight Lieutenant Frank Mckenzie Goyen RAF 42057 : Commission Gazetted Friday 19 January, 1940) [Killed]
2nd Pilot : Wing Commander Thomas Lawton Moseley RAF 33064 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 15 August, 1933) [Killed]
Flight Mechanic / Air Gunner : Flight Sergeant William Royston Jones RAF 523047 [Killed]
Observer : Pilot Officer George Richard Saunders RAFVR 126975 (NCO:1381270 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 25 August, 1942) [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Edward Francis Blacklock RNZAF NZ/405467 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Arthur Rowland Catt RAFVR 1252994 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Flight Sergeant Andrew Simpson William Jack RAF 970168 (Officer:191535 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 03 April, 1945) [Injured]
Air Gunner : Flight Sergeant Edward James Hewerdine RAF 566884 [Killed]
Air Gunner : Pilot Officer The Hon. C. V. Michael Strutt RCAF J/15062 [Killed]
Flying Officer Sydney Wood Smith RAAF Aus/403961 [Killed]
Ground Crew : Flight Sergeant Charles Norman Lewis RAF 517386 [Killed]
Passenger : Lieutenant (Royal Navy) John Crowther RN [Killed]
Passenger : Leading Aircraftman John Walter Hales RAFVR 927117 [Killed]
Passenger : Air Commodore George Edward Alexander Windsor KG KT GCMG, GCVO RAF CWGC:2436351 [Killed]
Sources:
ww2inthehighlands.co.uk
Air Britain: RAF Aircraft W1000 - Z9999, published 1998
RAAF fatalities in Second World War among RAAF personnel serving on attachment in Royal Air Force Squadrons and Support Units / by Alan Storr, 2006
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Oct-2024 06:44 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
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