Halifax JD174 crashed into woodland near Arden Hall, between the villages of Hawnby and Kepwick in the early hours of 14th July 1943. It crashed with an intact bombload on board and some of the explosives blew up in the crash which resulted in the complete destruction of the aircraft scattering it over a reasonably wide area.
This was one of the first crash sites I ever visited way back in 1996, if not the first before I really had any proper interest in trying to locate it or before I knew anything about the aircraft, it's crew or how it came to end up where it did. I visited with college friends Ben Thompson and Phil Smith and with Ben's work colleague Steve Sutherland who had purchased a copy of David Smith's "High Ground Wrecks and Relics" book which listed this aircraft. Little was I to know how this hobby would develop!! The area of woodland where we looked in 1996 at this time had been planted with pine trees and only one peice of the aircraft was found, probably because we were looking in the wrong place for it. We did however find a sizeable peice of fuselage skin against a tree which still had green paint on it and at the time this was enough believing nothing else would remain. As my interest in locating others sites developed it became obvious from comparing this site to other Halifax sites that I had not located the actual crash site in 1996 but just the edge of the wreckage trail.
After a returning to locate the peice found years previously I finally located the site for proper in May 2004 and substantial peices of the aircraft are scattered in the woodland. I then revisited afew days later with John Skinn and photographed the area. It has only become apparent a year after this that the woodland is infact private - my previous entry point did not pass such signs stating this and I apologise to the Earl of Mexborough. As a result I have not been back since.
A typical Halifax part number with the "57" prefix, this refers to the Handley Page design number for the Halifax which was HP.57.
English Electric Preston inspection stamps found on peices at the crash site confirm the aircraft to have been built at the English Electric factory.
This item is probably an insulator from the aircraft's radio aerial. Two such aerials where this insulator could have been part of where linked between the two tail fins forward to the aerial mast above the cockpit area.
I understand that at least two of the aircraft's Rolls-Royce Merlin engines ended up at the bottom of the slope below the crash site and at least one was recovered in the 1960s or 1970s, the photograph above shows two parts I have seen which still remain of one of the engines. The owner of these requested that I did not name him on this website but he was kind enough to allow me to photograph the two items he still possesses after the Merlin was later broken up (shown above) and the etched writing on the piston (shown below).
