On the 17th of December 1942 a Dornier Do 217 crashed near Crows Nest near Hawnby. The plane struck a wall at high speed and disintergrated, wreckage was spread over a large area of the nearby fields owned by the Wood family of High Banniscue. The engines came to rest at the back wall of Crow Nest and UXB's found nearby were detonated later. Many elderly people living around the Rievaulx and Hawnby area remember this crash well even today and have passed the story down to their children and grandchildren, whenever I seem to mention aircraft crashes to any Helmsley, Hawnby or Rievaulx folk, this one is first to be mentioned.

I was very fortunate to be put in contact with Mr William Wood in 2003, formerly of Ewe Cote, now retired in Helmsley, he and his brother heard this crash happen, they went to through their fields to see what had happened. There were small fires burning everywhere with the odd bullet pinging off in these fires. On arriving they were not the first there, two RAF MU men staying at Sportsman's Hall, who were dismantling the Halifax at Low Thwaites were the first there. These men told Mr Wood that the aircraft was German. He also thought the aircraft may have been shot at before it struck the moor and had lost height in order to avoid this gun fire, so I am told.

In Feb 2004, my conversation with Mr Aran Clark, formerly of nearby Bumper Castle also recounted a vertually exact copy of what Mr Wood had previously told he. He did add that there was a fire at the site. The crew all died instantly. They were:

Pilot - Oblt Rolf Hausner, Body never found.

Observer - Uffz Sirius Erd, Body never found.

Wireless Operator - Obfw Hartwig Hupe, listed as "Unknown" and initially buried at Dishforth but later reburied under his name at Cannock Chase Cemetery, Staffordshire.

Mechanic - Obfw Ernst Weiderer, initially buried Dishforth, reburied Cannock Chase Cemetery, Staffordshire.

A wreath lay in Hawnby Church for many years in memory of the four Germans who died in this crash. The pilot's daughter visited the crash after the War, she was only a baby when her father was killed here. It is thought the wreath in Hawnby Church was put here on her behalf and every Rememberance Day the four Luftwaffe airmen are remembered in Hawnby. A Dalesman article states that Mr Brian Rapier made contact with at least one family of one airman in this crash. I will therefore make the assumption that it was his efforts which resulted in this wreaths existance at Hawnby.

No account detailing aircraft crashes in Yorkshire would be complete without a photo of Mr Brian Rapier. Without his early efforts in the 1960s and 1970s in recording these incidents later researchers would not have his work to turn upon. This photograph shows him at this crash site with part of the Dornier.

Easterside Hill near Hawnby, the aircraft struck the wall just to the right of centre.

A small peice of wreckage found at the site.

The gap in the wall looking back from where the aircraft flew in from.

I visited the site in June 2002 and located the wall which the aircraft hit head on, there is still a gap in it. We also found a few very small peices of metal at the edge of the field. I did not venture far into the field as it had livestock in it.

I revisted the site with John Skinn in March 2003, we found a number of small peices of alloy in the area where the aircraft struck. This is the only crash site on the North Yorkshire Moors where bodies where not recovered. The aircraft was on the inbound leg of its journey to bomb York, it flew down Bilsdale, over Wethercote Farm and struck the wall at 22.15hrs. The gap in the wall is exactly the same length as the Do217's wing span, around 19 metres.

My thanks to Mr William Wood and later Mr Aran Clark for some of the information on this page.